The Church was organized in 1869 and a small sanctuary was built here in 1892 on the land purchased from R.R. Reid for three hundred dollars at the time. It was eventually enlarged and expanded in the 1890s and the name was changed from St. Luke's Parish to St. Luke's Cathedral. 

During the construction of the church I heard rumors that some graves were found. Perhaps because before that time Orlando did not have a cemetery and many people buried there loved ones out in their back yard. So the church does sit on burial ground supposedly for one which is one reason why we wanted to visit its site.

The present church building you see today was designed by P.H. Frohman who also was the designer of the National Episcopal Cathedral at Mount St. Alban in Washington D.C. The cathedral was built for $130,000 in 1922 to 1926 which it would have a Spanish Medieval and English Vertical Gothic Style. The concrete art stone simulates carved limestone. In 1887 new renovations were made and the cathedral was expanding when some drawings were found from 1925 which would eventually make the cathedral complete.

Now taking a step back in history William Crane Gray was elected and consecrated the first Bishop of South Florida. He made Orlando his home and was responsible for the birth of St. Lukes which became a cathedral church in 1902. Rev. Lucien A. Spence was appointed the first Dean of the Cathedral. If you are familiar with Lake Lucien you will notice it was named after him.

In 1922 the old cathedral building was moved to the south side of the tract of land to make room for this new cathedral and its cornerstone was laid by Bishop Mann in 1925. In 1926 only some of the building had been constructed. With the depression there just was not enough funding to complete the cathedral.

From 1971 Rev. Charles T. Gaskell became the ninth Dean of the cathedral until he was consecrated in 1973 and a Bishop Coadjutor of Milwaukee. However under his leadership the cathedral was renovated and a choir gallery over the narthex and installation of a 88-rank pipe organ came to be. In 1986-87 the temporary wall was removed and the cathedral building was finally complete like the original plans. 

Other then that you can read a more detailed history below found on the cathedrals website shared for educational purposes only. 

I found the church to be a really beautiful piece of architecture. Its very rare to see such gothic structures in the heart of one of America's biggest cities. The church is quite gloomy there is alot of energy of the past from Orlando's history. But one can imagine roaming down its halls late at night with a candle in search of the unseen. The area the church was built on was not only in an area where graves had been found but also the site of a fort which served in the Seminole War so as far as ghost go I am sure many different ones roam inside these cathedral walls. 

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Francis Eppes, grandson of Thomas Jefferson, moved his family to Orlando from Tallahassee, building a log cabin in the sparsely settled area. A Lay Reader, he conducted the first Episcopal services in Orlando for his neighbors. The stained glass window at the south stairs in the narthex of the Cathedral honors the memory of Francis Eppes and his contribution to the establishment of the Episcopal Church in Orlando.
In October 1892, General Convention set apart the Missionary Jurisdiction of South Florida, and William Crane Gray was elected and consecrated first Bishop. Bishop Cray made Orlando his home. Under his guidance, St. Luke's was designated as the Cathedral Church for South Florida on March 31,1902. The Rev. Lucien A. Spencer was appointed the first Dean of the Cathedral.Bishop Gray retired in 19 1 0. On Ascension Day in that year, he presented to the Cathedral as a thank offering a processional cross which is still in use. The carved oak pulpit in the Cathedral is a memorial to Bishop Gray.

The Rt. Rev. Cameron Mann, Bishop of North Dakota, succeeded Bishop Gray. A series of Deans offered leadership that steadily advanced the growth of the parish and its spiritual influence throughout the period of World War I and the 1920's. At the General Convention of 1922, the Missionary Jurisdiction of South Florida was admitted as a Diocese and the first Diocesan Convention was held in the Cathedral in January, 1923.

In October, 1922, the old Cathedral building was moved to the south side of the tract of land to make room for a glorious new Cathedral. It was designed by the famous architects of the Washington Cathedral, the firm of Frohman, Robb, and Little of Boston. The cornerstone was laid by Bishop Mann on April 13,1925.

Because of the depression, which came to Florida in 1926, the building was only partially constructed. A "temporary" wall sealed the altar end. The first services were conducted in the new Cathedral on Easter Even, April 3,1926, by Bishop Mann, when a large confirmation class was presented to him.

The ensuing period presented severe economic hardships. Members of the Cathedral parish made significant sacrifices to keep and maintain the properties they had worked so hard to obtain.

John Durham Wing was elected and consecrated as Bishop Coadjutor on September 25,1925. He succeeded Bishop Mann in 1932, and his installation service was held in the Cathedral on May 12.

The Rev. Melville F. Johnson, student pastor at the University of Florida, became the sixth Dean on January 1, 1 931 and served for twenty-two years. He led the construction of the L-shaped educational unit, which stands behind the present Chapter House. It was a memorial to members of the Cathedral who died in World War II.

The Rev. Osborne R. Littleford became the Cathedral's seventh Dean in 1952. Under his leadership, the present Chapter House was erected and the Cathedral parish grew steadily. At this time several of the suburban churches were established, and many of the Cathedral families transferred to them to help form a foundation for their growth.

In 1959, the Rev. Francis Campbell Gray became the eighth Dean and guided the destiny of the Cathedral family for twelve years. During his tenure, communicant strength reached a new high.

The Rt. Rev. Henry Irving Louttit, who had served as Suffragan from 1945 to 1948 and as Coadjutor from 1948 to 1950, directed the Diocese of South Florida during its greatest period of growth and expansion. New parishes proliferated. Diocesan communicant strength tripled. As he approached retirement, machinery was set up through Convention to study the possibility of dividing the Diocese of South Florida. This was accomplished in 1970 when the old Diocese of South Florida was divided into three dioceses. St. Luke's continued as the Cathedral Church for the Diocese of Central Florida. Bishop Louttit served very briefly as its first Bishop, succeeded by the Rt. Rev. William H. Folwell who retired in 1990. The Rt. Rev. John W. Howe followed Bishop Folwell and is the present bishop of the Diocese of Central Florida.

In January, 1971, the Rev. Charles T. Gaskell became the ninth Dean of the Cathedral, serving until his consecration in June, 1973, as Bishop Coadjutor of Milwaukee. Under Dean Gaskell's leadership the renovation of the Cathedral nave, with the erection of the choir gallery over the narthex and installation of the 88-rank pipe organ was achieved.
In September, 1973, the Rev. O'Kelley Whitaker, Rector of Emmanuel Church, Orlando, became the tenth Dean. With Bishop Folwell's encouragement, under Dean Whitaker's leadership, the Cathedral grew as a strong downtown parish, became a center for Diocesan functions and an example of excellence in worship, liturgical arts and music.

Dean Whitaker resigned after his election as Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of Central New York in November, 1980. The Rev. George H. Back (current Dean of the Cathedral in Oklahoma City) served as Interim Dean for one year.

The Rev. Harry B. Sherman, rector of St. Paul's Church, Patchogue, Long Island, and Dean of Suffolk County in the Diocese of Long Island, accepted the call to become the eleventh Dean of the Cathedral, beginning his ministry at the Cathedral on September 1, 1981.

Through 1986 and 1987, the temporary wall which was constructed in 1926, was removed and the Cathedral building was finally completed much as it had been originally planned, The completed Cathedral includes an apse, ambulatory, priests and working sacristies, a bell tower and the St. Mary Chapel.
Under the leadership of The Very Rev. Dr. G. Richard Lobs III, the twelfth dean, the Cathedral has experienced substantial spiritual and numerical growth


For more information or questions, please contact the Cathedral Historian and Archivist, Anne Michels, at amichels@stlukescathedral.org.