Visitors to the K Street Mall at between 11th and 12th Streets may now take a virtual historic tour into the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament and downtown Sacramento during the late 1800s.

Planned to coordinate with the diocese’s restoration of the cathedral is the opening in early 2004 of the Cathedral Museum in the neighboring Bishop Patrick Manogue building.

“The museum is a work in progress,” according to Father James Murphy, rector of the cathedral. “Our hope is that it will provide a history of the cathedral and the diocese as a whole with art, artifacts and historic photos from diocesan archives, much of which has not been available to the public before.”

Included in a tour of the museum is an interactive multi-media CD-ROM presentation, commissioned by the Diocese of Sacramento. The presentation provides an 11-minute overview on the history of the cathedral and the restoration project.

Included are profiles of the restoration architect, construction management and fund-raising teams. A map of downtown Sacramento gives viewers the option to click on any of several historic structures providing detailed information about city landmarks.

A team of docents has been trained to conduct tours of the museum, which may be arranged by appointment only. One of the docents, Carol Hogan, a cathedral parishioner, is eager to learn more about Sacramento’s history and the builders of the landmark church.

Hogan, who works at the California Catholic Conference, which has its offices on the second floor of the Manogue building, said she got excited about the city’s history after taking a tour offered by the Downtown Partnership. “Great buildings like the cathedral were built for the whole community and overwhelmingly supported by it,” she said.

One of her specialties as a docent is delving into the life of cathedral builder Bishop Manogue, who she describes as “a gentle giant who took care of his familyÖa man with an eye to the future.”

The diocese has also commissioned a series of five by 10-foot panels chronicling the history of the cathedral. Located on the construction site fencing along 11th and K Streets, the story boards include biographical information about Bishop Manogue and a rare photograph taken from the cathedral roof showing 11th Street when it was merely a dirt road. A third panel features an architectural drawing of the new dome.

Jan Burch, of Latimer Burch Public Relations in Sacramento, provided the historical research and design expertise used in creating the story boards. Burch said the goal is to provide passersby with tantalizing tidbits about one of Sacramento’s most important historic buildings.

To accomplish the task, Burch searched city and diocesan archives and libraries for authentic information about the cathedral.

“We feel our job is to educate the community about the cathedral — its roots and its need to be restored,” she said.

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