The Highest Cathedral in the United States Is in Laramie

At 7,276 feet above sea level, St. Matthew’s Episcopal Cathedral in Laramie holds a distinction that surprises many: it is the highest cathedral in the nation. Its 118-foot spire, topped with a cross, rises from a city already breathing thin air, earning Wyoming a unique spot in the architectural record books.

The title comes down to a matter of definition. There are taller church spires elsewhere—Riverside Church in New York City reaches 392 feet, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan covers 121,000 square feet. But both sit near sea level. There are also higher-elevation churches, like the Church of the Annunciation in Leadville, Colorado, whose spire tops out at 10,152 feet. But that is a church, not a cathedral.

“A cathedral is a church that’s run by a bishop,” explained the Very Rev. Rick Veit, dean of St. Matthew’s. While all cathedrals are churches, not all churches are cathedrals. The distinction lies in the “cathedra”—the bishop’s chair. St. Matthew’s serves as the principal Episcopal cathedral for the Diocese of Wyoming, making it the highest-ranking house of worship of its kind in the country.

The cathedral itself was built between 1892 and 1896, designed by New York architect William Halsey Wood and constructed from native sandstone quarried just northeast of Laramie. But the central tower that sets the elevation record was not part of the original plan. Funding ran short in the 19th century, leaving the structure incomplete. In 1916, the prominent Ivinson family—whose name still adorns streets and buildings in Laramie—donated the money to build the tower.

The tower is not open to casual visitors. “It’s treacherous,” Veit said. “There’s a ladder that goes straight up. The people who go up are the clock winders.” For everyone else, the cross atop the spire remains a distant, defining landmark—one that marks not just a place of worship, but a point of pride for a state not often associated with record-setting architecture.