Built in the 1880s in the Gothic style and designed by Robert W. Gibson, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

The terrain slopes gently toward the Hudson River a half-mile (1 km) to the east, and sharply into Sheridan Hollow and Arbor Hill to the immediate north.

The cathedral's 2-acre (8,100 m2) lot is in the northern corner of the Lafayette Park Historic District, at the edge of central Albany's developed area.

The neoclassical State Education Department Building, also listed on the National Register, occupies the rest of the block, exceeding the cathedral in height.

South of it is the 34-story Alfred E. Smith State Office Building, a contributing property to the Center Square/Hudson–Park Historic District.

The nave is laid out with two narrow side aisles, separated from the main section by large sets of engaged stone columns as much as 7 feet (2.1 m) wide.

An intricately decorated iron and brass rood screen on a stone base sets the choir apart from the nave.

[4] In Albany, Doane planned a cathedral like those in England, that served not only as the central church of the diocese but anchored a complex to include a convent, cloister, hospital and school.

A 29-year-old who had recently immigrated to the US from his native England, Gibson was aware of the Oxford Movement and its influence on Episcopal Church design.

He had designed a building in the English Gothic mode so idealized by the Oxfordians, using stone for what the bishop called "instant antiquity," even as architects on other projects were experimenting with steel and brick.

While he was on a trip to Europe in 1906, Andrew S. Draper, the state's first Commissioner of Education, bought the other lots on the block fronting along Washington Avenue.

He successfully lobbied the state to limit the number of stories the new building would have, but made an enemy of Draper in the process.

[1] There has been no attempt to build those spires, and most work on the cathedral since the early 20th century has been largely maintenance, save for the occasional memorial stained glass window.

[10] The altar of the old Saint Alban's chapel in the cathedral was moved to St. Paul's church in the village of Salem, New York.

[11] The cathedral is noted as a tourist destination for its Gothic architecture, and especially for its multi-colored stained glass windows, stone carvings, and 17th-century Belgian Choir stalls.

[14] In 2008, the Ship of Fools website gave the cathedral a rating of "10" f(its highest) for its architecture, preaching, and Anglo-Catholic worship services.

[17] As an Anglo-catholic or High Church house of worship, it makes use of music, choir, and "bells and smells" as important parts of the liturgy.

[18] Doane penned "Ancient of Days", which has become a well-known Anglican hymn, also known by its tune, Albany, while at the Cathedral of All Saints.

[19] The Choir sings in a wide variety of languages, including Greek (the Kyrie), "English, Latin, German, French, Italian, and Russian.

"[16] The Boys Choir at the Cathedral of All Saints sings compline periodically,[20] usually the first Friday of each month, which is timed to coordinate with other activities downtown.

[16][22] This is due in no small part to its architecture, and has been cited as one of the "Great Acoustic Spaces for Choral Music (in the) U.S. and Canada.

[27] Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori celebrated eucharist at the Cathedral of All Saints when she visited the Episcopal Diocese of Albany in 2011.