The cathedral is located on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River to the east of Downtown Davenport.

It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Cathedral Complex.

Antoine and Marguerite LeClaire donated the parcel of land and funds to build the church.

A new altar was installed later that year with a painting of St. Margaret that now hangs in the present cathedral.

A $3,000 reward was offered and the three men were caught and sentenced to prison terms at the Anamosa State Penitentiary.

On July 11, 1884, Father Cosgrove was named by Pope Leo XIII to replace McMullen as Bishop of Davenport.

[12] The initial planning for the new cathedral was carried out by Father Trevis, who was once again assigned to St Margaret's after Cosgrove was named bishop.

In the evening the cathedral choir presented a concert of sacred music and Bishop John Lancaster Spalding of Peoria delivered a lecture.

Bishop Cosgrove also had a devotion to the Sacred Heart and had the image emblazoned on his coat of arms.

[17] The bishop requested permission from Pope Leo XIII to name the new church Sacred Heart Cathedral.

On December 23, 1889, the pope granted this permission on the grounds that a chapel dedicated to St. Margaret be maintained in the church.

The foundation is composed of Anamosa Limestone and the walls of the structure are brick, clad in rock-faced Bedford stone quarried in Indiana.

There is an extensive amount of woodwork in the interior, including the altars, pews, ceiling, wainscoting, and the gallery frontal.

The reliefs below the old high altar depict the sacrifice of Able, Abraham and his son Isaac, and the priest Melchizedek.

The St. Joseph shrine contains statues of St. Ignatius of Loyola on the left and St. Anthony of Padua on the right that were also added in 1902.

The large Stations of the Cross are bas reliefs with wood frames that line the sidewalls of the church.

The rose window on the front of the church includes the following Christian images: an anchor for hope, wheat for bread, a crown for Christ the King, keys for the Apostle Peter, a dove for the Holy Spirit, the cross and crown for the crucifixion, the chalice and bread for the Holy Communion, and a harp for music and worship.

In 1902 Our Lady of Lourdes was established in Gilbert, present-day Bettendorf, and in 1909 St. Paul the Apostle was founded in Davenport.

The parish's boundaries include some of the poorer sections of the central city as well as some of Davenport's older and wealthier neighborhoods.

Bishop William Adrian, who spent most of his career at St. Ambrose College, was consecrated for the Diocese of Nashville on April 16, 1936, by Archbishop Amleto Cicognani.

El Centro Cultural Hispano was founded in 1975 to serve the needs of Spanish-speaking people throughout the Quad City area.

These renovations were made possible through the result of the generosity of parishioner Elizabeth Kahl-Figge who included the parish in her will.

It includes a gathering space, restrooms, a handicap-accessible entrance on the west side, a reception hall, and classrooms.

The tower's original bell, cast for St. Margaret's in 1856, was removed, cleaned, and placed in front of the new hall's porte-cochere.

The front porch and a walkway that connects the rectory to the cathedral feature wide Tudor arches.

[12] The two-story structure was completed in 1902 and followed the Gothic and Tudor styles of the church and rectory, although in a more simplified form.

[3] This building was enlarged for more classroom space and for living quarters for the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary who began teaching in the school in 1861.

During Father Davis' pastorate, a high school program for girls was begun and lasted for about ten years.

John Flannagan discontinued the high school program when he was the pastor because of his ties with Immaculate Conception Academy.

[36] Parish-based religious education classes were held in the Sacred Heart School building until it was torn down in the summer of 2017.