Prior to the construction of Sacred Heart, Immaculate Conception Church in downtown Fairbanks served as the city's cathedral.

Ground was broken for Sacred Heart Cathedral in 1962 on a large tract of land at the intersection of Airport and Peger Roads.

Just a few years before, this area was largely wilderness, until the development of residential subdivisions and the A-67 site to the north of the cathedral.

The first Mass was celebrated on Palm Sunday, April 3, 1966, and the cathedral was consecrated by Bishop Francis Doyle Gleeson, S.J., on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, June 17, 1966.

The tract of land upon which the cathedral sits is also home to the diocesan offices, a rectory, a Knights of Columbus hall and maintenance buildings, as well as additional residences for priests, nuns and others.