The cathedral stands at the corner of Huron and Wabash streets.

It is the oldest church in the Chicago area of the Anglican Communion and Episcopal tradition, having been founded in 1834.

[1] Originally built as a parish church, that building was mostly destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire.

Only the bell tower survived, and this was incorporated into the rebuilt church, including the soot-stained stones around the top of the tower which remain black today.

On May 3, 1955, St. James was again designated the cathedral and was formally set apart on June 4, 1955.