[5][6][7] St. Patrick's was founded shortly afterward to serve New York City's small, but growing, Catholic population, which could no longer fit in St. Peter's Church.

The school closed in 1814 and the diocese gave the property to Dom Augustin LeStrange, the abbot of a community of Trappists who were fleeing persecution by French authorities.

Curran continued raising funds to buy back the church during the Great Famine in Ireland, eventually succeeding and taking the deed in his own name.

[23][36] To raise money for the effort, Hughes asked wealthy Catholics in the Archdiocese of New York to subscribe to a building fund for the new cathedral.

[44][45] Archbishop Hughes laid the cornerstone in front of 100,000 spectators near the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 50th Street, though the precise location remains unclear.

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported that the interior "looks like a large field" and said the cathedral would be "worthy to be regarded as one of the wonders of the Republic".

[31] An anonymous author for the Real Estate Record and Guide wrote that the new St. Patrick's Cathedral was the "most gorgeous ecclesiastical edifice on this continent", though the critics perceived the buttresses on the north and south sides of the facade as "altogether unnecessary".

[61] Cook perceived the facade as being full of "clumsy repetition", and he wrote of the interior: "Words cannot express the paltry character of the internal finish of this vaunted structure.

[87] The Real Estate Record and Guide reported in December 1881 that Renwick had been hired to build a rectory at the southwest corner of Madison Avenue and 51st Street.

[86] A critic for the Real Estate Record characterized the rectory and archbishop's house as having "absurd" dormer windows in their mansard roofs.

The trustees received submissions from American, Canadian, French, and British architects before giving the commission to Charles T. Mathews of New York City.

[144] English stained glass artist and designer Paul Vincent Woodroffe completed the Lady chapel's remaining windows by late 1930.

[148][149] Archbishop Francis Spellman announced in February 1941 that an anonymous donor had provided funding for a new high altar, to be designed by Charles Maginnis.

[150][151] The reredos behind the original high altar blocked the view of the Lady chapel from the nave, but the cathedral's trustees wished to avoid this.

[159] The main doorway was narrowed, and some of the projecting Gothic ornamentation was eliminated because they were prone to cracks in New York City's climate, which was characterized by abrupt temperature decreases.

These funded the electrification of the cathedral chimes; an elevator to the main organ; kneeling cushions and guard cords in the pews; and new stained-glass windows.

[127] That June, workers placed scaffolding on the cathedral to protect it from damage due to blasting for the construction of Olympic Tower across 51st Street.

[187][188] The renovation involved cleaning the exterior marble, repairing stained-glass windows, painting the ceiling, and replacing the flooring and steps.

[199] Following the rezoning of East Midtown in the late 2010s, the Archdiocese of New York began planning to sell the air rights attached to the cathedral's site.

[200][201] In December 2023, Citadel LLC and Vornado Realty Trust agreed to pay as much as $164 million for up to 525,000 square feet (48,800 m2) of the cathedral's air rights, which would be transferred to a site at 350 Park Avenue.

[68][76][c] The windows are glazed by two thicknesses of sash and glass, set 2 inches (51 mm) apart, to regulate interior temperatures and prevent air drafts.

[218] The underground geothermal system consists of ten wells, each 2,200 feet (670 m) deep, which could concurrently send hot and cold air to separate sections of the cathedral.

[220] The main doors are decorated with relief sculptures representing three men and three women, with inscriptions indicating their significance to the cathedral and with particular focus on missionary work and assistance for migrants:[167][221] Above the central opening is a balustrade made of rich pierced tracery; it contains a row of niches, measuring 7.5 feet (2.3 m) high, for statues.

[230] The roof at the intersection of the nave and transept contains a central finial 15 feet (4.6 m) high, which is gilded and is decorated with foliage and flowers.

[25][245] The original chancel and high altar, donated by Cardinal McCloskey,[84] were three steps above the sanctuary floor and contained a platform of richly colored marble.

The original altar, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, had a high carved reredos, a mosaic floor, and a blue color scheme.

It consists of a white-marble reredos, an altar table, with a multicolored inlaid marble frontal named "Annunciation" designed by Hildreth Meiere,[285] and a statue of the Lady on top.

[304] Pressing a key on the keyboard in the sacristy would activate an electric signal, which in turn would release the compressed air to ring each bell.

[311] In 2024, the Casavant Frères organ company of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada, began the process of fully renovating and rebuilding the instrument to a position of technical reliability and durability, and with historic and artistic tonal refinements.

[320] Four people served as directors over the following six years: John C. West (1997–1999), Robert Long (1999–2001), Don Stefano Concordia (2001), and Johannes Somary (2001–2003).