The construction of the St. Louis Cathedral, which was completed in September/October of 1834, was started in 1831 due to the growth of the St. Louis diocese. The cornerstone was laid on August 1st 1831 and the Cathedral was designed and built by the firm Lavielle & Morton. The consecration ceremony was attended by both parishoners of the St. Louis diocese and the St. Louis miliita.
On January 30th, 1835, the President Andrew Jackson became the first president to have an assassination attempt made against his life. Richard Lawrence, a painter, fired a pistol twice at President Jackson but both times the gun misfired and Lawrence was subsequently brought down by a Navy Lieutenant and President Jackson himself who attacked Lawrence with his walking stick, landing several blows on his would-be assassin.