"The Archbishop of Milwaukee established two main goals," said Design Architect Jim Shields of Hammel, Green & Abrahamson of Milwaukee, WI, who worked closely on the restoration with Milwaukee's Cathedral Project Committee led by The Most Reverend Rembert G. Weakland, O.S.B., Archbishop of Milwaukee. "He wanted to remove the negative effects of a 1940s renovation, which had removed the altar from the main worship space, and basically bring the Cathedral into strict conformance with Vatican standards. The other goal was to salvage as much of the existing stonework when possible. I always prefer to do that than throw away anyway. It challenged us to be creative."
According to the architect, a prior renovation following a fire had relocated the altar to 70 feet outside of the central worship area. This accommodated new interior columns that were part of the post-fire rebuilding process. The new altar was brought within 21 feet to where it used to stand, said Shields.