Cathedral Buildings, 60-68 Donegall Street, Belfast, BT1 2GT

Cathedral Buildings is a large four-storey shop and office block dating from 1901–2, located on the south-west side of Donegall Street in Belfast city centre. It is constructed in red brick with sandstone bands, large gables of Flemish character, tall chimneystacks, and a high-pitched slated roof.

The front elevation faces north-east and is symmetrical. At ground floor level, the centre features a large segmental arched entrance recess containing a panelled timber double door set within a smaller segmental-headed recess. The doorway is decorated with simple moulding around the recess and more ornate floral moulding to the shallow arched tympanum and spandrel areas above. Above this is a dentilled course and a large fanlight ensemble of three recessed elliptical arched lights with moulded floral decoration to their spandrels. The entrance recess is topped with a large projecting curved tympanum supported by decorative brackets. "Cathedral Buildings" is spelled out in large moulded sans serif capitals within the tympanum, with a moulded string course and integral keystone below. The tympanum is topped with a thick verge course bearing floral decoration with two central floral swirls. Either side of the entrance are two large shop fronts (four shops in total), each with modern plate glass windows, recessed glazed doorways, and eclectic modern signage. These are separated by tall rusticated piers topped with large two-pronged brackets with decorative floral mouldings at springing level and curved tympanum-like caps, from which square metal downspouts descend. Above signboard level are two moulded string courses.

The first floor contains seven windows of varying sizes. The two outermost windows (1st and 7th) are the largest, with sandstone mullions and transoms separating eight plain glazed lights each, topped with small curved sandstone tympanums with floral verge moulding. The 2nd and 6th windows are smaller, with two lights separated by a sandstone transom. The 3rd and 5th windows are slightly larger with four lights and mullions and transoms. The central window has six lights and is topped with a plain semicircular tympanum. The second floor follows the same arrangement as the first floor but with slightly smaller windows. The two outermost windows resemble the first floor central window, whilst the second floor central window has a curved tympanum with floral moulding as the entrance. The 3rd and 5th windows have similar shaped tympanums without moulding.

The elevation culminates in three large gables. These are constructed in brick with sandstone courses, giving them a Flemish appearance, though their relatively angular shape with simple kneelers also resembles those on late medieval Irish tower houses. The central gable is larger and contains a central six-light window, smaller than that to the centre of the first floor. Above this are three small arrow-slit recesses. The gable has stone verge coping with kneelers and small crow step-like projections halfway up each side, with a relatively broad pier-like stone finial with semicircular tympanum cap at the apex. The smaller outer gables repeat this detailing but without windows or side projections. Above the central arrow-slit to each outer gable is a small quatrefoil-shaped patress plate. On the roof between the gables are two small three-light flat-roofed dormers.

The front elevation above ground floor level is in red brick with twelve narrow sandstone bands (Ruskinian style) interspersed unevenly throughout—three to the first floor, four to the second floor, and five to the central gable. Four square cast iron gutters stretch the full height of the façade, with the outer gutters slightly longer to span the additional height of end parapets. The spouts have large square hoppers.

The south-east gable is asymmetrical and has no openings. This gable was originally hidden by a neighbouring property but, following demolition of that building, has been re-faced entirely in red brick with stone coping to the parapet. To the north-west the property is abutted by a taller modern five-storey flat-roofed office block of circa 1965–70. To the south-east, the neighbouring buildings were cleared away to create a large plaza-like public space.

The rear of the property originally featured a large projecting single or one-and-a-half storey section, now completely cleared away and covered by a large five-storey office block of the 1990s. The visible portion of the rear elevation is finished in plain cement render with a moulded eaves course. To the far left are a pair of tall segmental-headed windows to the first floor and two slightly shorter windows to the second floor, all appearing to have top-hung frames made to resemble sashes. To the right is a large segmental-headed window to each floor with plain double sash frames. To the right again, at the centre of the elevation, are two large semicircular-headed windows to the first and second half-landing levels with recent four-pane frames and large panels underneath. The gabled roof is covered in what appears to be Westmoreland slate and has two large centrally located brick chimneystacks with shallow pots. The roof overhangs to the front. Interior evidence suggests at least two large skylights to the rear and at least two much smaller ones to the front. The gutters to the front, which appear to be cast iron, have curving projecting iron supports. Rear goods drainage is metal, with PVC soil drainage pipes.