In 1779, the village of Semyonovo became the district town of Semyonov in the Nizhny Novgorod governorate, and later the province. A master plan for the town was developed and approved on March 6, 1781. The planning was based on a radial-centric approach, with the Ascension Cathedral chosen as the center of the composition.

According to the 1781 project, the main square of Semyonovo, with the stone church at its center, was to be surrounded only by stone government buildings, residential houses, and trading shops. In 1819, with funds from parishioners, the construction of the stone cathedral began, and it was consecrated in 1821. The church became the main architectural center of the town. According to legend, after the bricks were made for the cathedral, a pit remained that filled with water and turned into a pond, named "cathedral pond." In 1847, a strong fire caused significant damage to the Ascension Cathedral, but it was later repaired, and elements of Byzantine architecture appeared in its appearance. In 1887, city clock bells were installed on the cathedral's bell tower.

The church was a five-domed structure without columns, with a long refectory and a bell tower topped with an onion dome. The refectory contained the Sretensky and Kazan chapels. In the second half of the 19th century, the cathedral had a large congregation: it was attended by 2,058 townspeople and 1,808 villagers. In 1883, a red-brick chapel was built next to the cathedral, intended for collecting donations. Inside the chapel was a niche with a metal door, locked, with a slot for donations. The collected funds were removed daily by the cathedral's cleric.

In the 1910s, the All Saints Cemetery Church and the Old Believer Nikolskaya Church were attached to the Ascension Cathedral. In 1934, the cathedral was closed, and in 1937 it was reconstructed beyond recognition, turning it into a House of Culture. The decor was changed to a constructivist style, and new extensions appeared.