Saint John's Evangelical Lutheran Church (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)

Coordinates: 43°2′55.72″N 87°55′19.01″W / 43.0488111°N 87.9219472°W / 43.0488111; -87.9219472
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other churches named St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, see St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church (disambiguation).
St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church Complex
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Nearest cityMilwaukee
Coordinates43°2′55.72″N 87°55′19.01″W / 43.0488111°N 87.9219472°W / 43.0488111; -87.9219472
Built1889
ArchitectHerman Paul Schnetzky;
Eugene R. Liebert
Architectural styleGothic Revival
NRHP reference No.92000459
Added to NRHPMay 18, 1992

St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church is a

Milwaukee, Wisconsin by a congregation with German roots. In 1992, the church and associated buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[1]
It is also designated a Milwaukee Landmark.

History

St. John's congregation was founded December 4, 1848, by

Wisconsin Synod. St. Johanneskirche grew for years, building schools in 1871 and 1877. By 1889, the congregation exceeded 2,500 members, and it was time for a new, larger building.[2]

St. John's hired Herman Paul Schnetzky, himself a German immigrant from Wriezen, to design the new church.[2] He and his understudy Eugene R. Liebert[4] designed it in a High Victorian Gothic style similar to what was popular in Germany at the time, perhaps taking cues from the tower of St. Peter's Church in Leipzig. It was built in 1889-90 by Johann Langenberger. As with the Trinity Church building, it features landmark spires of unequal height, one 127 feet (39 m) and the other 197 feet (60 m).[2] The taller steeple houses three bells, weighing more than 6 short tons (5.4 t).[citation needed] The main block of the church is gable-roofed with cream brick walls pierced by tall Gothic-arched windows. Inside, the auditorium is 2.5 stories tall, seating 1100, with a center-aisle layout and the apse at the north end, with an elaborate carved reredos and an elevated pulpit. The NRHP nomination considers St. John's to be important as an illustration of how Milwaukee's German-American architects were influenced by German architecture of the same period.[2] The church is considered to be one of the finest examples of German Lutheran church architecture in the United States.[citation needed]

Also in 1889, the congregation built a

stuccoed walls.[2]

St. John's conducted services solely in German until 1908. In that year services in English were added. The German services continued until 1985.[4]

Since its founding, St. John's has been the site of a number historical events including the founding of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America in 1872.[4] It has also hosted numerous Milwaukee and synod church events including the 2016 and 2019 Reformation Rally for the Urban Conference of Wisconsin Synod Churches in Milwaukee.

In 2015, the former caretaker's cottage underwent a restoration and now serves as the congregation's fellowship center. The church's organ was first built by Carl Barckhoff in 1890, and was rebuilt and enlarged by

Wangerin-Weickhardt
in 1919. Organ builder J. J. Miller, a member of the congregation has been actively working to restore and repair the organ.

The congregation has been served by vacancy pastors since 2019, but is actively calling a full time pastor.[4]

Photographs

  • Exterior View
    Exterior view
  • Interior - North
    Interior - northern view
  • Altar
    Altar
  • Organ
    Balcony and organ
  • Window
    Window
  • Nave
    Nave
  • Clock tower
    Clock tower
  • Parsonage
    Parsonage
  • Balcony stairway
    Balcony stairway
  • Balcony and organ
    Balcony and organ
  • The Four Gospels window
    The Four Gospels Window
  • Cartaker's cottage
    Caretaker's cottage

References

  1. ^ "St. John's Evang. Lutheran Church Complex - Church". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Les Vollmert (1991-11-08). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church Complex". National Park Service. Retrieved 2020-03-11. with one photo.
  3. ISBN 978-1-152-02689-6
    . Retrieved 18 August 2011. german lutheran south side milwaukee.
  4. ^ a b c d "St. John's on the Hillside - About Us". St. John's on the Hillside. Retrieved 2020-03-12.

External links

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