St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church (Springfield, Ohio)

Last updated
St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church
St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church (Springfield, Ohio).jpg
Eastern facade
USA Ohio location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location27 N. Wittenberg Ave., Springfield, Ohio
Coordinates 39°55′33″N83°48′52″W / 39.92583°N 83.81444°W / 39.92583; -83.81444 Coordinates: 39°55′33″N83°48′52″W / 39.92583°N 83.81444°W / 39.92583; -83.81444
AreaLess than 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1897 (1897)
Architect Charles A. Cregar
Architectural style Romanesque Revival
NRHP reference No. 06000485 [1]
Added to NRHPJune 7, 2006

St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church is a historic Lutheran church in downtown Springfield, Ohio, United States. Founded as a German-speaking parish in Springfield's early days, it grew rapidly during its first few decades, and its present large church building was constructed in the 1890s under the direction of one of Springfield's leading architects. The congregation remains in the landmark church building, which has been named a historic site.

Contents

Early history

Springfield's First Lutheran congregation was organized in May 1841, [2] :494 and a separate group of German Lutherans began meeting soon afterward. After a period of worshipping in the county courthouse and in various rented properties, the group was formally organized in 1845 with a charter membership of seventy-five. A number of short-tenured ministers served the congregation, with six in succession over forty years, but by the 1880s the congregation's roll had approximately four hundred names, and its property was valued at $20,000. [2] :495 As the congregation continued to grow, the present church building was erected; the cornerstone was laid on November 3, 1895, and the finished building was consecrated on April 26, 1897. By 1908, the church property was valued at $50,000, and the membership had grown from four hundred individuals to four hundred and fifty families. This growth was accompanied by linguistic change: many members still worshipped in German, but English services had also begun by this time, facilitated by a minister who was fluent in both languages. [2] :496

Architecture

Designed by Charles A. Cregar, [1] one of Springfield's most prominent architects, [3] St. John's is a Romanesque Revival structure with a prominent corner tower. [4] Although built primarily of brick, [5] the walls also feature copious amounts of limestone and other types of stone. Asphalt is used for the roof, while the foundation is composed of a mix of sandstone and other types of stone. The main entrance is placed at the base of the tower, which features narrow arched windows on three stories below the tall louvering that shelters the belfry. Because the church sits on a street corner, two different sides of the building include massive gabled sections, each rising above groups of small windows. The building's two largest windows are found in these gables; both are far taller and broader than any door and any other window in the structure. [4]

Recent history

St. John's remains an active congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, conducting activities such as ministry to the poor, inter-church events, and day care service out of its 1897 church building. [6] In 2006, the church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, qualifying because of its historically significant architecture. It is one of six Cregar-designed buildings listed on the Register, along with St. Joseph's Catholic Church, the former Arcade Hotel, the former Municipal Building, the former Third Presbyterian Church, and St. Raphael's Catholic Church. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint John's Evangelical Lutheran Church (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)</span> Historic church in Wisconsin, United States

St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church is a Gothic Revival-styled church built in 1889 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by a congregation with German roots. In 1992, the church and associated buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also designated a Milwaukee Landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)</span> Historic church in Wisconsin, United States

St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church, or Iglesia Luterana San Pedro, is a historic church complex located in the Walker's Point neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nast Trinity United Methodist Church</span> United States historic place

The former Nast Trinity United Methodist Church, now known as The Warehouse Church, is a historic congregation of the United Methodist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Designed by leading Cincinnati architect Samuel Hannaford and completed in 1880, it was the home of the first German Methodist church to be established anywhere in the world, and it was declared a historic site in the late twentieth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John's Lutheran Church (Knoxville, Tennessee)</span> Historic church in Tennessee, United States

St. John's Lutheran Church is a historic Lutheran church located at 544 Broadway NW in Knoxville, Tennessee. The church building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, both individually and as a contributing property in the Emory Place Historic District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apostolic Bethlehem Temple Church</span> Historic church in Ohio, United States

The Apostolic Bethlehem Temple Church is a historic church building in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. A German Gothic Revival structure built in 1868, it was constructed as the home of the German Evangelical and Reformed Church, Cincinnati's oldest German Reformed Church. Founded in 1814, the church changed its name to "St. John's German Protestant Church" in 1874, although it remained in the German Reformed Church. This situation continued until 1924, when it departed for the American Unitarian Association and changed its name to "St. John's Unitarian Church." Little more than twenty years later, the congregation abandoned its old building, leaving it vacant until it was purchased by the present owners, a Pentecostal church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church (Highland Park, Michigan)</span> Historic church in Michigan, United States

The Prayer Temple of Love Cathedral is located at 12375 Woodward Avenue in Highland Park, Michigan. It was built in 1929 as the Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Lutheran Church (Dayton, Ohio)</span> Historic church in Ohio, United States

First Lutheran Church is a historic Lutheran church in downtown Dayton, Ohio, United States. Constructed in the 1900s for a large congregation, its architecture includes numerous elements seen in older grand churches, and it has been named a historic site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacred Heart Catholic Church (Dayton, Ohio)</span> United States historic place

Sacred Heart Catholic Church is a historic Catholic church building in downtown Dayton, Ohio, United States. Constructed at the end of the nineteenth century for a new parish, it closed in 1996, but was reopened in 2001 when a Vietnamese Catholic group began to use the church. This church building remains significant because of its grand architectural elements, which have led to its designation as a historic site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Mary's Catholic Church (Delaware, Ohio)</span> Historic church in Ohio, United States

St. Mary's Catholic Church is a historic Catholic parish church in the city of Delaware, Ohio, United States. Constructed in the 1880s, this grand building is home to a congregation established in the middle of the nineteenth century. Its grand style has long made it a community landmark, and it was named a historic landmark in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Henry's Catholic Church (St. Henry, Ohio)</span> United States historic place

St. Henry's Catholic Church is a historic Roman Catholic church in St. Henry, Ohio, United States. Built in the late nineteenth century, it remains the home of a functioning congregation, and it has been recognized as a historically significant building because of its architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Raphael's Catholic Church (Springfield, Ohio)</span> Historic church in Ohio, United States

St. Raphael's Church is a historic Catholic church in the city of Springfield, Ohio, United States. Established in the 1840s as Springfield's first Catholic parish, it uses a Gothic Revival church building, the towers of which hold a prominent spot in the city's skyline. As a work of a leading city architect, the building has been named a historic site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emanuel Lutheran Church of Montra</span> Historic church in Ohio, United States

The Emanuel Lutheran Church of Montra is a historic church in Jackson Township, Shelby County, Ohio, United States. Located in the unincorporated community of Montra, north-northeast of the county seat of Sidney, it is the congregation's second building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mechanicsburg United Methodist Church</span> Historic church in Ohio, United States

Mechanicsburg United Methodist Church is a historic Methodist congregation in the village of Mechanicsburg, Ohio, United States. Founded in the early nineteenth century, it is the oldest church in the village, and as such it has played a part in the histories of other Mechanicsburg churches. Its fifth and present church, a Gothic Revival-style structure erected in the 1890s, has been named a historic site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Joseph's Catholic Church (Springfield, Ohio)</span> Historic church in Ohio, United States

St. Joseph's Church is a historic Catholic church in the city of Springfield, Ohio, United States. Established in the 1880s to serve southeastern Springfield's growing Catholic population, it uses a tall Romanesque Revival church building, which was designed by a leading city architect; the building has been named a historic site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Presbyterian Church (Springfield, Ohio)</span> Historic church in Ohio, United States

Third Presbyterian Church is a historic former Presbyterian church building in Springfield, Ohio, United States. A Romanesque Revival building completed in 1894 along Limestone Street on the city's northern side, Third Presbyterian is one of the final buildings designed by prominent Springfield architect Charles A. Cregar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zion Lutheran Church (Cleveland, Ohio)</span> United States historic place

Zion Lutheran Church is a historic Lutheran church located along Prospect Avenue near downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Formed in the 1840s, the congregation built the present building shortly after 1900, along with an adjacent church school. Both buildings have been named historic sites. The school is no longer open.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Paul Lutheran Church (Davenport, Iowa)</span> Church in Iowa, United States

St. Paul Lutheran Church is located in central, Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The church's original property, which subsequently housed other Protestant congregations, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, but has since been torn down. The present complex was built in 1952 and contains two buildings that are contributing properties in the Vander Veer Park Historic District. The present church building was completed in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Luke's Lutheran Church</span> Historic church in New York, United States

Saint Luke's Lutheran Church, also known as The German Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of Saint Luke's and St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church, is a historic Lutheran church located on Restaurant Row at 308 West 46th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in the Theater District of Manhattan, New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casstown Lutheran Stone Church</span> Historic church in Ohio, United States

The Casstown Lutheran Stone Church is a historic former church building in the village of Casstown, Ohio, United States. Built in the late 1830s, it was home to one of the region's earliest Lutheran congregations for just a short time before being converted for profane use. Its solid stone construction has made it architecturally important, and it has been named a historic site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity Lutheran Church (Canton, Ohio)</span> United States historic place

Trinity Lutheran Church is a historic former Lutheran church in downtown Canton, Ohio, United States. Built in the 1880s for a flourishing congregation, it closed in the early 2010s, leaving behind a church building that has been named a historic site.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 Rockel, William M., ed. 20th Century History of Springfield, and Clark County, Ohio and Representative Citizens. Chicago: Biographical, 1908.
  3. Dabe, Melissa. "Explore Designs by Springfield's Finest Victorian Architect", Springfield News-Sun , 2012-08-23. Accessed 2014-02-24.
  4. 1 2 St John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Ohio Historical Society, 2007. Accessed 2014-02-24.
  5. Photograph in infobox
  6. St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, n.d. Accessed 2014-02-24.