| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office.
Map code 0709-133-2411-0.
2021 - Resurveyed. Stone and brick, gabled roof, pointed arch windows on side elevation, Contemporary brick façade, covered entry, modern windows.
Additional Comments, 2023:
Architecture:
St. John’s Lutheran Church consists of a main block that was originally constructed in 1906 in the late Gothic Revival Style. The 1906 church had a steeply pitched roof and two towers on the main elevation, one with a belfry and steeple and the other with battlements. The old church was constructed of cream bricks and had a raised foundation that was higher on the east elevation due to the east to west rise of the lot. The main block of the old church can still be seen on the east elevation where there are pointed arch windows, buttresses and a shallow steeply arched projecting gable.
The first alteration to the 1906 church occurred in the 1950s, when a two-story education wing was added to the west elevation. This wing has a flat roof, tan brick walls, and banks of openings filled with metal and glass windows. This wing is still extant. In 1961-62, a large new front was constructed on the church building. Both towers were removed and the roofline was made to slope down on the west elevation. The new front was clad with similar tan bricks as the education wing and features a large plain gabled wall with only a couple of tripartite metal and glass windows punctuating the lower part of the façade. A large stainless steel spire rises from this wall to form a small cross at the top.
The large new front was joined to the education wing by a one-story entrance ell. This ell has a flat roof and walls of metal and glass windows and doors. The roofline of the ell intersects with the gabled wall. The new front was designed by architects Steffen & Kemp of Wauwatosa, who specialized in modern religious buildings and additions in the mid-20th century.
Raymond Steffen was born in 1900 in Milwaukee. In 1928, he formed his design firm, R. O. Steffen, Inc. In 1945, he partnered with Thomas Lewis Kemp. Kemp was born in 1914 and was a draftsman in the 1930s. Between 1950-1969, Steffen & Kemp designed over 150 churches or additions to churches. The new front on St. John’s Church that Steffen & Kemp designed is a fine example of a contemporary design with a distinctive modernistic cross element.
The entrance ell is now used as a large meeting space. It has a carpeted floor, walls covered with drywall, and a lowered tile ceiling. The sanctuary of the church still features details from the original 1906 building. There are tall plaster walls, wood floors, and wooden pews. Large gothic arches accent the altar area that still retains its wooden alter and gothic detailed reredos. On one side of the altar is a large mural of Christ and St. Peter. On the east wall are the high-quality pictorial stained glass windows of the 1906 church.
History:
St. John’s Church was founded in 1856 as a German Lutheran congregation and in 1868 the members completed a wooden church building on this site. The church was remodeled in 1889. The congregation built a new late Gothic Revival church in 1906. A parsonage to the west was demolished for the education wing in the 1950s and the new enlarged front was added in 1961-62.
As a downtown Madison church, St. John’s has engaged in social programs for many years, including sponsoring refugees, operating a men’s shelter, creating programs to combat domestic abuse, and supporting the LGBTQ community.
(Carol Cartwright, 2023)
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