Property Record
1529 N WISCONSIN AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | UNION METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 11968 |
| Location (Address): | 1529 N WISCONSIN AVE |
|---|---|
| County: | Racine |
| City: | Racine |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
| Section: | |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1881 |
|---|---|
| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2014 |
| Historic Use: | house of worship |
| Architectural Style: | Early Gothic Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | This little brick church has a cruciform floor plan with two half-octagon transept wings. This feature, common in larger churches and cathedrals, is rare at this small scale. The 4th Ward Union Sabbath School Association erected a building on this corner in 1858. When it burned down, in 1881, this structure was built to replace it. The CCB Gothic church once had an unusual steeple with an open belfry and an octagonal spire. Set above the entrance is a datestone explaining the two buildings on this corner. "The earliest church on this site was built in 1858 for the Union Sunday School Association, organized by members of the city's Protestant churches to accommodate people of all denominations living north of the Root River. St. John's Lutheran congregation held its first meetings here in 1862. The building was maintained by the Sunday School Association until 1881, when it burned to the ground. The deed was then transferred to the Union Methodist Episcopal Church, which built the building picture here in 1882. Originally the church had a wooden steeple with open belfry and octagonal spire; the steeple was destroyed by lightening in 1912. Interesting features include Gothic windows with raised brick moldings, and decorative bands below the eaves on the sides of the church. The two transepts (wings) are unusual for such a small building. Several congregations have used the church. It presently belongs to the Christ Congregationalists, descendents of Germans who emigrated from the Volga area of Russia during the 1890's." Renewing Our Roots: The Northside, Racine, Wisconsin, Preservation-Racine, Inc., not dated. |
|---|---|
| Bibliographic References: | ZIMMERMANN, RUSSELL "THE HERITAGE GUIDEBOOK" (HERITAGE BANKS 1976) The History of the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Racine, Eugene Walter Leach. Western Printing and Lithograph Co, Racine, WI, 1912. Renewing Our Roots: The Northside, Racine, Wisconsin, Preservation-Racine, Inc., not dated. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |