Property Record
N56 W6093 E PORTLAND RD
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH |
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| Other Name: | OZAUKEE BAPTIST CHURCH |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 13311 |
| Location (Address): | N56 W6093 E PORTLAND RD |
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| County: | Ozaukee |
| City: | Cedarburg |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
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| Year Built: | 1905 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1975 |
| Historic Use: | house of worship |
| Architectural Style: | Late Gothic Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Clapboard |
| Architect: | WILLIAM HILGEN |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
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| 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. POINTED ARCH WINDOWS W/ TRACERYBARGEBOARDS IN GABLESBELFRY TURRET W/ PYRAMIDAL ROOF W/ FLARED EAVESTURRET W/ POINTED ARCH ARCADE W/ KEYSTONE MOTIF Additional Comments, 2023: Architecture: The Methodist Episcopal Church sits on a small corner lot in a residential area of Cedarburg. The church has a gabled ell form and details from the Gothic Revival architectural style. The church has an intersecting steeply-pitched gable roof with a square tower at the intersection of the walls of the northeast and northwest elevation walls. The walls are covered with clapboards and the building sits on a stone foundation. Bargeboards that create a trefoil design decorate the roofs of the northeast and northwest elevations. Brackets decorate the gable ends and the walls are accented with corner board and wooden water table boards. The northeast elevation of the church is punctuated with a large gothic-arched opening filled with a tripartite gothic-arched window. In the gable peak is a small opening filled with tripartite gothic arched windows. The northwest elevation has the same openings and windows, but the large window is also flanked with two additional gothic-arched windows. The tower has an open belfry with gothic arches and is decorated with pilasters, a spire roof, two rectangular openings, and one opening with two single light windows. The main entrance is in the tower and was originally covered with an open porch that was later removed in favor of a large overhang. Recently, this space has been enclosed with an entryway that matches the walls of the church. Two large wooden doors cover the entrance. The rear or southwest elevation has a small original ell with a gable roof and returned eave. A larger newer shed-roofed ell is attached to this ell. Attached to the southeast elevation is a long shed-roofed ell. Both modern ells were added in a 1966 renovation of the church. The interior features a foyer with modern details and modern double doors into the nave. A large opening with louvered doors also sits in the wall between the foyer and the nave. The nave has a large arched plaster ceiling, plaster walls, and carpeted floors. All of the windows are filled with modern glazing that has a rough finish in a diamond pattern. The sanctuary is recessed under an arched opening and in this area, some of the original flooring has been exposed. Plywood covers part of the sanctuary floor. Behind the sanctuary is a hallway that leads into the modern additions. History: Cedarburg was a heavily ethnic German community in the 19th century and the churches reflected that ethnicity: Lutheran and Catholic. But, in 1900, some residents gathered for protestant services and formed a Methodist Episcopal Church. The congregation completed this building in 1905. In 1960, the Ozaukee Baptist Church purchased the building and completed small additions and some remodeling in 1966. The church exterior was later also covered with vinyl siding. For about the last 10 years, the building has been privately owned and has been given a business use zoning. Recently, renovation of the building has begun, including the removal of the vinyl siding and a rebuilding of the entryway to the church. (Carol Cartwright 2023) |
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| Bibliographic References: | ZIMMERMANN, RUSSELL "THE HERITAGE GUIDEBOOK" (HERITAGE BANKS 1976) |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |