| 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.
See the Houses of Worship Survey Form. HABS WI-161.
The brick Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church was built in 1849 and had a tower and steeple added in 1862. [A]. V. Schulte designed the church structure and Schmidtner designed the steeple. Interior alterations occurred in 1863, 1874 and 1890.
"During the late 1840s, Father Saltzmann, young assistant pastor of St. Mary's Church on Broadway, saw the need for a church closer to German-speaking Roman Catholics living on Milwaukee's south side. He collected funds for this purpose, purchased lots from George Walker and retained the services of the German-born architect, carpenter and builder who had designed St. Mary's and St. John's Cathedral. Lumber, brick and considerable labor were contributed by parishoners." Pagel, Mary Ellen & Virginia A. Palmer, University Extension University of Wisconsin, Guides to Historic Milwaukee: Walker's Point and South, 1969.
Church was dedicated on 9/24/1850.
Holy Trinity is influenced by German Zopfstil architecture, a baroque variation of classical design. It was popular in Germany in the 1840s, as the first wave of German immigrants arrived in Milwaukee. When Milwaukee’s southside neighborhoods became more Hispanic after 1960, the church changed its name to include Our Lady of Guadalupe, reflecting its growing membership.
The Catholic immigrants from southern Germany and Austria that settled in Walker's Point tapped German-born Victor Schulte to design their parish church. Holy Trinity was built in 1850, and its octagonal tower, designed by German-trained architect, Leonard Schmidtner, was completed in 1862. Holy Trinity exhibits a “pioneer” simplification of Zopfstil design, with modest baroque elements. Its restrained Zopfstil influences include its round-arched windows, a large tower centered on the front of the building, and a low-pitched roof. The chaste facades have plain brick pilasters defining each single-windowed bay. Brickwork accents include round-arch corbeling around the building, and a "paneled" balustrade and blind, round-arched windows on the main elevation. The church interior retains its mid-nineteenth-century decoration. Minimal alterations include the installation of the pipe organ in 1878 and the addition of three richly carved wooden altarpieces in 1890.
It is also a contributing resource in the Walker's Point Historic District (listed: 12/19/78).
Covenant/Easement: From 5/19/1978 to 5/19/2018. A 'covenant file' exists for this property. It may contain additional information such as photos, drawings and correspondence. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. THE DATE OF CONSTRUCTION IS FROM "HOLY TRINITY CHURCH" BY W. BRUCE.
B. MILWAUKEE HISTORIC BUILDINGS TOUR: WALKER'S POINT (RESIDENTIAL), CITY OF MILWAUKEE DEPARTMENT OF CITY DEVELOPMENT, 1994.
Pagel, p. 6.
National Register Nomination Form.
Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript.
Historic Walker's Point, Inc., A Guide to Historic Walker's Point, 1978.
Pagel, Mary Ellen & Virginia A. Palmer, University Extension University of Wisconsin, Guides to Historic Milwaukee: Walker's Point and South, 1969. |
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