Property Record
721 E SILVER SPRING DR
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | First Church of Christ Scientist |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 184943 |
| Location (Address): | 721 E SILVER SPRING DR |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Whitefish Bay |
| Township/Village: | |
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| Year Built: | 1950 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2011 |
| Historic Use: | house of worship |
| Architectural Style: | Colonial Revival/Georgian Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Hugo C. Haueser |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | Yes |
| Demolished Date: | 2020 |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
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| Additional Information: | Meeting in private homes since November 1942, the first official Christian Scientist services were held in Whitefish Bay in 1943 in a rented storefront at 627 E. Henry Clay Street. Soon after, a second storefront was rented next door to accommodate Sunday school classes that were previously being held at Henry Clay School. In 1945, the congregation purchased land across the street which was soon determined to be insufficient in size. In 1947, the church sold this land on Henry Clay Street to the Whitefish Bay Women’s Club for construction of its clubhouse and purchased a larger property at the corner of Silver Spring Drive and Danbury Road. Completed in 1951 as designed by architect Hugo C. Haueser, the first services in the current First Church-Christ Scientist were held that December. The facility, located at 721 E. Silver Spring Drive, included a two-story education wing. The sanctuary was designed with opera-style seating instead of pews and seats 400. The church’s pipe organ, originally from the Uihlein House on Lake Drive, was donated by the Claudia Uihlein. A Christian Scientist Reading Room, which was originally located in the Henry Clay storefront church and then moved into the new church library, opened at the Fox Bay Theatre Building on Silver Spring Drive in January of 1967. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Building permit records on file at Whitefish Bay Village Hall. Whitefish Bay Historical Research Project. Volume 9. Mimi Bird Collection, Whitefish Bay: Whitefish Bay Public Library |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |