| 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.
2018 survey report write-up: Sheathed with limestone, this Neo-Gothic Revival-style church is comprised of a central gabled wing that is oriented on a north/south axis, from which gabled wings with parapet endwalls extend to both the east and west at both its north and south ends. Its steeply pitched rooflines are covered with tile. A one-story wing rests within the juncture created between the central block and the westwardly extending wing on the north and which provides handicapped access to the building. The primary entrance elevation faces Grant Street and features a two-story, Gothic-arched opening trimmed with cut stone, the upper portion of which carries a large, stained-glass window with stone tracery. A pair of Gothic-arch entrance portals rests beneath the window, each including a wooden, double-door with a carved stone tympanum. Separating the entryway from the upper window is a line of intricately carved stonework of vines and branches, while additional symbols (Agnus Dei, the Creator’s hand symbol and the dove) are located immediately below. Slightly projecting wings near the south end provide additional entrance points to the narthex. The side walls of the central wing include projecting one-story side aisles with Gothic-arched, stained-glass windows with stone tracery above. Regularly arranged windows along both the two-story wings at the north end are largely comprised of multiple-light casement examples and feature stone surrounds with quoining.
Designed by St. Paul architect Frank A. Abrahamson, Zion Lutheran Church was completed in 1953. Zion Lutheran Church was established in 1874 and, two years later, a frame church was erected at the northeast corner of Seymour and Plumer streets. In 1882, a parsonage was built to the north of that church. Worship services were held in that first church until a new, brick Gothic edifice was completed in 1884, after which the original church was converted for use as a school. Fire destroyed the original, frame-constructed church building and parsonage in 1892, after which a new brick parsonage was built at 508 N. 5th Street (no longer extant). The 1884 church served the congregation until completion of the subject church in 1953. With Orville Madsen of Minneapolis serving as contractor, ground was broken on 21 October 1951 and the cornerstone laid on 20 April 1952. Dedication services were held on 15 March 1953. Ten years later, dedication services were held for the installation of four stained-glass windows created by Erhard Stoettner of T.C. Esser Studios in Milwaukee. In 1962, the congregation built the one-story school that stands east of the church, which was designed by Satre & Senescall of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. In 1979, the church changed affiliations from the Missouri Synod to the American Evangelical Lutheran Synod. The Zion Lutheran congregation continues to worship in the church. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Citations for 2018 survey information below: “Commemoration Booklet in Remembrance of the Dedication of the Third Zion Lutheran Church, Wausau, WI,” Booklet in Zion Lutheran Church file, Marathon County Historical Society Research Library; Malaguti & Norton, “Final Report: Intensive Historic Survey,” 187-188. |
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