| Additional Information: | 2019 City of Fitchburg survey recommendation write-up:
Set on a 7.2-acre parcel, and readily identified by its 100-foot-high tower, Memorial United Church of Christ was originally built in 1989, with additions completed in 2001 and 2006. The low-lying structure is dominated by its ground-hugging roofline. It rises minimally from the ground level and extends to cover the entrance at the north end of the building and exposes a continuous line of windows along its east elevation. The three circles of the tower, along with the three crosses at the top, reflect the three crosses on Calvary where Jesus died. On the interior, the communion table, pulpit, cross and baptismal font were made by church member Jim Tetzlaff, as were desks and cupboards in the office.
Designed by Helmut Ajango, the original portion of Memorial United Church of Christ was completed in 1989 at an approximate cost of $600,000. Formally established in 1917 in Madison, the congregation was originally known as Memorial Reformed Church and was comprised largely of Swiss that had moved from Green County to Madison for job opportunities. Their original meeting space was in the Grand Army of the Republic Hall (at present-day Martin Luther King Jr. Drive & Doty Street; no longer extant); however, by 1918, they had moved into their newly remodeled church building at 14 W. Johnson Street (formerly a residence). In 1931, the congregation joined the German Evangelical Church to form the Memorial Evangelical and Reformed Church and, in 1957, following the merger with the Congregational-Christian Church, the name changed again to Memorial United Church of Christ (UCC) and they moved to 1510 Madison Street. During the 1970s, the congregation began to dwindle. Shortly thereafter, the United Church of Christ began to consider the establishment of a new church in Fitchburg. The Memorial UCC members were asked if they would consider being the “core” of that new congregation and, with a vote of 60 to 37, the decision was made in 1986 to make the move (with some families choosing not to make the move). Between 1988 and 1989, more than eighty members contributed over 15,000 hours of labor into the construction of the building which included 8,000 square feet and 113 windows. Since 1989, two additions have been made to the church: a music wing was completed in 2001 and, five years later, a youth wing (including offices for the associate pastor and parish nurse) was added.
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| Bibliographic References: | For footnotes to 2019 survey write-up below, See the Historical & Architectural Resources Survey, City of Fitchburg, Dane County, Wisconsin, by Traci E. Schnell/tes | Historical Consulting, LLC, completed in 2019. |
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