We're in the process of updating our website! Learn more about what that means and how you can help create history..
click zoom to display a high-res image
Property Location
| Location (Address) | 1136 S 5TH ST |
|---|---|
| County | Milwaukee |
| City/Village | Milwaukee |
| Township | |
| Unincorporated community | |
| Town | |
| Range | |
| Direction | |
| Section | |
| Quarter Section | |
| Quarter Quarter Section |
Property Features
| Year Built | 1879 |
|---|---|
| Additions | 1901 |
| Survey Date | 1988,1973 |
| Historic Use | house of worship |
| Architectural Style | Early Gothic Revival |
| Structural System | Steel Frame |
| Wall Material | Brick |
| Architect | Otto C. Uehling |
| Other Buildings On Site | |
| Demolished | No |
| Demolished Date | |
| Additional Comments | 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 WALKER'S POINT FILE. See H.O.W. Site File. The 1901 St. Stephen's Church was designed in the High Victorian Gothic style by Otto C. Uehling. It is a good but late example of this richly ornamented form. The tower and spire were constructed in 1879 for an earlier building. Milwaukee Landmark. The congregation dates to 1854, when south side members of Kilbourntown's Trinity Lutheran Church established St. Stephen's. With its pointed arches and soaring sense of verticality, St. Stephen's recalls the other Gothic Revival churches built in the late nineteenth-century. At the same time, St. Stephen's is untraditional in being Milwaukee's first steel-framed church building. Large north- and south-side transept windows, with their spiky Gothic tracery, highlight St. Stephen’s elaborate exterior. The church's symmetrical composition and towering central steeple are typical of Milwaukee's German-inspired Gothic Revival ecclesiastical architecture. Its steeple was built in 1879 as part of the earlier church, and retained when the church body was rebuilt in 1902. The steeple houses one of the Midwest's few operational, weight-powered tower clocks. St. Stephen's richly finished interior boasts an intricately carved, natural oak altarpiece, and a fine pipe organ, its ranks of pipes concealed behind a paneled oak case. Sunlight shimmers through a rich palette of colors in the large stained-glass transept windows. By night, scores of bare electric light bulbs, arranged in a starburst pattern on the arched plaster ceiling illuminate the nave. 1973: "This colorful, vivacious Gothic Revival church edifice was erected for the south side's second Lutheran congregation, organized by German-speaking members of this denomination in 1854. It is the fourth church occupied by the congregation...incorporates the tower and spire of their third church fabric. Inside and out, the church looks much as it did... in 1902. Alterations and Additions (as of 1973): As indicated , the present church incorporate the tower and spire of and earlier St. Stephen's Church--specifically, the tower and spire added in 1879 to the church built for the congregation in 1866. When the new fabric was erect in 1901-02, the older tower and spire were veneered with Indiana brick and trimmed with Bedford stone to match the early 20th century construction. Since 1902 there have been only minor changes to the interior, most recent of them, apparently, carried out on the occasion of the congregation's centennial in 1954. At this time the original pulpit was removed and the interior redecorated. Builders: William Zieman, carpenter; American Bridge Company, iron contractor; Albert Koening and Son, masons." "Architect Uehling's Gothic Revival design for St. Stephen's Lutheran Church is unusually vivacious and ornamental for the date, when more subdued versions of the Gothic were in vogue; and it is further enlivened by the exterior color scheme in which gray and ivory foundation and trim contrast for a congregation whose history dates back to 1854, when south side members of Kilbourntown's Trinity Lutheran Church established St. Stephen's." Pagel, Mary Ellen & Virginia A. Palmer, University Extension University of Wisconsin, Guides to Historic Milwaukee: Walker's Point and South, 1969. |
| Bibliographic References | A. PLAQUE. B. DATE STONE. C. MILWAUKEE HISTORIC BUILDINGS TOUR: WALKER'S POINT (COMMERCIAL), CITY OF MILWAUKEE DEPARTMENT OF CITY DEVELOPMENT, 1994. Pagel, p. 17. National Register Nomination Form. Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. "Centennials," The Lutheran Witness, LXXIII, August 17, 1954, 1. History of Milwaukee, Chicago, 1881, 908-909, 934-935. Pagel, Mary Ellen and Palmer, Virginia A., Guides to Historic Milwaukee: Walker's Point and South, Milwaukee, 1969, 16-17. Palmer, Virginia A. and Wietczykowski, Mary Ellen, Walker's Point: Two Walking tours, Milwaukee, 1972, 27, 29. Peterson, Peg, "St. Stephen's Evangelical Lutheran Church," Walker's Point Preservation District Inventory prepared for Land Ethics, Inc., Milwaukee, 1970, and sources cited. 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. |
National And State Register Of Historic Places Listings
| National/State Register Listing Name | Walker's Point Historic District |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date | Dec 19, 1978 |
| State Register Listing Date | Jan 01, 1989 |
| Contributing | Yes |
Architecture & History Inventory
The Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory (AHI) is a digital source of information on historic buildings, structures, and objects that have been surveyed by the State Historic Preservation Office in Wisconsin. Each property has a digital record providing basic information about the property and images.
Contact Us
Questions?
Wondering about if your property is eligible or notice some information on this property needs to be updated, reach out today!
Email UsAttribution
For a credit line: Wisconsin Historical Society, Creator, Title, Unique Identifier.
The Unique Identifier can be found at the top or bottom of the page for each item. The name of a downloaded file is NOT the unique identifier.
For bibliographic citations please consult the UW-Madison Libraries Citation Research Guide to ensure compliance with appropriate style guidelines.
Access Property Records
Some properties have more materials (correspondence, clippings, historical information, etc.) not in the digital record. If a 'Site File' exists, it's noted in the 'Additional Comments' field. Contact us for an appointment to view these materials.
Go to top
