| Saint Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church | |
| Location: | 1204, 1213, 1214, and 1215 S. Eighth St. Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Nearest City: | Milwaukee |
| Coordinates: | 43.0189°N -87.9214°W |
| Built: | 1885 |
| Architect: | Andrew Elleson |
| Architecture: | Victorian Gothic |
| Added: | September 25, 1987 |
| Refnum: | 87001736 |
St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church, or Iglesia Luterana San Pedro, is a historic church complex located in the Walker's Point neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[1] [2]
St. Peter's congregation was founded February 14, 1860, by German immigrants, with 34 charter members. In 1861, the congregation bought a frame building for its first church and moved it to the corner of South Eighth and West Scott Streets. In 1866, the congregation built a small brick-clad Gothic-influenced church designed by John Rugee. In 1873, the congregation added the frame parsonage which still survives, and, in 1879, the school building.[1] In 1884, 13 families were released from the congregation to establish Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church. The congregation is affiliated with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS).[3]
The current church building was designed by Milwaukee architect Andrew Elleson in Victorian Gothic style and built in 1885. It has a cruciform floor-plan, with a massive square tower on each side of the front entrance - one 100feet tall and the other 165feet tall. The pedimented gables on the larger tower have a German flavor, similar to St. Mary's in Lubeck. The spires on the towers and the peak of the gable are topped with crosses. The interior is well-preserved, with the altar standing in a tall apse, and in front of an antique white wood reredos. To the altar's left is an elevated goblet-shaped pulpit. A U-shaped balcony rings the sides and back of the nave, a common feature of 18th century churches in Germany. A large pipe organ commands the back.[1]
Other remaining structures in the complex are:
In 1860, the congregation and building rose out of a working-class neighborhood of modest homes of immigrants. The south side is not so different in 1987.[1]