Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist (Milwaukee)

The former Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist, built in 1902, is an historic Christian Science church edifice located at 1036 North Van Buren Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[2] In 1980 the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.[3] On May 17, 1983, Sixth Church was made a locally designated historic site by the city of Milwaukee.[4]

Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist
November 2010
Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist (Milwaukee) is located in Wisconsin
Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist (Milwaukee)
Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist (Milwaukee) is located in the United States
Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist (Milwaukee)
Location1036 N. Van Buren St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Coordinates43°2′42″N 87°54′17″W / 43.04500°N 87.90472°W / 43.04500; -87.90472
Area0.4 acres (0.16 ha)
Built1902
ArchitectElmer Grey; Ellis & Coogan
Architectural styleGothic, Romanesque
NRHP reference No.80000168 [1]
Added to NRHPMarch 27, 1980

Mary Baker Eddy discovered Christian Science in Massachusetts in 1866 and founded the first church in 1879 in Boston. In 1883 the dentist Dr. Silas Sawyer and his wife Jenny of Milwaukee traveled to Boston to study Eddy's ideas on healing. They began to perform healings back in Milwaukee in January 1884 and began to hold meetings in Sawyer's dental parlor. In October 1884 they organized the Christian Scientists Association of Wisconsin - the second official C.S. association in the world. In 1889 the church in Milwaukee was organized.[5]

In 1902 the association was ready for a new building. They hired architect Elmer Grey, who was then based in Milwaukee, but later moved to California where he designed Christian Science churches in Los Angeles and Long Beach. Grey designed the red brick building trimmed with red sandstone, with a rectangular footprint and a gable roof. Most Christian Science churches at this time were styled Neoclassical, but Grey gave this building some Gothic Revival features (the faint lancet in some arches, the buttresses on the front wall, and the tall chimney) and some Romanesque Revival features (the round arch above the door, the large arch above that, and the asymmetric placement of the chimney). Inside is a nave with side aisles, lit by amber windows in the dormers above. On one side is a reading room with a green-tiled fireplace.[5]

Today the building is occupied by Brew City Church.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ "Sixth Church of Christ Scientist". Wisconsin Historical Society. January 2012. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  3. ^ Milwaukee Historic Photos: Sixth Church
  4. ^ City of Milwaukee Local Designations list
  5. ^ a b Diane Turner (March 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist". National Park Service. Retrieved 2020-03-20. with two photos.
  6. ^ "brew city church". Brew City Church. Retrieved 2020-03-20.