This month’s ‘Spot a Clock’ is Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, located at 1046 North 9th Street, Milwaukee. The picture below was taken during a Doors Open Milwaukee event in 2016. As with many Lutheran churches in the city, Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church was founded by German immigrants. The congregation was founded in 1847, and is the oldest Missouri Synod church in the city.

The architect of the church was Fredrick Velguth, who designed the church in the German Romanesque/Gothic Revival style. The church was built in 1878. The church was entered into the National Registry of Historic Places in 1979. According to the City of Milwaukee’s Final Historic Designation Study Report, “The clock was made in Howard, New York, although it has since been electrified.” A review of the E. Howard Co. clock records available online through the NAWCC did not identify a listing for the clock movement or dials.

On May 15, 2018, a devastating fire erupted at the church during renovations. One of the spires collapsed, as did the roof over the main section of the church. Subsequent newspaper articles indicate it will be possible to rebuild the church. A recent visit found a fence around the perimeter, and a sign asking for support for the rebuilding. This event is a reminder that our historic buildings are often one-of-a-kind structures, and cannot be easily replaced.