This month’s ‘Spot a Clock’ is currently Bethel Baptist Church, located at 2030 West North Avenue, Milwaukee.
The building was originally Evangelical Lutheran Zions Kirche U.A.C. The Zion congregation was founded in 1883 in response to overcrowding at Immanuel Lutheran located at 12th Street and Garfield. The architect of the church was Carl F. Ringer, Sr. De- signed in the German Gothic Revival style, the church was constructed in 1883, with the side towers added in 1908 by the architectural firm Bruns and Bruns.
In addition to its vibrant red trim, the church is notable for its 4-dial tower clock. According to Fredrick M. Shelly’s summary of U.S. tower clock installations, the clock movement is a Nels Johnson clock. Nels Johnson also produced the clock movement that originally operated in the clock tower of Milwaukee’s City Hall.
The steeple also houses three bronze bells, weighing 1,900 pounds, 1,100 pounds, and 800 pounds. The bells were produced locally by the Campbell Centennial Bell foundry, with an 1886 purchase price of 17 cents per pound. The church is constructed with Milwaukee’s iconic Cream City brick.
The church was used by the Lutheran congregation until 1967, which relocated to Menomonee Falls. The vacated church was subsequently purchased by a Baptist congregation.
