post-fire photographic survey of milwaukee's historic 1878 trinity lutheran church

trinity evangelical lutheran church sits near the corner of west highland avenue and north 9th street. originally established by german immigrants in 1847, the building, as it stood until may 2018, was designed by architect frederick velguth in german romanesque or gothic revival style. what remains of the cream city brick, a lightly colored brick manufactured locally, and sandstone details can be seen in some of the photos that follow.

as it stood before may 15^th, 2018, the church was a shining example of german architecture typical of downtown milwaukee in its early years. a celebrated landmark, honored with a milwaukee landmark designation in 1967 and placed on the national register of historic places in 2008, the building was almost completely decimated by fire on the afternoon of may 15^th.

image courtesy of fox6 now milwaukee.

image courtesy of fox6 now milwaukee.

image courtesy of fox6 now milwaukee.

after 85 fireman and an hour and fifteen minutes of battling the blaze, the church was left with barely its cruciform structure. two of the three towers remain, the third, southern steeple along with the structure’s roof casualties in the fire’s path of destruction.

below are never before seen photos from the towers scaffolding and temporary roof. these photos give an inside view on the reconstruction of this historic landmark along with a closer view of what architectural details survive.

additional images at street level: