Salem Evangelical Church (also known as St. Michaels Ukrainian Catholic Church) is a modest Victorian Gothic church built in 1874 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. with It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 for its architectural significance, and for being "the oldest surviving church building in the near south side... associated with a German congregation." Milwaukee's near South Side was settled in the early 1850s by a mix of German immigrants and Yankees, with other immigrants joining later. In 1865 Zion Evangelical Church at 1418 West Greenfield launched a mission to serve the local German immigrants, which formed into Salem congregation in 1867. Salem initially bought a frame Lutheran church building, but by 1874 they had outgrown that, so constructed the building that is the subject of this article. The 1874 building is small and symmetric, with brick walls on a limestone foundation. Windows have lancet tops, identifying the architectural style as

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

. The windows are framed in shallow brick

pilasters In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wall ...

and a decorative pattern is worked into the brick under the

eaves The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural styl ...

. The front door is at the base of a square tower which rises to an octagonal wooden belfry, then a spire, with an onion-shaped bulb and a cross at the top. The unusual features are the high foundation and the bulb beneath the cross. The cost in 1874 was $6,849.34. A rectory was also built in 1874 - a modest 2-story brick Italianate-styled building with brick hood moulds above the square windows and two

oculus Oculus (a term from Latin ''oculus'', meaning 'eye'), may refer to the following Architecture * Oculus (architecture), a circular opening in the centre of a dome or in a wall Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Oculus'' (film), a 2013 American ...

windows facing the street. Salem worshiped in this church for 50 years, then moved to South Thirtieth and West Mitchell. At that point (1924) the 1874 building was bought by Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church, a congregation of

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

immigrants who were just introducing some services in English. They stayed in the building until 1933. In 1934 the building was occupied by the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Polish National Catholic Church The Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) is an independent Old Catholic church based in the United States and founded by Polish-Americans. The PNCC is not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church.http://www.saplv.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/ ...

. These were dissidents from

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

who did not acknowledge the Pope. They dissolved in 1953 when their priest retired. In 1953,

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

St. Michael's Catholic Church moved in, and is still there, the only Ukrainian Roman Catholic Church in Wisconsin. The icons and iconostatis inside are particular to this last denomination, and not original. The NRHP nomination recognizes the Salem Church building as the south side's oldest brick Gothic Revival church, the oldest surviving church building associated with a German congregation, and the best surviving example of modest churches built by pioneer congregations in new neighborhoods in the years after the Civil War.

References

{{reflist Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin Evangelical churches in Wisconsin Churches in Milwaukee Gothic Revival church buildings in Wisconsin Italianate architecture in Wisconsin Churches completed in 1874 Ukrainian-American history National Register of Historic Places in Milwaukee 1874 establishments in Wisconsin Italianate church buildings in the United States