First Lutheran Church is a historic

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

church in

downtown Dayton Downtown Dayton is the central business district of Dayton, Ohio, United States. Major reinvestment in the downtown area began heavily in the mid-1990s, and continues today with $2 billion in residential, commercial, health, and transportation de ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Constructed in the 1900s for a large congregation, its architecture includes numerous elements seen in older grand churches, and it has been named a

historic site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been re ...

Congregational history

First Lutheran was established in mid-1839. After a time of worshipping in a store owned by a charter member, the congregation erected their first church building in what is now downtown Dayton. Although several different buildings have housed the congregation since 1839, all have been located in the downtown area. It has parented several other Dayton-area Lutheran churches: the members planted six congregations at different times, and political issues related to the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

caused an acrimonious split in 1864, after which the minority formed a separate congregation.MS-212: The Records of the First Lutheran Church of Dayton, Ohio
.

Wright State University Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio, United States. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in ...

Archives, 2010-10, 3. Accessed 2014-09-26. Once a massive congregation, with approximately 2,500 names on the roll in 1948, the congregation has experienced challenges from

suburbanization Suburbanization (American English), also spelled suburbanisation (British English), is a population shift from historic core cities or rural areas into suburbs. Most suburbs are built in a formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence ...

. According to denominational statistics, the congregation's membership fell from 457 to 78 between 2000 and 2013, and average attendance at worship services fell from 125 to 70, although the latter number represented an increase from averages in the thirties from 2007 to 2011.

Church building

Construction on the congregation's two- story original building began in 1841, two years after the congregation was organized, although it was not ready for worship until more a year later, and the second story was only added three years after the first story was completed. The congregation later erected several other buildings elsewhere downtown, culminating in the construction of the current building in 1906. The present building, a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

structure, is a rusticated stone building designed by Peters, Burns, and Pretzinger. Its general appearance was intended to resemble that of the most prominent Lutheran churches in Europe, so the architects included

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

portraits of certain of the

Twelve Apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...

and

Four Evangelists In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists are Matthew the Apostle, Matthew, Mark the Evangelist, Mark, Luke the Evangelist, Luke, and John the Evangelist, John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four canonical Gospel accounts ...

, traditional details such as label stops with

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a practice of who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet '' de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that ...

s, and a painted ceiling with visible structural elements. Among the most prominent aspects of the overall design are a central tower tall, tall but thin

ogive An ogive ( ) is the roundly tapered end of a two- or three-dimensional object. Ogive curves and surfaces are used in engineering, architecture, woodworking, and ballistics. Etymology The French Orientalist Georges Séraphin Colin gives as ...

windows, and the use of stone with multicolored

veins Veins () are blood vessels in the circulatory system of humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are those of the pulmonary and fetal c ...

for the exterior walls. It is the only extant downtown church in the Gothic Revival style.Owen, Lorrie K., ed. ''Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places''. Vol. 2. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999, 1038.

Preservation

In early 1983, First Lutheran Church was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, qualifying because of its historically significant architecture. It is one of five Dayton churches with this distinction; the others, all

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, are scattered among various city neighborhoods, and only

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus () is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is p ...

is located downtown.

References

External links

Congregational website
{{National Register of Historic Places Churches completed in 1907 Churches in Dayton, Ohio Gothic Revival church buildings in Ohio Lutheran churches in Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Montgomery County, Ohio Stone churches in Ohio Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio