A Muskego church wants to demolish its underused, 117-year-old building, but preservationists hope it can be saved
MUSKEGO - The historic church stands picture-perfect, a postcard-like image.
With its beige-brick edifice, St. Paul's Lutheran Church's second building was erected in 1905 along Janesville Road to stand tall and elegant in a rural community, many decades in advance of the emergence of the city of Muskego as an upscale lake municipality.
The community has changed, and so has the church's congregation, which now views the historic building through a different lens.
In an online letter on St. Paul's website, church officials on May 20 acknowledged they had reached a "difficult decision" to fully phase out the 117-year-old building, ultimately leading to its demolition at some point.
"As the congregation begins to plan for future additions, the congregation approved taking this church building down so that we can preserve elements of the building in new and remodeled construction so that we might continue to honor the gospel ministry that took place in this building," the letter said, adding: "There are no plans for demolition in the immediate future.
The church, S66 W14325 Janesville Road, pledged to offer tours to both the congregation and the community before any demolition begins.
The decision is purely financial, given the limits of the church building that preceded the implementation of standards already in place at St. Paul's newer facility, built in 1978, behind the 1905 facility, the church said.
"For the last 44 years, this building has not been used regularly," the church said in its letter. "The lack of parking, handicapped accessibility, adequate bathrooms and air conditioning makes refurbishing this building for future ministry use impractical.
"While St. Paul’s celebrates the ministry that took place in this building, it was determined that the investment of ministry dollars to preserve a vacant building is not good use of the resources God has given us."
St. Paul's church administrative officials did not return phone calls seeking more information on the decision, including the timeline for demolition and what aspects might be preserved through remodeling.
Should St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Muskego be preserved?
Local preservationists are distraught over the plan.
A Muskego Historical Society's Facebook post about the anticipated demise of the 117-year-old building generated 100 comments, specifically to the question "What would you do to save this Muskego landmark?"
Some residents suggested the site should become a historical landmark or preserved by some other means, including starting a GoFundMe account to support the necessary renovation work.
One person noted that a relative is buried in the church's cemetery, which surrounds three sides of the 1905 structure on a campus that also includes a school and day care center.
No one from the historical society was available for an interview. An officer, who asked not to be quoted, acknowledged being aware of the church's decision, but also noted that the organization has no role in it and hasn't met in some time.
St. Paul's Lutheran Church has a history almost as deep as Muskego, which was established as a town in 1838 on land that was previously a Native American village. The church erected its first building in 1838 on the same site of the 1905 church.
More: Here's a look at seven 19th-century church buildings in the Milwaukee suburbs.
More: Volunteers restore historic Pewaukee church
Contact Jim Riccioli at (262) 446-6635 or james.riccioli@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jariccioli.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Historic Muskego church, built in 1905, to be demolished for expansion
