Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
Built between 1926 and 1928, Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church features Biblical scenes in its stained glass windows.
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Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church was established in 1876, when American-born members of Trinity German Lutheran Church founded their own English-speaking congregation and shifted affiliation to the Ohio Synod. It became an important mission church, helping to establish at least three more congregations in the next half-century. In 1924, the Ohio Synod endorsed the idea of a new home for Grace Church to serve as its representative church in the national capital and a potential force on moral issues. To that end, other congregations contributed to the construction, which began in 1926 and finished two years later.
The rock-faced limestone building was designed by Rochester native J.W.C. Corbusier, a Beaux Arts-trained church architect. It is dominated by a massive central tower and exhibits many characteristic neo-Gothic details, including lancet windows, quatrefoils, crenelation, pinnacles, and a timber-framed roof.
DC Inventory: May 23, 2013
