Zion Lutheran Church (Baltimore, Maryland)

	Zion Lutheran Church
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	Baltimore City Landmark
	Zion Lutheran Church in 2009
Location	400 East Lexington Street,(original bldg. facing North Gay Street), City Hall/War Memorial Plaza, Baltimore, Maryland, 21202
Coordinates	39°17′29″N 76°36′37″W / 39.29139°N 76.61028°W
Built	1807-08 (original church, 1912-13 (western addition - "Aldersaal" [Parish House], Bell Tower, Parsonage, Gardens)
Architect	Strobel, Johann and Saumening, Henry
Architectural style	Georgian/Federal era - original church North German Hanseatic - western addition
NRHP reference No.	11000960
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	December 30, 2011
Designated BCL	1977

Zion Lutheran Church, also known as the Zion Church of the City of Baltimore (formerly known as the German Lutheran Reformed Church), is a historic Evangelical Lutheran church located in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, United States, founded 1755.

History

The congregation was founded in 1755 in order to serve the needs of Lutheran immigrants from Germany, as well as Germans from Pennsylvania who moved to Baltimore. It has a bilingual congregation that provides sermons in both German and English. In 1762 the congregation built its first church on Fish Street (later East Fayette Street). By 1773, a new church constitution had replaced the church's earlier core document,^[2] and eventually, the 1762 structure was also replaced by a bigger building, the current Zion Church on North Gay Street, erected from 1807 to 1808 in a Gothic style.^[3] An additional expansion of the church to the west along East Lexington Street to North Holliday Street composed of an "Adlersaal" (Parish House), bell tower, parsonage and an enclosed garden designed of Hanseatic North German architecture was constructed under Rev. Julius K. Hofmann in 1912-1913. In the late 1920s, the entire block south of the church was razed to form a monumental square (known as War Memorial Plaza or, less frequently, as "City Hall Plaza") opposite the Baltimore City Hall of 1875 on the western side and construction at the eastern end of the War Memorial Building with an auditorium, historical exhibit area and veterans organizations offices. On the south side of the church buildings facing the plaza, a new headquarters for the Baltimore City Fire Department was constructed in a Georgian-Federal style complementing the original Zion Church around the corner.

German-language sermons have been provided for over 250 years at Zion Church, the only church left in Maryland still holding weekly German-language services. The church participates in the annual Maryland German Festival and is a member of the German-American Citizens Association of Maryland.

Zion Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.^[4]

People

The composer George Frederick Boyle was married at the church.

The inscription reads: "This piece of the Berlin Wall stood near Lichterfelde until broken by the sledgehammer of Mr. Rick DeLisle on November 11, 1989, at 6:50 am. Donated by WMIX 106.5 FM Baltimore and dedicated to those who crossed and those who gave their lives in the attempt." — A piece of the Berlin Wall at Zion Church, Baltimore, MD.

References

^ "National Register of Historic Places Listings". Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 12/27/11 through 12/30/11. National Park Service. 2012-01-06.
^ Hofmann, Julius (October 15, 1905). A History of Zion Church of the City of Baltimore, 1755-1897. Baltimore: C.W. Schneidereith & Sons. p. 20. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
^ Susan Detherage (August 2010). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Zion Lutheran Church" (PDF). Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
^ "Zion Lutheran Church". National Park Service. Retrieved 2012-08-08.

External links

Zion Church official website
Zion Lutheran Church, Baltimore City, including undated photo, at Maryland Historical Trust
Official website of the church
Church history from RootsWeb
Church information on About.com
Church history from Monument City blog
Zion Church of the City of Baltimore

[nps-1] "National Register of Historic Places Listings". Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 12/27/11 through 12/30/11. National Park Service. 2012-01-06.

[2] Hofmann, Julius (October 15, 1905). A History of Zion Church of the City of Baltimore, 1755-1897. Baltimore: C.W. Schneidereith & Sons. p. 20. Retrieved 6 January 2016.

[mht_ihp-3] Susan Detherage (August 2010). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Zion Lutheran Church" (PDF). Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved 2016-03-01.

[4] "Zion Lutheran Church". National Park Service. Retrieved 2012-08-08.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Maryland
Topics	Contributing property Keeper of the Register Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Property types
Lists by county	Allegany Anne Arundel Baltimore County Calvert Caroline Carroll Cecil Charles Dorchester Frederick Garrett Harford Howard Kent Montgomery Prince George's Queen Anne's Somerset St. Mary's Talbot Washington Wicomico Worcester
Lists by city	Baltimore: (Central North and Northwest West and Southwest East and Northeast South and Southeast)
Other lists	Bridges National Historic Landmarks
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Portal:National Register of Historic Places

v t e Ethnic history of Baltimore
Groups	African Americans Africans Appalachian Americans Asian Americans Caribbeans Czechs Ethiopians French Germans Greeks Hispanics and Latinos Irish Italians Jews Koreans Lithuanians Native Americans Poles Russians Syrians Ukrainians White Americans
Ethnic enclaves	Chinatown/Little Ethiopia Corned Beef Row French Town Greektown Koreatown Little Appalachia Little Bohemia Little Italy Little Lithuania Little Poland Little Ukrainian Village Otterbein Spanish Town
Institutions	Baltimore American Indian Center Baltimore Hebrew University Bohemian National Cemetery Christ United Church of Christ Concordia Hall Grand Lodge Č.S.P.S. of Baltimore Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation Hebrew Orphan Asylum Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church Holy Rosary Church Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church Jewish Museum of Maryland Lithuanian Hall National Great Blacks In Wax Museum National Slavic Museum Oblate Sisters of Providence Otterbein Church Our Lady of Pompeii Church Polish Home Hall Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture Royal Theatre Russian Night School St. Alphonsus Church St. Casimir Church St. Elizabeth of Hungary St. Francis Xavier Church St. Leo's Church St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church St. Peter the Apostle Church Sts. Peter & Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church St. Vincent de Paul Church St. Wenceslaus in Baltimore Transfiguration of our Lord Russian Orthodox Church Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association Building Zion Lutheran Church
Events	Baltimore riot of 1968 2015 Baltimore protests
Media	Ethnic press in Baltimore (Baltimore Afro-American Baltimore Jewish Times Baltimore Times Baltimore Wecker Czas Baltimorski Der Deutsche Correspondent Latin Opinion Telegraf Where What When)

History

People

See also

References

External links