Contact: Kara O’Keeffe
608-261-9596
kara.okeeffe@wisconsinhistory.org

Madison, Wis. – The Wisconsin Historical Society has announced the listing of the Luther Memorial Church in Madison, Dane County, in the National Register of Historic Places. National Register designation provides access to certain benefits, including qualification for grants and for rehabilitation income tax credits, while it does not restrict private property owners in the use of their property.

Luther Memorial Church is one of the finest examples of Neo-Gothic Revival style architecture in the entire city of Madison. As well, its architectural design is a product of the renowned and prolific architectural firm, Claude & Starck. The addition by Madison architect Reginald Stehr is an excellent example of modern design which interprets the Neo-Gothic style of the church utilizing the Gothic vocabulary in a complimentary, yet restrained, manner. Neo-Gothic Revival characteristics exhibited on Luther Memorial Church include its steeply-pitched roof, projecting bays with parapeted gables, buttresses, pointed-arch openings with tracery, and prominent square tower exhibiting crenellation, finials, and tracery.

Unlike many Neo-Gothic Revival style churches that exhibit a more horizontal form of Gothic architecture, Luther Memorial Church’s verticality is pronounced as seen in its primary façade stained glass window, and soaring tower. This stunning church stands apart in the community as a preeminent example of the Neo-Gothic Revival style in Madison.

The register is the official national list of historic properties in America deemed worthy of preservation and is maintained by the National Park Service in the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Wisconsin Historical Society administers the program within Wisconsin. It includes sites, buildings, structures, objects and districts that are significant in national, state or local history, architecture, archaeology, engineering or culture.

To learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin, visit www.wisconsinhistory.org/hp.

About the Wisconsin Historical Society

The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. For more information, visit wisconsinhistory.org.

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