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Bethlehem Church

Bethlehem Church image
Parent Issue
Day
1
Month
February
Year
1895
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Ann Arbor is a city of churches, and a number of handsome new church edifices have been erected here within the past few years, and the end is not yet. Through the kindness of the Detroit Tribune we are enabled this week to give our readers a correct cut of the new church building to be erected by the Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran church on Fourth avenue this year. As will be seen by the picture, it willbe one of the most handsome church structures in the city. Not only is the exterior architecturally beautiful, but the interior plan is one of niuch raerit, and the archi tect and congregation are to Lu greatly congratulated upon the good taste snown. Already the field boulders out of which the church is to be constructed are being drawn to the location of the new church building on Fourth avenue between William and Jefferson streets, just suuth of the church parsonage. There is only one matter of regret, and that is that the handsome building to be constructed is not placed on some prominent comer of the city. It will be a building well worthy of such a location. The church will be built, as we have stated above, of the handsome field boulders to be found around Ann Arbor, with Ohio sandstone trimmings. The main roof will be of slate, while the roof of the towers will be of tile. lts width at the widest part will be 80 feet and its extreme depth will be 100 feet. The windows will be of stained glass, and some handsome church designs are contemplated for the main windows. There are two towers, the top of the main tower being eighty feet above the ground. The other tower will be a short one, as shown in the cut. The height of the church is 60 feet. The audience room of the church will seat 800 people, and the gallery, which will extend across the front of the church between the towers, will seat 200 more, making a total seating capacity of 1.000. There are two entrances to the gallery, by way of each tower. The entrances to the church are at each of the front corners through the towers, and the aisles are so arranged as to lead from the entrances converging towards the pulpit. The aisles are raised eighteen inches higher at the entiances than at the pulpit, and the pews are placed in circular form. In each tower there are two sets of doors leading into the church, each set of ■doors leading to different aisles. In fact everything has been perfectly arranged for quickly seating the audiences and for quick exits in case ! of necessity. So much more carefully has this been planned for than in the other buildings of the city that besides these entrances already described there are doors placed at each of the other corners of the building, to be used as exits, and the people can also pass down and out of the two basement doors. In fact the church can be instantly emptied of people. The two niain aisles are five feet wide, the side aisles are three feet jwide, and the tniddle aisle, which does not extend the whole length, owing to the converging of the other aisles, is four feet wide. l'he organ and the choir are placed back of the pulpit. And on each side are rooms 13 x 15 feet in size, the one to be used as the pastor's study and the other as a choir room. The designs show that the overhead work in the audience room will be very fine. The woodwork wil l be quarter-sawed red oak and the best southern pine. In the basement is located the Sumlay school room 50 x 57 feet in size, two lare class rooms 14 x 29J4 feet each. Then there is a library room [2 x 14' feet in size, a boiler room 20 x 36 feet, a store rO'irn and two toilet rooms. In fact, it is a model basement for the uses for which it is designed and will undoubtedly accommodate the Sunday school, which has 445 children in it. The church will cost about $25,000 and is to be built at once, so that it may be dedicated about October first. The architect is Richard E. Raseman, of Detroit, and F. W. Ülanfield, of Ypsilanti, has the contract for building the church. The money for building the church has been pledged by the members of the congregation and it is hoped that they will be able to dedícate it free from debt. The congregation is a large one, including 250 families, and the church organization has been in existence in this city since 1832. In all this time it has had but three pastors. The first pastor was Rev. Frederick Schmid, so well remembered here, who was first sent here by the Mission House at Bastle, Switzerland, at the request of our first Germán citizens. He has left his impress upon the history of the county. He served the church until 1871. Rev. Mr. Reuter was pastor of the church from that date until 1877, when Rev. John Neumann became its pastor. It is then eighteen years next July since Mr. Neumann began his faithful pastorate here. He is in point of service here by many years the oldest pastor in the city. His heart is thrown in the church work and he is to be congratulated on the fact that he will soon have a building suited to the large number of people who form the Bethlehem congregation. The present church building on Washington street, which the congregation has long outgrown, was built in 1S44 and enlarged in 1863. The officers of the church are two elders, Adam Miller and George Spathelf, Sr., and six trustees, August DeFries, Charles Tessmer, Louis Rohde, Fred Stein, Thomas Rauschenberger and George Schleh. The building committee which has charge of the erection of the new church is composed of Rev. John Neumann, chairman, Titus Hutzel, John Mayer, John Koch, Theodore Bruegel, Charles Tessmer and John Schenk. It will be noticed that it is a particularly capable committee. Fred Fischer is secretary of this committee. The important finance committee which has charge of the raising of the funds, is also well chosen, consisting of John Goetz, Jr. , Albert Schumacher, William Rhinehart, William Henne and George Visel. Albert Schuraacher is treastarer of the church building fund.

Article

Subjects
Ann Arbor Argus
Old News