Damakant Jayshi
A city committee will explore the possibility of designating a portion of Wausau’s downtown area with a concentration of churches as a local historic district.
At its meeting on July 26, Wausau Historic Preservation Commission members agreed to discuss the idea in one of its future meetings. The future historic district parcel could include eight to 10 churches depending on the boundary of the district. At least one church is listed on national and/or state historic registers.
During the brief discussion on the idea, suggested by commission member Steve Miller, the advisory body identified Sixth or Seventh Streets as the eastern boundary, First Street or the Wisconsin River on the west, Fulton Street on the north and Washington Street to the south. Some members also suggested extending those boundaries.
The churches that are likely to become part of the historic district are the First Universalist Unitarian Church of Wausau at 504 Grant St., First Presbyterian Church at 406 Grant St., St. Stephen Lutheran Church at 512 McClellan St., Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist at 330 McClellan St., Resurrection Catholic Church at 621 N 2nd St, the First Wausau United Methodist Church at 903 N 3rd St., Downtown Mission Church at 310 N 4th St., Zion Lutheran Church at 709 N 6th St. and St. Paul’s United Church of Christ at 426 Washington St.
“I have been fascinated by the number of downtown churches with fairly close proximity to one another,” Miller told Wausau Pilot & Review. “My opinion is that the creation and designation of a downtown church historic district would certainly be a reflection of the longstanding presence of our churches in Wausau.”
Miller said being part of this proposed historic district would give the community “a historic view of what happened in the past with regard to the downtown and city-wide development going back to the mid-1800s.”
During the July 26 meeting, Miller said he didn’t know how individual church leaders or congregations would feel about the proposal. A petition signed by at least a third of the churches included in the district could scuttle the move.
Wausau Pilot & Review reached out to the leaders of each of the churches located within the proposed historic boundary by email. Four pastors responded.
“I’m very supportive of the proposal,” Rev. Samuel Cripps of St. John’s Episcopal Church told this newspaper. “The historic parishes in downtown Wausau are not only beautiful, but also inextricably tied to the history of the city of Wausau.”
St. John’s was built in the mid 1800s as a wooden structure and was later rebuilt in stone.
Cripps said the designation would “highlight the historicity of the church district and show the value that the city places on its places of worship.”
The proposal, added Cripps, would honor the visionary investment of those Wausau residents who served as sponsors of the new building’s construction in the downtown and whose names are on the stained glass windows of the church.
Rev. Steven Gjerde, senior pastor at Zion, said he could not comment on the proposal specifically since he didn’t have details. “But I can say, Wausau has a great heritage of beautiful architecture, and Zion and I are thankful that the city has a Commission to tend the preservation of that heritage.”
Similarly, Rev. Tom Lindner of St. Anne Parish, representing Resurrection Catholic Church, said he too was not familiar with the discussion and had not received any communication from the HPC.
Rev. Rebecca Voss at First Wausau United Methodist Church said she wants to know more details.
“Our congregation values the mid-century modern architecture of our building as well as the beautiful church buildings of our fellow faith communities,” she said.
But Voss said her primary question and concern is whether it would “hinder or complicate our current plans for a major remodel in partnership with the Community Foundation and YMCA.”
The church will reviewing a proposal in two weeks that will turn half of their building into up to 200 more childcare spaces that will be run by the YMCA. Both the interior and exterior will likely have significant changes throughout the entire building. “Our main goal is to preserve the interior of the sanctuary, but everything else will likely be changed,” she said.
Miller said city ordinance clearly spells out parameters of being part of the district with regard to remodeling, construction, or demolition.
Wausau historic district guidelines
The Wausau Municipal Code outlines the procedures for such districts. Once the Historic Preservation Commission receives a proposal to create a historic district either as Class I or Class II, it will hold a public hearing after giving a notice, at least 40 days prior to the hearing, under Wisconsin Statutes. Notably, properties in a Class I district have to follow stringent measures when it comes to alterations and renovations.
A plan can be cancelled if at least one-third of the owners of lots within the proposed district file a petition objecting to its creation within 30 days of the notice of the public hearing.
After the public hearing, the commission might recommend, reject, withhold action on the designation of the historic district or opt to amend the boundaries. The commission is required to hold another public hearing if an amendment is sought.
The commission can proceed if it receives no such petition or the number of petitioners is less than one-third of the owners of lots. If commission deems that an area meets the requirements for a historic district, it will forward its recommendation to the Wausau Plan Commission. The Plan Commission is required to review the recommendation and forward its own recommendation to the City Council, the ultimate authority to decide on the matter.
The owners of properties in a historic district can make changes to their property but they would need a certificate of appropriateness before undertaking any construction, alteration or removal.
The code also stipulates that “(n)o owner, except an owner in a Class II historic district, shall perform or permit or cause to be performed any construction, alteration or removal involving such property unless a certificate of appropriateness has been issued by the commission.”
Wausau Pilot & Review has reached out to the Chair of the Historic Preservation Commission, Gary Gisselman, seeking some clarification about the idea and his views on the concerns of the pastors whether the designation status would interfere with their plans of changes to the church buildings.
Current church buildings
This information is entirely from the Wisconsin Historical Society, unless noted otherwise.
First Universalist Unitarian Church of Wausau, 504 Grant St.
Built in 1914, the church architecture has English Revival Styles. It is listed on both the national and state register of historical places. Its western leg is a monumental three-story nave, clad in irregular, randomly-laid stone. The nave’s front-facing gable has a Tudor-arched window filled with tracery and stained glass. On the nave’s west side, running along Fifth Street, there are narrow Gothic windows alternate with stone buttresses. At the southeast corner, a blocky three-stage tower rises to a crenelated parapet and a conical spire. Inside the nave, great oak trusses spring from stone corbels to support a wood-paneled ceiling, and dark hand-carved oak graces the choir loft, pews, and altar. The other leg of the church’s U, a two-and-one-half-story front-gabled parish house, contrasts with the hulking stone nave. The residence is built of stone at ground level, but the overhanging second and attic stories feature false half-timbering filled with stucco.
First Presbyterian Church, 406 Grant St.
This building is an example of Neo-Gothic Revival church design and said to be the only illustration of the style in the city. The church features pointed arched windows, buttressing, and a tower with a crenelated parapet. The inspiration for the church is specifically English as evidenced by the buildings low proportions, tower placement and decorative details. The Wisconsin Historical Society says it requires more before the structure can be properly evaluated.
St. Stephen Lutheran Church, at 512 McClellan St.
The current Neo-Victorian style parish building was built in 1956, though the congregation has older history, dating back to 1881, according to building’s history on the church’s website.
The rounded dome replaces the interior peak of the gothic style. The building has stained glass windows.
St. John’s Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist, 330 McClellan St.
St. John’s Episcopal Church is an English Neo-Gothic Revival church design. Its granite/stucco complex is conceived with little detailing other than simple buttreses along the nave of the church. The exterior of the Tudor Revival parish house as a bay window on the street facade. The interior exhibits woodwork and the windows are diamond paned.
The 1867 Church of St. John’s was moved to the back of the lot and sheathed in Tudor style facing when the present sanctuary was built in 1914. The parish house was built in 1922.
Resurrection Catholic Church (Historic name: St. James Catholic Church), 621 N 2nd St.
This church was built in 1912 and is an example of the Victorian Eclectic.
It has a mixture of Italianate, Gothic and Romanesque details which include two west-end towers with turrets, a dome over the crossing, and cupolas on either side of the transepts. It has metal roofing.
The church has twin spires at entrance and has round arched windows.
First Wausau United Methodist Church, 903 N 3rd St.
First Methodist Church is comprised of two units; an educational/fellowship hall unit (1959) on the west (and adjacent to N. 3rd Street), while the church proper (1966) is oriented on a north/south axis and faces McIndoe Street. Regarding the earlier unit, it is both one and two stories in height, is topped with both flat and gabled roofs and is faced with both brick and stone. With the construction of the church, a courtyard was formed and is accessible from McIndoe Street.
Educational unit walls in this courtyard area feature sections of small tile that alternate with large rectangular windows. The 1966 church wing is dominated by a tall towered entrance with a small belfry and a soaring spire located on the west elevation.
The south wall of the church features a single window of laminated opaline glass set within a masonry and metal framework.
Zion Lutheran Church, 709 N 6th St.
The church was built in 1953. Sheathed with limestone, this Neo-Gothic Revival-style church is comprised of a central gabled wing that is oriented on a north/south axis, from which gabled wings with parapet end walls extend to both the east and west at both its north and south ends. Its steeply pitched rooflines are covered with tile.
A one-story wing rests within the juncture created between the central block and the westwardly extending wing on the north and which provides handicapped access to the building. The primary entrance elevation faces Grant Street and features a two-story, Gothic-arched opening trimmed with cut stone, the upper portion of which carries a large, stained-glass window with stone tracery. A pair of Gothic-arch entrance portals rests beneath the window, each including a wooden, double-door with a carved stone tympanum.
Separating the entryway from the upper window is a line of intricately carved stonework of vines and branches, while additional symbols (Agnus Dei, the Creator’s hand symbol and the dove) are located immediately below. The side walls of the central wing include projecting one-story side aisles with Gothic-arched, stained-glass windows with stone tracery above. Regularly arranged windows along both the two-story wings at the north end are largely comprised of multiple-light casement examples and feature stone surrounds with quoining.
St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, 426 Washington St.
St. Paul’s UCC was built in 1950. This church property is a modestly Tudor Revival-influenced Guild Hall (1950) and a 1960s Contemporary Style church. The Guild Hall rises three full stories and a series of four gabled dormers rise from the red-tile roof. Each dormer includes a window with diamond paning.
The primary (south) elevation and a short length of the west elevation are faced with limestone, while the remainder is comprised of brick. Windows along the south side of this block are double-hung, replacement sash windows that are arranged singly and in pairs and are topped with modest stone hood molds. The south elevation of the church features an arched arcade that shelters the pair of double-door entrances to the church, while an additional entry is located within the base of the tower.
Tall, narrow slit-like windows trimmed with stone illuminate the church’s interior. A variety of shield designs are evident on the stone ornamentation of the front (south side) of the church.
