About this property
Gethsemane Lutheran Church is a historic Lutheran church in downtown Austin, Texas. It is designated as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places along with the neighboring Luther Hall. The building currently houses the offices of the Texas Historical Commission. The first Swedish Lutheran Church in Austin began meeting in 1868. In late 1882, the Swedish Lutherans decided to build a new meeting place near the Texas State Capitol grounds. Construction was completed the following year, and the congregation occupied the building. A second structure, named Luther Hall, was built adjacent to the main building in 1940 to provide additional meeting and activity space. The congregation relocated to a new space in 1961, after which the facility was purchased by the State of Texas and became part of the State Capitol Complex. After the Lutheran congregation left the church in 1961, community members began advocating for the historical preservation of the structure. The church was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1962, and the sanctuary was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 25, 1970. The NRHP listing was later expanded to include neighboring Luther Hall on December 23, 2004. The facility was renovated and restored between 1970 and 1971 to serve as office, library, and museum space for the Texas Historical Commission. It operates alongside the nearby Carrington–Covert House. Since 1998, the sanctuary has housed the THC's library, while Luther Hall provides office space for the commission's History Programs Division. The Gethsemane Lutheran Church sanctuary building is a rectangular two-story hall constructed of tan brick atop a limestone foundation and basement, with a gray pressed tin roof. It features a square bell tower and steeple that rises an additional story from the center front. Designed in the Gothic Revival style, the building includes brick buttresses, cornices, and tall lancet windows with brick hood moulds. The church was designed by architect August Swenson and built by Fredric Reichow, with S. A. Carlson serving as contractor. The sanctuary building has a rectangular plan oriented east-to-west, with the main facade and tower on the east and an apse on the west. The main entrance, located at the base of the projecting steeple, features a Gothic arch with a stained-glass transom window above paneled wood double doors. The second level of the tower features a stained-glass lancet window and is topped by a cornice. Above the cornice, a hipped roof narrows the tower into an octagonal Carpenter Gothic cupola and belfry, which is topped by a conical roof with a cross-shaped finial.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was Gethsemane Lutheran Church listed on the National Register?
Gethsemane Lutheran Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 24, 1970.
What type of historic resource is Gethsemane Lutheran Church?
Gethsemane Lutheran Church is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Gethsemane Lutheran Church?
The period of significance for Gethsemane Lutheran Church is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Gethsemane Lutheran Church?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Gethsemane Lutheran Church will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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