gothicrevival

Luther Place Memorial Church – Then, Then and Now (100+ years later)

Luther Place Memorial Church was built in 1873 as a memorial to peace and reconciliation following the American Civil War. Its original name was Memorial Evangelical Lutheran Church and it was designed by architects Judson York, J.C. Harkness, and Henry Davis. It is located at 14th Street and Vermont Avenue NW, at Thomas Circle, in Washington, D.C., near its namesake, a statue of Martin Luther.

The first photograph shows the church during construction, c. 1870.  In 1904 (15 years before the second photograph was taken), Luther Place suffered damage from a fire, leading to restoration of the church and a renewed energy and celebration of its mission. President Theodore Roosevelt spoke at the restoration ceremony in 1905.

Since 1904 little has changed to the exterior of the church, albeit the surroundings and Thomas Circle have changed dramatically. There was a recent restoration of the church interior, and the church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [1] [2] [3]

(The spire to the far right in the two later photographs is that of the Mount Olivet Lutheran Church.)

 
"Thomas Circle & Luther Place Memorial Church" (c. 1870) by rockcreek


 
"Luther Memorial Church" (1919) by Martin A. Gruber

 

"Luther Place Memorial Church" (2007) by Thundercheese

 

Thanks, Pixel Wrangler!

I don't know which Taft that is, but he doesn't look like President Taft.

Photo is from September 1913 based on information about Gaynor's death.

The funeral took place on September 22, 1913, and Ex-president Taft was among the pallbearers, see photo in the New-York tribune., September 23, 1913, Page 2. See also


But this photo doesn't show Ex-pres. W. H. Taft (nor his brother Charles Phelps Taft, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Phelps_Taft).

And the man with mustache and glasses isn't Robert Adamson, another pallbearer. A photo of R. Adamson is here:


Rhinelander Waldo:
Could be the man tagged "Taft"

Thanks for your research B-59. We'll see what we can find about the identity of the pallbearers in this photo, and add them to the record the next time we update.

I like the architecture here.

No idea where, but thinking Pugin ...

This is the McGarel Town Hall, Larne, Co Antrim. Google Street View The building is French Gothic, designed (1868-1870) by Alexander Tate and paid for by one of Larne's benefactors, Charles McGarel, JP, DL (1788-1876). McGarel was originally from Magheramorne, Larne, and had emigrated to Demerara, in Guyana, and made a fortune in the sugar industry.

Gerry Ward Gerry Gerry GERRY, will you give the rest of us a few minutes to read the description and have a think, before telling us the solution to the Photo. We are not amused...........(which I believe was a commonly used phrase of the time)

Gerry Ward Thank you very much, Mr Ward! Another Location Identified tag coming up (speaking of which, our anonymous Handball Court has just been identified). And considering DannyM8's profile pic, you'd think he'd know it's the early bird that captures the worm...