| Additional Information: | "2023- resurveyed as part of Milwaukee Houses of Worship thematic survey.
2017- ""Constructed of concrete block, this one-story, front-gabled church building includes an enclosed, brick-faced three-bay entrance that is topped with a folded plate roofline. A double-door entrance is located at the center, which is topped with a triangular transom that reaches to the gable above. Vertically articulated glass expanses are located within two of the entrance bays, while the third is devoid of fenestration and includes the congregation’s name, “The Church of the Living God, C.W.F.F., Temple #132.” Brick-faced flower beds are located to either side of the entrance. Expanses of glass are located within the gabled peak that rises above the entry and a wooden trellis-like element extends above the northernmost bay and supports a cross. Both the north and south concrete block sidewalls carry a series of four, multiple-light windows, the center portion of which opens; the north wall includes an additional entrance.
This structure was completed in 1968 and has continually served the congregation of The Church of the Living God. The architect is identified as Alonzo Robinson; the contractor was Henry Torke & Son and the building was erected at an approximate cost of $90,000. Church of the Living God was established in Milwaukee in the 1960s and its initial location was at 2221 N. Teutonia Avenue (no longer extant), where Rev. Lorine Lee served as pastor. Rev. R. N. Ellison was the subject congregation’s first pastor. The Church of the Living God was originally established in Arkansas by Rev. William Christian. Rev. Christian’s brother, Rev. John Christian was also involved early on; however, following a disagreement, the two split but each carried on their ministry with the name Church of the Living God. However, the “brotherhood” established by Rev. William Christian is identified by the use of C.W.W.F. (Christian Work for Fellowship), which this church utilizes. The congregation is identified as non-denominational and non-sectarian. Another Church of the Living God is located at 10300 W. Hampton Avenue in Milwaukee, but does not appear to be part of the Brotherhood.
Of note, the building’s architect, Alonzo Robinson, is identified in a secondary source as the first African-American registered architect in the State of Wisconsin. Although there is no listing for Robinson in the AIA directory, Milwaukee city directories indicate that as of 1955 he was working as an architectural designer for the City of Milwaukee’s Bureau of Bridges and Public Buildings. He would later become a partner in the Waukesha firm of DeQuardo, Robinson and Crouch, during which time he is cited as “the only black architect in Wisconsin.” He would, for a period thereafter, practice with his sons, out of an office at 4900 W. Fond du Lac Avenue in Milwaukee. Following his death in June 2000, a United Methodist periodical (Robinson was a lay leader of St. James United Methodist Church in Milwaukee) cites that he was responsible for the designs of “hundreds of buildings in the Milwaukee area including the Vel Phillips YWCA, Hillcrest Nursing Home, the Milwaukee Fire Department administration building and numerous churches including Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church.” He is also noted in 1972 as having been connected to the Community Design Center at the University of Wisconsin, which was encouraging “young Blacks to enter the field of architecture.” -""N Teutonia Ave: W Groeling Ave to W Capitol Dr"", WisDOT#2080-00-02, Prepared by Heritage Research, Inc. (Schnell), (2017)." |
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| Bibliographic References: | Citations for 2016 survey: Permit for 3649 N. Teutonia Avenue, 14 July 1967, includes owner name, architect, contractor and approximate cost; Milwaukee City Directory, 1969, 1970, 1971; Information regarding the history of the Church of the Living God can be found at www.ctlgwcwff.org/history.html, Accessed April 2017. Newsbrief (re: death of Alonzo Robinson) in “Flashbacks,” The official newsletter of the United Methodist Historical Society of Wisconsin, Vol. 26, No. 3 (August 2000), page 6; “Black Manifesto to be Discussed in Churches,” Janesville (WI) Daily Gazette, 9 August 1969, page 2; Bill Quinn, “The Black Architect: Coming Into His Own,” The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), 11 June 1972, page 274. |
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