| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office.
2020-2024 Targeted Resurvey of Sheboygan recommendation write-up:
Featuring a central entrance tower, this brick-clad church is an example of the Romanesque Revival style. A set of wooden double doors and a transom are set within a recessed, round-arched opening, while a round window is located directly above. A stone inset with incised lettering identifies the congregation’s name in Greek. The uppermost section of the tower includes a pair of blind round-arched openings above which is the louvred belfry, which is seen on all four sides. A golden dome rests atop the tower from which a metal cross rises. A single, round-arched, stained-glass window is located to either side of the entrance. Each of the side walls carry five, equally spaced, round-arched, stained-glass windows. Segmental-arched windows run along the basement level. A bricked-in opening is evident along both the basement and main levels of the north elevation. The belltower was originally topped with an eight-sided, shingled, bell-type roof; it was replaced with a dome in 1980. Since 2002, the small windows at the bottom of the 1980 dome have been removed. Although the interior was not inspected, a 1996 newspaper article indicates that the iconography of the interior has remained essentially unchanged since 1906.
This church was built in 1906 for the St. Spyridon Green Orthodox congregation, which is identified as being the oldest Greek Orthodox Church in Wisconsin. Southern Greeks--comprised mostly of single men and men that left their families behind--came to the Midwest in the late 1800s to work; their intent was to return to Greece with the money they made. However, while here, they needed a place to worship. In 1902, they organized and met in a garage on S. 8th Street, which was ministered by a traveling priest from Chicago. Four years later, the congregation members built the church themselves. Beginning in the 1940s, the church held an annual fundraiser that eventually expanded to a bonafide “festival.” In 1981, the church was designated as a Sheboygan County Landmark due to its significance as the oldest Greek Orthodox church in Wisconsin and, reportedly, the sixth in the United States. As of 1981, St. Spyridon was only one of two Greek Orthodox churches in America that was housed in its original church building.
|
|---|
| Bibliographic References: | LJM Architects, Inc. City of Sheboygan, Wisconsin: Architectural and Historical Intensive Survey Report. City of Sheboygan Historic Preservation Commission & Department of City Development; 2002, 2004 & 2006.
Citations for the 2020-2024 Targeted Resurvey of Sheboygan recommendation write-up:
“Will Observe 50th Year at Greek Church,” The Sheboygan Press, 13September 1956, 14; “Greek Festival is Sunday,” The Sheboygan Press, 19 July 1976, 14; “Greek Church Now a Landmark,” The Sheboygan Press, 30 September 1981, 10; “St. Spyridon Observing 90th Anniversary,” The Sheboygan Press, 15 November 1996, 9; “Events This Weekend Celebrate 100 Years of St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church,” The Sheboygan Press, 6 October 2006, C1, C2. |
|---|
