The History Of Luther Memorial Chapel

In the early 1900s Milwaukee’s upper east side was a mission field for church workers. Our congregation was established shortly after the arrival, from northern Wisconsin, of a young missionary sent by The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. In March 1916, a constitution was adopted and signed by sixteen charter members. At that time we were known as the “Evangelical Lutheran Church of East Milwaukee.” After the Village of East Milwaukee changed its name to the Village of Shorewood, the congregation changed its name to Luther Memorial Chapel, in 1920.

In the early days the congregation worshipped in a prefabricated wooden building on Capitol Drive (then called Atwater Road) near the site of today’s Ameritech building. The prefabricated building was moved to the corner of Maryland Avenue and Shorewood Boulevard after the parish bought three lots there in 1917. As the congregation grew, special events were sometimes celebrated at a pavilion in Ravenna Park. The need for a larger sanctuary became obvious. Our church was built in 1924-25, just eight years after the organizational papers were signed.

As the congregation continued to grow two subsequent additions were made. We opened the first addition, immediately to the north of the sanctuary, in 1951. It carries the same Gothic architectural style as the church; it houses a gymnasium and a large ground floor room for youth activities and craft work. In the mid-1960s, two properties facing Frederick Avenue were purchased and our education wing was built as an addition to the rear of the front two buildings. The cornerstone of this wing is marked with the year 1967.

In 2002, the synod’s campus ministry at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was transferred to our congregation. The lower level of the 1951 building is now used for the University Student Center, our outreach to university students at UWM and other students throughout Milwaukee.

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