Reprinted with permission as a public service by the Landmark Society of the Niagara Frontier, now the Preservation Buffalo Niagara


Houses of Worship: A Guide to the Religious Architecture of Buffalo, New York
By James Napora
Table of Contents

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church - Table of Contents

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
1080 Main Street (W)
Architects:
Lansing and Beierl
Bell Tower 1966 - Shelgren, Patterson & Marzec
Founded 15 December, 1878

German immigrants had the reputation during the 1800s as being headstrong regarding the use of their native tongue in religious services. They believed it proper to use English in the work environment, but that German was the exclusive language used in worship. In 1878, a group of members of St. John's Lutheran Church on Hickory Street (destroyed) desired to attend Lutheran services using the English language. With St. John's not willing to accommodate their desires, under the direction of William Hengerer of the department store fame, they seceded from the church to establish their own congregation.

On 15 December, 1878, twenty-eight men and women gathered in the choir loft of the former Cottage Baptist Church, commonly referred to as the old French Church, on Tupper and Washington Streets (destroyed) to discuss ways of organizing their own church. The primary intent of the meeting was to secure a means of funding in ... (at the church would be self-sufficient from its inception. The following year, on 5 May, sixty-seven people attended the initial service in the old French Church. On 4 May, 1881 they officially became known as the English Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity.

As the congregation grew, they became active in the establishment of several other Lutheran congregations. Despite the loss of members to these new parishes, Holy Trinity prospered. Seeking to build a house of worship of their own, the members appointed a committee to search for a suitable site and arrange for the construction of a building. After looking at several sites, on 5September, 1899 they purchased an old orchard on the west side of Main Street from the Hersee Estate at a cost of $26,675 and appointed the architectural firm of Lansing and Beierl to prepare plans.

With contracts signed for construction on 18 March, 1903, they soon after broke ground. In June, all work on the building stopped as a result of a dispute between the stone cutters and the stone masons. Each group had claimed that the other was infringing upon their line of work. Five months later, after reaching an agreement, work resumed. With the delays behind them, the congregation placed the cornerstone on 14 December, 1903, a stormy Monday afternoon.

With work completed on the new building, the congregation held their last service in the old French Church on 16 April, 1905. The building was then sold and converted into a carriage factory. The following Sunday, with over 1,500 people present, they celebrated the first service in their new house of worship.

The English Gothic building, seating 950 people, was constructed at a cost of $148,799. The free span of the interior is a result of the architects' desire to provide an unobstructed view of the pulpit for all people attending the sermon. They accomplished this through the use of a double hung ceiling supported by open trefoil brackets. The Tiffany Style windows of the nave were executed by the Calvert and Kimberly Company, New York City. The memorial windows of the chancel, added in 1948, were executed by the Henry Lee Willett Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Holy Trinity Lutheran is the mother church of seven other Lutheran Congregations:

1894 - Church of the Atonement, Northland Avenue,
1695 - Church of the Redeemer, West Ferry,
1904 - Grace Church, Cazenovia Street,
1910 - Church of the Reformation, Pine Ridge,
1911 - Church of the Resurrection, Doat Street,
1912 - Parkside Lutheran, Depew at Wallace and
1919 - Kensington Evangelical Lutheran, Kensington Avenue.


© 1995 James Napora
Page by Chuck LaChiusa with the assistance of David Torke
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