History of Grace Lutheran Church
The original Lutheran Church was built in 1886 on property once owned by Judge Allen Pardee. The original church was located on the same spot where today’s church sets. The old church was designed in the German style with a Sunday School lecture hall on the first floor and the sanctuary on the second floor. It was built at the cost of $13,000.
Twenty years after this church was built it became apparent that the size of the congregation was outgrowing the facility. In 1916 the church was torn down and the brick debris were buried in Woodlawn Cemetery as fill for the ornamental pond that was once located east of the College Street entrance.
It took 3 years to build the current church due to challenges presented by the onset of WWI.
E.J. Young, the owner of the Ohio Companies, was instrumental in making sure the church was built with the highest of standards. Many times, he used some of his employees to complete some of the tasks relative to its construction.
The current church design is French gothic and was modeled after Rheims Cathedral in France. The two towers in front were originally open and then enclosed in 1954 for structural reasons. The painted glass windows average around 200 pieces of glass per square foot. The total cost for this church was approximately a quarter of a million dollars. It opened on September 14, 1919.