The center pulpit in teh sanctuary of our first church building on our current site. The corner stone was laid in 1850.

Our first building on our current site, Juneau and Broadway. Ground for this building was broken in 1849 and it was completed in 1851.

Our sanctuary, before the 1995 renovations to bring back some of it's original beauty.

The congregation's first pastor, Johannes Muehlhaeuser, was trained as a missionary in German schools and came to America to serve the thousands of German immigrants who were flocking to the Midwest in the middle of the 19th century. Meeting at first on the west side of the Milwaukee River, the congregation built its first church building on the east side of the river, and has worshipped at the corner of Broadway and Juneau Avenue ever since the dedication of that building in 1851.

German congregations in Milwaukee grew quickly in the late 1800s, and, by the turn of the century, Grace had outgrown its first church building. Since many prominent and wealthy German-Americans had joined the congregation, the church leaders were able to retain the services of Armand Koch, son of noted Milwaukee architect, Henry C. Koch, who had designed Milwaukee's landmark City Hall. Working in the same German Renaissance Revival style, Koch drew the plans for the 700-seat church which was dedicated in August of 1901.

Already in the early years of the 20th century, the neighborhoods around Grace Church began to change as the German community moved north and west of downtown. Many members remained active and drove their cars to church on Sunday mornings, but others joined newer Lutheran congregations in the city and suburbs where they lived. The membership in the early 1930s was about 1200 members. Within 50 years, however, there were only 370 names on the membership list, and most did not live in the downtown neighborhoods. Leaders eventually removed many of the pews to reduce the seating capacity to about 300.

Despite the dwindling numbers, members worked faithfully to preserve their beautiful church building with major renovation projects in 1921 and 1955. Deeply committed to Christian education from its founding, the congregation erected a three-story school in 1894 just north of the church. Because of the exodus from downtown, however, as well as the influence of the Great Depression, the school closed its doors in 1935 and was razed in 1969 to make room for the present Parish Center attached to the church.

Downtown congregations in many American cities struggle to stay alive, and Grace was among them as the 1980s dawned. The Lord had other plans for Grace Church, however, and a number of factors came together which enabled and encouraged new growth. As the most historic sections of the city, what we know today as the East Side, Downtown, and the Third Ward, began to revitalize, many people moved to the local neighborhoods. As Grace recommitted itself to excellence in worship and established programs for Bible study, outreach, fellowship, and service, many people were attracted to the congregation. Today approximately 1100 Christians call Grace Lutheran Church their home church.

As Grace began to grow again, parish leaders saw the need to maintain and expand facilities. In 1989 and 1995, the church building underwent major renovations which included the restoration of the chancel to its original design. In 1999, members approved a project to rebuild and expand the pipe organ and remodel the balcony. The present Schlicker organ is an instrument of 53 ranks and over 3000 pipes. After almost twenty years of frustrating but persistent efforts, the congregation was able to purchase property west of the church and dedicated the $5.1 million Grace Center in 2007. The building houses the administrative offices, Grace Place Coffee, and serves as a site for community and congregational events. In February 2021, the Grace Center's mortgage was paid off, allowing long awaited, future plans for gathering and education space, such as to replace the present parish center and increase seating capacity in the church, to begin moving forward.

Over its 175 years of history, Grace's congregation has been served by only 12 pastors! Our present lead pastor, Pastor James Huebner, has served at Grace since 1982, and recently became the longest serving pastor in our history with 40 plus years of ministry at Grace. He is joined by our associate pastors, Pastor Aaron Strong, our Discipleship Pastor, and Pastor Brian Hackmann, our Outreach Pastor.

Grace is additionally blessed with a staff minister dedicated to worship at Grace, Music Minister Kevin Becker; a robust and talented staff of part-time and full-time workers overseeing church and office operations, community events and rentals, internal and external communications, custodial and property services, and management of the coffee shop; an active and involved church council; and--most importantly--thousands of dedicated members, who over the years have given much of their time, talents, and financial gifts to support the continual growth of Grace Church.