https://friendsofccl.org Friends of Christ Church Lutheran Mon, 22 Jul 2019 13:52:00 +0000 https://friendsofccl.org en https://friendsofccl.org/HOME Mon, 22 Jul 2019 13:51:57 +0000 Friends of Christ Church Lutheran https://friendsofccl.org/HOME https://friendsofccl.org/FRIENDS Mon, 22 Jul 2019 13:51:58 +0000 Friends of Christ Church Lutheran https://friendsofccl.org/FRIENDS FRIENDS ABOUT The Friends of Christ Church Lutheran (FCCL) is a non-sectarian 503c3 (non-profit) Organization.&nbsp; FCCL was established in 2008 with a primary mission to raise funds to help with capital projects the church could not undertake on its own, such as restoring the bell tower, upgrading the elevator to meet city code, replacing roofs, and rebuilding the court yard. To accomplish this, FCCL solicits contributions from individuals, conducts fund raising events, and applies for federal and state grants not otherwise available to the church. The Friends also contribute to the restoration and repair of original furnishings in the church by leading mid-century designers, including Charles and Ray Eames. THE MISSION FCCL partners with the church congregation to preserve the National Historic Landmark church buildings designed by Eliel and Eero Saarinen. To accomplish this, the Friends solicit contributions from individuals, conduct fund raising events, and apply for federal and state grants not otherwise available to the church. The Friends’ mission also includes working to increase general awareness of and education about the church’s architectural significance by various means, including conducting regularly scheduled and specially arranged tours. THEBUILDING Christ Church Lutheran is located in the Longfellow Neighborhood of Southeast Minneapolis.&nbsp; The sanctuary building designed by Eliel Saarinen was completed in 1949;&nbsp; the education building designed by Eliel’s son, Eero, was completed later in 1962. The sanctuary building represents a radical departure from the traditional gothic design popular into the early decades of the twentieth century and is credited with setting the standard for modernist churches built following World War II. https://friendsofccl.org/VISIT Mon, 22 Jul 2019 13:51:58 +0000 Friends of Christ Church Lutheran https://friendsofccl.org/VISIT VISIT LOCATION 3244 34th Avenue SouthMinneapolis, MN 55406 FREE MONTHLY TOURS Second Sunday of each month at 11:00 am. Tours dates may vary based on pre-scheduled church events. Email info@friendsofccl.org&nbsp; to confirm tour dates. SPECIAL TOURS PRIVATE TOURSPrivate tours can be arranged with at least a week’s advance notice. Email info@friendsofccl.org&nbsp; to schedule a private tour. Fee $ 15.00/per person (minimum fee of $25.00).Group rate $10.00/per person – minimum 8&nbsp; people.STUDENT CLASS TOURSEmail info@friendsofccl.org&nbsp; to schedule student tours. There is no fee for student class tours.Student tours must be accompanied by the class instructor. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION FROM MINNEAPOLIS ST. PAUL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT:&nbsp; &nbsp;-&nbsp; Take the Metro Blue line north toward Downtown Minneapolis.-&nbsp; Exit at the Lake Street Midtown Station.-&nbsp; Take the 21 bus line east to 34th Street and walk south 3 blocks. FROM DOWNTOWN MINNEAPOLIS: -&nbsp; Take the Metro Blue Line south toward the Mall of America.-&nbsp; Exit at the Lake Street Midtown Station.-&nbsp; Take the 21 bus line east to 34th Street and walk south 3 blocks. FROM DOWNTOWN ST. PAUL-&nbsp; Take the Metro Green Line west to Downtown Minneapolis.-&nbsp; Exit at the US Bank Station.-&nbsp; Transfer to the Metro Blue South toward the Mall of America.-&nbsp; Exit at the Lake Street Midtown Station.-&nbsp; Take the 21 bus line east to 34th Street and walk south 3 blocks. https://friendsofccl.org/PROGRAMS Mon, 22 Jul 2019 13:51:59 +0000 Friends of Christ Church Lutheran https://friendsofccl.org/PROGRAMS PROGRAMS MISSION The Friends fulfills it mission to support the preservation of the church through a variety of educational programs;&nbsp; Information regarding upcoming education events will be sent to our email membership.&nbsp; If you are interested in knowing about future educational opportunities please send us your email address to info@friendsofccl.org and we will add you to the notification list. PAST LECTURES Saarinen and his Religious Architecture, Rolf Anderson, 2016 The Works of Eero Saarinen, Dr. Nancy Miller, 2012 St John’s University, Dr. Victoria Young, 2015 Minnesota Modern, Larry Millett, 2015 Mid-Century Modern Furniture, Claire Selkurt , 2016 Eliel Saarinen’ Religious Architecture, Rolf Anderson, 2017 PAST BOOK SIGNINGS One Fine Morning – Memories of My Father, Dr. Mark Hayes&nbsp; (Mark Hayes with Victor Gilbertson was the architect of record for CCL), 2010 Minnesota Modern, Architecture and Life at Mid-Century, Larry Millett, 2015 PAST FUNDRAISING AND SPECIAL EVENTS Luther’s New World: Reforming Europe’s Song, Concert, 2009 Iltamat: An evening of Finnish Music, Dance and Entertainment, Silent Auction, 2009 Amerikan Poijat 20th Anniversary Concert, 2010 Good Design is Forever- Finnish Design Exhibit 2012 Music for a Masterpiece Benefit Concert, February 2, 2016 https://friendsofccl.org/HISTORY Mon, 22 Jul 2019 13:51:59 +0000 Friends of Christ Church Lutheran https://friendsofccl.org/HISTORY HISTORY THE CONSTRUCTION OF CHRIST CHURCH LUTHERAN Christ Church Lutheran was established as a congregation in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis in 1911.&nbsp; The congregation’s first church was constructed in 1914.&nbsp; Then in 1924 land was purchased on the northwest corner of 34th Avenue South and 33rd Street in order to build a larger church.&nbsp; Plans for a Gothic Revival style building were prepared, but plans for the new church came to a halt first because of the Great Depression and later because of the onset of World War II. In 1943, another set of plans for a Gothic Revival church were commissioned so that construction could begin when the war was over.&nbsp; However, in 1946 Rev. William A. Buege became the congregation’s new pastor.&nbsp; Pastor Buege and the church building committee met with the architects and learned that because of rapidly rising building costs the new church was now estimated at $367,000, exclusive of the stained glass windows and furnishings.&nbsp; The congregation was concerned that they would be financially unable to erect the planned building and Pastor Buege suggested they begin to seek out other, more economical possibilities. Pastor Buege learned of the merits of contemporary Scandinavian architecture and it was thought such designs would be less expensive to build and that its simplified lines conformed more closely to the liturgical practices of the church and were more “honest.”&nbsp; The name Eliel Saarinen surfaced and the congregation was impressed that he was the son of a Lutheran minister.&nbsp; Pastor Buege met with Saarinen, who agreed to take on the project.&nbsp; Pastor Buege later commented, “I asked him [Saarinen] if it were possible in a materialistic age like ours to do something truly spiritual.&nbsp; He soon showed me.” Saarinen presented preliminary sketches to the congregation in June 1948 and final drawings were completed the following September.&nbsp; Groundbreaking ceremonies were held in November and the cornerstone was laid on May 8, 1949.&nbsp; Construction was completed later that year at a cost of $336,211.92, considerably less than the estimate for the proposed Gothic Revival style church.&nbsp; The dedication ceremony took place on December 4, 1949 with Eliel Saarinen in attendance.&nbsp; Saarinen died the following June.&nbsp; Christ Church Lutheran was his last completed work. &nbsp; THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE EDUCATION WING In 1956, Pastor Buege asked Eliel Saarinen’s son, Eero, to design an education wing.&nbsp; At the time, Eero was at the height of his career with many of his most important works on the drawing boards, including the Gateway Arch, the TWA Terminal, and Dulles Airport.&nbsp; Pastor Buege said that he knew for a fact that Eero took on the modest commission so that the work of another architect would not detract from his father’s design for the church.&nbsp; Sadly, Eero Saarinen would not live to see the construction of the addition.&nbsp; He died on September 1, 1961.&nbsp; But the addition was completed in 1962 according to his design. &nbsp; The one-story, flat-roofed building maintains a low profile and features materials consistent with those used for the construction of the church.&nbsp; Associate architect Glen Paulsen commented, “The attempt was to create a totally subordinate building to the inspiring mass of the church.” SIGNIFICANCE OF CHRIST CHURCH LUTHERAN Christ Church Lutheran is nationally significant as the work of a master, Eliel Saarinen, one of the most important architects and educators of the 20th century.&nbsp; Saarinen was on the leading edge of the modern movement and played a pivotal role in the emergence of modernist religious architecture in the United States. &nbsp; &nbsp; Christ Church Lutheran is a testament to Eliel Saarinen’s unique style of modernism in which through his use of materials, proportion, scale, and light he created a building with great dramatic effect and architectural impact, and yet retained a human scale and possessed a feeling of serenity and repose.&nbsp; Many consider the building to be Eliel Saarinen’s masterwork, which has been described as without precedent in ecclesiastical architecture because of its focused design, lighting, and acoustics. Christ Church Lutheran also provided the average congregation with an appealing alternative to traditional church architecture.&nbsp; The building’s cost effective design served as an affordable modernist prototype that was emulated by congregations throughout the United States. ELIEL SAARINEN Eliel Saarinen was born on August 20, 1873, in Rantasalmi, Finland, the son of a Lutheran minister.&nbsp; He studied architecture at the Polytechnic Institute in Helsinki, and early in his career declared that, “Architecture was a dead art-form.&nbsp; It had gradually become the business of crowding obsolete and meaningless stylistic decoration on the building’s surface.&nbsp; Something has to be done about it; now is the time to do things.” &nbsp; Saarinen joined two of his fellow students to form a firm that was dedicated to the practice of a “new” architecture.&nbsp; Together they became leading representatives of what became known as the national-romantic movement in Finland.&nbsp; Their designs seemed to emerge from Finnish vernacular traditions, but with modernist influences.&nbsp; Saarinen’s most important work during this time was the railway station built in Helsinki from 1904-1919.&nbsp; The monumental building features an immense arched entrance flanked by huge statues, and a massive tower.&nbsp; The design was far ahead of train stations being built at the same time in the United States and most of Europe, and indicated that Saarinen’s work paralleled that of many important modernists who were his contemporaries. &nbsp; https://friendsofccl.org/ARCHIVE Mon, 22 Jul 2019 13:52:00 +0000 Friends of Christ Church Lutheran https://friendsofccl.org/ARCHIVE ARCHIVES CHRIS CHURCH LUTHERAN ARCHIVE Christ Church Lutheran has a collection of archival materials relating to the history, design and construction of the church.&nbsp; Archival materials can by viewed by appointment.&nbsp; The archives are located at 3244 34th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55406.&nbsp; Email us at info@friendsofccl.org&nbsp; to make an appoint to view archival materials. Archive materials can be viewed at the above location.&nbsp; Send an email request for an email copy of the Archives Inventory or to make an appointment to view&nbsp; the archive materials to info@friendsofccl.org &nbsp;Archive materials include: -&nbsp; Original blueprints and bond prints for the 1949 Church, sketch's and drawings for Church furnishings-&nbsp; 1962 Education Wing Addition bond prints-&nbsp; Historic photos by Balthazar Korab-&nbsp; Specifications-&nbsp; Construction Photos Additional Archives with materials related to Christ Church Lutheran and the Saarinen Firms: CRANBROOK CENTER FOR COLLECTIONS AND RESEARCH Library Catalog, Horizon:&nbsp; https://center.cranbrook.edu/achives/collections This collection has the following: - Bond copies of the original church design by Saarinen, Swanson, Saarinen - Bond copies of the education addition by Eero Saarinen and Associates - Education Wing Conceptual sketches by J. Henderson Barr of Eero Saarinen and Associates YALE UNIVERSITY MANUSCRIPT AND ARCHIVE Sterling Memorial Library 128 Wall Street, P.O .Box 208240, New Haven, CT. 06520 http://web.library.yale.edu/mssa 203.432.1735 This collection has structural drawings and some MISC materials under the heading Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, MN https://friendsofccl.org/SUPPORT Mon, 22 Jul 2019 13:52:00 +0000 Friends of Christ Church Lutheran https://friendsofccl.org/SUPPORT SUPPORT Friends of Christ Church Lutheran is a 501(c)3 Corporation with a mission to preserve through; fundraising, education and public awareness,&nbsp; Saarinen’s National Historic Landmark Structure located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. All gifts to the Friends of Church Lutheran are tax deductible and are used to support our mission including rehabilitation or restoration of the building as needed.&nbsp; Friends of Christ Church Lutheran is not affiliated with Christ Church Lutheran nor with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. ONLINE Give a gift on the website via PayPal with a credit card:&nbsp; Give via GiveMN:&nbsp;https://www.givemn.org/organization/Friends-Of-Christ-Church-Lutheran Give via Venmo: <img width="816" height="1296" width_o="816" height_o="1296" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b75cad344bde21d95a3048a21eaa3995c8ad187a8497b00d4e598e32bd75810d/Gemini_Generated_Image_.png" data-mid="252828782" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/816/i/b75cad344bde21d95a3048a21eaa3995c8ad187a8497b00d4e598e32bd75810d/Gemini_Generated_Image_.png" /> BY MAILDonate by mail:&nbsp; Please make checks payable to Friends of Christ Church Lutheran, 3244 34th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55406-2185 PLANNED GIFT The Friends welcome planned gift contributions such as: a stock gift;&nbsp; Designate Friends of Christ Church Lutheran to be a beneficiary in your will or a donation directly from your&nbsp; 401K retirement fund tax free.&nbsp; If you would like to advise the Friends of your intention to make a planned gift that would be appreciated.&nbsp; You can Request a pledge form by emailing us at info@friendsofccl.org &nbsp; Neither the Endowment Fund nor its representatives can offer legal advice, For such advice, attorneys, accountants and other professional advisors should be consulted.&nbsp; THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROUS SUPPORT!