The Big Red Church

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Calvary Presbyterian Church was chartered in 1868. Architect Henry C. Koch, whose other significant works include the Milwaukee’s City Hall and Gesu Catholic Church, designed the building. The Church cornerstone, dated 1870, was laid on May 10th, 1871, and the Church was dedicated on March 3rd, 1872. Calvary was the first Presbyterian Church built west of the Milwaukee River and the third overall in the City of Milwaukee. The total cost of the project was $60,000.00. The building itself is cross-shaped, constructed of lannon stone and cream city brick, and reminiscent of the hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”. Calvary was painted red to serve as an exclamation point to the citizens of Milwaukee. With the completion of the freeway system in the 1950’s, the exclamation point that is Calvary Presbyterian Church now sits on the busiest crossroads in the state of Wisconsin, the Marquette Interchange. To this day, many know Calvary simply as “the big red church”. As one of Milwaukee’s oldest surviving churches, Calvary Presbyterian Church was added to the National Registry of Historic Places on March 10th, 1986.