Did you know that Alameda wasn’t always an island? It used to be connected to the mainland by an isthmus until 1902, when the strip was cut through to create a deep shipping channel linking the Oakland Estuary to San Francisco Bay.
Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the Immanuel Lutheran Church of Alameda on the Island city’s Lafayette Street was dedicated by its congregation in January 1891. (photo courtesy of Elizabeth Greene)
By that time, Alameda was already a prospering city with many immigrant settlers, including a sizable contingent from Germany — bakers, butchers, grocers, dry goods stores, beer gardens, a German-English school etc. — who settled in the central part of town. Most of them were Lutherans.
For a few years the members worshipped in each other’s homes, then held services at the First Alameda Congregational Church. In 1888 they organized as Deutschen Lutherischen Immanuels Gemeinde Zu Alameda (German Lutheran Immanuel Congregation of Alameda), promising to build a church of their own within four years.
It only took two. The Ladies’ Aid Society held coffee socials and sauerkraut suppers to raise funds and encouraged its members to “get their men” to join the nascent congregation. By 1890 they had raised enough money to buy a parcel of land at 1420 Lafayette St.
They hired San Francisco architect Julius Krafft, another German immigrant, and he created a church for them with all the elements of Gothic style: pointed doors and arches surrounded by tracery, buttresses along the side walls, a steeply pitched gable roof surmounted by a spire and windows topped by a stained-glass image of a white rose in honor of the Luther Rose, Martin Luther’s coat of arms.
His only departure from tradition was that instead of stone — the traditional building blocks in European cathedrals — Krafft chose wood, redwood at that, which is why the style is called “Carpenter Gothic.” On Jan. 4, 1891, a joyful congregation paraded from First Alameda Congregational Church, which had been their temporary home, to dedicate their brand-new church on Lafayette Street.
It rained cats and dogs all day, but there is no record of anyone complaining. The interior is virtually untouched to this day, although the original gas chandeliers have been replaced by electric ones.
The Immanuel Lutheran Church of Alameda is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, one of fewer than a dozen buildings in Alameda to achieve this honor. It is the city’s oldest church building and is true to its original appearance. By the mid-1950s there was talk of replacing it with a modern building, but nobody had the heart to tear the old one down.
So still it stands today, and it is still deeply engaged with its neighbors. For instance, its Dine and Connect program serves more than 100 hot meals, prepared by volunteers, to unhoused or food-challenged people in the city. Also, as you can see from the picture that accompanies this column, it’s still absolutely gorgeous and looks like a church ought to.
“This church has kind of wormed its way into my heart,” says Judy Blank, the church council’s president. “I want people in the community to know what a gem they have in their midst.”
The members have been taking loving care of their beloved church since the day it was built, but time stops for no one, and now some serious work needs to be done. The original brick foundation has to be replaced, the steeple needs some new shingles and the interior and exterior could use new paint jobs.
“We have a lot of work to do,” says church historian Elizabeth Greene. “We’ve been working with an architectural preservation and restoration firm in San Francisco.”
It may sound daunting, but the church has a long history of overcoming hurdles, so, like their predecessors, they are starting the ball rolling with a series of affordable fundraisers. First up is an outdoor concert in the church parking lot at the corner of Chestnut Street and Santa Clara Avenue from 2 to 4:30 p.m. July 11.
It’s billed as “A tribute to the best of rock, soul and rock ’n’ roll” featuring rockers Spill The Wine playing classics by Steely Dan, the Doobie Brothers, Janis Joplin and Journey as well as their own compositions.
Tickets for the concert are $10 per adult, free for children and will be available at the door or online at immanuel-alameda.org/church-events. Food trucks will be on site, and only street parking will be available.
“Of course, if a sugar mommy or a sugar daddy comes along, we’ll gladly accept all contributions,” says the church council’s Blank.
Martin Snapp can be reached at catman442@comcast.net.