St. Paulus Lutheran Church

The corner of Gough and Eddy streets is defined by a modern structure of dark gray precast concrete and folding, angular walls that contrast with the surrounding city blocks. This building occupies the historic site of St. Paulus Lutheran Church, a landmark originally built by German immigrants in eighteen ninety-four. For over a century, that predecessor served as a focal point for the community, famously surviving the nineteen oh six earthquake and fire to shelter ten thousand victims. Its wooden facade, which once replicated the scale and style of Chartres Cathedral, was eventually lost in a devastating five-alarm fire in November of nineteen ninety-five.