Concordia United Church of Christ and Rectory (Concordia German Evangelical Church)
This church, one of the finest Victorian eclectic churches still standing in Washington, represents the more elaborate element of local architecture of the 1880s and 1890s.
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Designed by Washington architects Paul Schulze and Albert Goenner, the Concordia United Church of Christ and Rectory represent two aspects of the Victorian style, the most popular architectural style in the city. Both of the two structures and the surrounding area are dominated by the imposing square tower of the church, which serves as an anchor to the corner and a focal point for the landmark buildings in the surrounding blocks.
The two buildings, built by a German congregation, stand on a site that was in continuous ownership of that congregation since the late eighteenth century when the area was known as Funkstown or Hamburg, an early settlement which predated the founding of the Federal City. The handsome structure was an important element in the lives of Germans living in Washington during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The original church on this site, the predecessor of the present church, was built in 1833. It was the first German church in the District of Columbia until 1846, when a faction of the congregation broke away to form an English-speaking church. The present church was built between 1891 and 1892.
DC Inventory: August 11, 1977
National Register: December 14, 1978
