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Church of Peace, 1114 12th Street
Most Significant Unprotected Structures:
Byzantine style church building is very rare, with unique steeple
Architectural Style:
Byzantine
Construction Date:
1912
Architect/Builder:
George Stauduhar, Architect, 1912; Benj. Horn, Architect, 1927 addition
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The Church of Peace, United Church of Christ was founded in 1895 and has remained a solid fixture in Rock Island's West End since that time. In 1912, the 9th Street property where the church had been located was sold and the present church was erected at 12th Street and 12th Avenue. The pastor at the time was Rev. Frederick Rolf, who remained with the congregation until 1951, after serving over 43 years. During this time, the membership burgeoned from 32 families to over 600 members. At the end of World War I, the official language of the church changed from German to English.
The educational building was added in the 1950s and eventually connected the church to the parsonage. It was dedicated in May 1956. Under the leadership of Rev. Kenneth Kuenning, the church membership made a commitment to the neighborhood and the West End and helped form the Community Caring Conference in 1976. This grassroots agency works with neighborhood residents and block clubs to improve quality of life in many different ways. Breachmenders, a nonprofit agency that took abandoned homes and rehabilitated them into low-income housing, was also an outgrowth of Church of Peace during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
This relatively small building is a stunning example of an architectural style rarely found in the Midwest, Byzantine Revival. The roots of the style come from 4th, 5th and 6th centuries, after Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the empire to Byzantium and the Eastern Orthodox Church was formed. Most commonly, a Byzantine church includes a rotunda enclosed in a square and topped with a dome. The belfry was added in 1916, paid for the the Ladies Aid Society. The inside of thechurch features a beautiful rose window and many other pieces of stained glass in art in various forms.
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