Concordia German Evangelical Church and Rectory
| The United Church | |
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| Concordia German Evangelical Church and Rectory | |
| Die Vereinigte Kirche | |
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| Location | 1920 G St. NW Washington, D.C. |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination |
United Church of Christ United Methodist Church |
| Previous denomination | Lutheran Church |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Church |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | NRHP |
| Designated | 1978 |
| Architect(s) | Paul Schulze Albert Goenner |
| Style | Gothic, Italianate |
| Years built | 1833 1932 (rebuilt) |
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Concordia German Evangelical Church and Rectory
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| Location | 20th and G Sts., NW, Washington, D.C. |
| Coordinates | 38°53′52″N 77°2′42″W / 38.89778°N 77.04500°WCoordinates: 38°53′52″N 77°2′42″W / 38.89778°N 77.04500°W |
| Area | 0.3 acres (0.12 ha) |
| Built | originally in 1833; erected 1885; rebuilt in 1932 |
| Architect | Schulze,Paul; Goenner,Albert |
| Architectural style | Gothic, Italianate |
| NRHP Reference # | 78003055 |
| Added to NRHP | December 14, 1978 |
Concordia German Evangelical Church and Rectory, also known as Concordia United Church of Christ and Rectory is a historic church in Northwest, Washington, D.C. Concordia Church is located in Foggy Bottom on the corner of G and 20th streets. It has been located here since 1833 and was rebuilt in 1932. Founded as Concordia German Evangelical United Church, it is now known as The United Church. It is a member congregation of the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church. It continues to offer German language services and events today, as well as in English.
Its current building was built in 1885-1891 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Sixty Germans who were living in Washington City and Georgetown held a meeting on January 17, 1833, that resulted in the founding of a German Lutheran church. It was not until later that month or in early February that the group agreed upon an official name for their congregation: Concordia German Church. Once the name was decided, J.J. Lehmanhowsky contributed to the founding of the church by writing the church constitution. Later, he would become the first president of the church. Shortly after the name was decided on, talk began concerning the construction of a building for their purposes. The new congregation reached out to both first generation German immigrants and their German American descendants for the financial support needed to fund the future building. Once the funds were beginning to be secured the next logical step for the congregation was to decide on a location for the building. As luck would have it, the city was already waiting for two German churches.
When Washington City was in its formative years, and while Georgetown was being touted as an up-and-coming area, Jacob Funk (sometimes spelled Funck), a German American, had purchased 130 acres of land next to Georgetown in hopes of creating an active German community. The area was commonly referred to as Hamburg and, despite Funk's best efforts, many plots of land remained untouched in the 1800s. In 1768, the German Lutherans and the German Presbyterians (also known as the Reformed) each bought a plot of land from Funk for five pounds sterling. By the time the Concordia German Church began looking for their church's location neither of Funk's plots had seen any use, and Concordia German Church ended up securing the plot that was originally intended for the Lutheran church for their building as well as buying the plot intended for the Reformed church. One of Funk’s daughters would later unsuccessfully make an attempt to legally challenge the transaction. On August 20, 1833 the Masons of the area laid the cornerstone of the building at the corner of present-day G St. NW and 20th St. NW.
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