This soaring brick and stone structure was originally founded back in 1848 as the Salem Evangelical Church of Quincy, an offshoot of the German Lutheran tradition. The present building seems to date from 1877, which would be consistent with the appearance of its Gothic Revival tendencies. It joined the United Church of Christ when various Protestant denominations united in the 1950s, as many congregations in St. Louis likewise chose to do.
It is a soaring structure, and it dominates its corner in the South Side neighborhood of German immigrants.
As is common, it looks like the stone elements were painted white, probably due to the stone having been stained by air pollution and the burning of soft and dirty Illinois coal.
The church is a typical German Hallkirche, with no visible or existing transepts.
