Emanuel Lutheran Church

Between 1900 and 1915, more than 15 million immigrants found homes in America, many of them in Texas. Some created their own towns but those who moved to urban areas were often assimilated into the larger culture. It was typical, however, for non-English speaking groups to form churches in their new communities that conducted worship services in their native languages. East Dallas had several smaller churches that served non-native speakers including the German Evangelical Church at Texas and Florence streets, and the Carroll Avenue German Baptist (now Iglesia Bautista) Church (a contributing member of the Peak's Suburban Addition Historic District), at 1100 N. Carroll Avenue. Most foreign language churches in Dallas were relatively small and built in neighborhoods where the majority of their members settled. Although there was a concentrated Swiss/French community in East Dallas (Wilson Block, N.R. 1983) formed in the 19th century, no other European groups in Dallas formed major enclaves comprised solely of their fellow countrymen in the early 20th century. Most European immigrants in Dallas during this period were craftsmen and tradesmen who were drawn to the suburbs for the reasons touted in the advertisements of the day: streetcar access to jobs, the possibility of home ownership, a healthy environment, good schools and parks, and nice neighborhoods.

Neighborhood churches and schools were an integral part of suburban landscapes and East Dallas has its share of both. That some were originally foreign-language churches made little difference. They were an accepted part of the suburban pattern of East Dallas. As time passed and the second generations took charge of these congregations, their assimilation into American society became evident. Most of the German, Swedish and Norwegian congregations in Dallas began conducting services in English during the 1920s and 1930s, and most changed their names, dropping the foreign affiliation, at that time. This was particularly true of German Baptist and German Lutheran churches which changed their names in the wake of the patriotic fervor spawned by World War I. By 1930, most churches had undergone the transformation, and there was little to indicate that the church had ever been anything other than American. Emanuel Lutheran Church was one such church.

The Emanuel Lutheran Church, originally the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Immanuel Church, was organized in January 1906, by ten communicants, led by Rev. Theodore Seashore, who wished to worship in their native language. Members of the small congregation initially met every other week at the German Evangelical Church at Texas and Florence streets until they were able to build their own church. Several East Dallas sites were investigated before the congregation purchased the lot at Peak and San Jacinto Street in 1921 for $3,650. Groundbreaking for the basement took place in 1923. At the same time, a parsonage was built at 4503 San Jacinto, next to the sanctuary lot, to house the first regular pastor, Rev. Emil Johnson. The small congregation of 52 members, met in the basement until the church was finally completed on September 13, 1931, nearly 10 years after the groundbreaking. After a quarter century of assimilation in Dallas, the Swedish congregation decided to hold their services in English instead of Swedish, and in 1930 they changed their name to Evangelical Emanuel Lutheran Church.

Today, however, in response to the needs of another ethnic minority, the church has a Spanish language ministry which was begun in 1975 by current pastor William Bengtson. In the same tradition, Pastor Kwang Ja Yu joined the pastoral staff in 1985, as part of Emanuel Lutheran's outreach program to the growing Asian population in the surrounding community. Although the neighborhood community it serves has been transformed demographically several times over the years, Emanuel Lutheran Church has changed very little since it was completed in 1931.

The Emanuel Lutheran Church, with its late Gothic Revival detailing, is one of a small number of historic churches in East Dallas that is virtually unaltered and retains its integrity to a high degree. The late Gothic Revival style was a popular selection for designers of contemporaneous religious buildings of East Dallas, but few have remained unchanged. The Emanuel Lutheran Church is a noteworthy local example of this style.