St. Paul Lutheran Church

On March 31, 1873, St. Paul Lutheran Church began as a Lutheran orphanage located at University Avenue and Main Street. The following August, the Reverend George Speckhard was installed as the superintendent of the orphanage, pastor of the church, and instructor for deaf children. Oakland County recognizes St. Paul as its first Lutheran church. The orphanage and school moved to Detroit in 1875, while the congregation remained, operating out of a former Baptist church. The congregation bought this property in 1886 and built a wooden chapel. Members handled much of the construction, felling the logs and hauling them to a sawmill in Clawson. The day school was founded with eleven students in 1916. The cornerstone for a new, brick church was laid on August 17, 1917. The St. Paul Lutheran congregation dedicated this church on January 22, 1973. It was designed to resemble “an ancient ark plowing through water.” The 1917 church it replaced seated three hundred and once stood as the tallest building in Royal Oak. From the belfry, one could see the Ambassador Bridge, Belle Isle, and the Seven Sisters smokestacks. At the time of the former building’s dedication, January 20, 1918, most of the congregation’s services were held in German, and seating and Holy Communion were separated by gender. Fredrick Mason designed this 1951 school building. Mason’s work in Royal Oak includes the 1922 Washington Theatre and the 1927 Washington Square Building. An additional wing to the school was completed in 1959.