“Immanuel Lutheran Church was founded in 1864 and built its first church at Academy and Chestnut in 1886. In 1881 the property at Washington and Institute was bought and a small church on it served them ten years. In 1891 the present structure was erected by the well-known builder, Henry Lemster and his son, Charles. With its lofty domed ceilings and its smoothly finished walls the resulting acoustics were splendid and the fine tall stained glass windows provided a flood of light. A pipe organ was installed and in 1930 the large Parish Hall was added. On Thursday July 31, 1975, the church was gutted by fire. The interior was destroyed, the stained glass windows were damaged or destroyed, and the pipes of the organ were literally melted. Immanuel congregation moved its worship services to its Lutheran School gymnasium in northeast Valparaiso and in November decided to build its long-planned new church at that site. Some 60 members of Immanuel, wishing to restore the damaged building, formed a sister congregation. The structure and site were sold to this sister congregation during the summer of 1976. Heritage Lutheran Church was the name chosen by the new congregation. The restored structure was re-dedicated to the praise and glory of God on October 29, 1978. In 1981 the majestic steeple was installed to replace the original which had been removed for safety reasons in 1957. The restoration of the structure is now complete. Our church building is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.” (Heritage Lutheran church website)
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