Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church

 On Sunday, February 3, 1929, Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Covington was formally dedicated. Parish Archivist Bertha Neff noted that it was an attractive brick structure located at the corner of 23rd Avenue and Madison Street, and a landmark to the courage of a small group to keep the banner of the faith planted on the forefront of the times.

Early records indicated that the church was an outreach effort of the pastor at the Abita Springs Evangelical Lutheran Church. The group had extended their labors to the neighboring communities of Covington, Mandeville, Waldheim and Goodbee.

The Covington mission was established by the Rev. M. F. Kuegle on December 17, 1911, and services for a long time were held at various places such as the Masonic Hall, the M.C.B. Library, the Methodist Church, or some private home, according to information found in the papers of the late Mrs. Neff, who served as parish archivist for years in St. Tammany Parish.

Eight years following the 1929 dedication of this building, Zion Church took on an independent status, with Messers Albert Davis, A.A. Stanga, B. Peyroni, E. L. Young, B. S. Bywater, Norman F. Marsolan, Stanton H. Marsolan, and Rev. A. H. Klamt, its pastor, as charter members.

 

 

 

Here is the cornerstone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 1927 Sanborn Map of Covington

  Over the years the building has served other churches, most recently the Three Rivers Presbyterian Church, and for several years the building was home to the Creative Dance Center, Rosemerry Fuhrmann Hanian's dance studio and Danceplayers group.  

Here are some interior photos from when it was serving as a dance studio.

 

 

 

 

Interior Photographs 2021

 

The following interior photos were taken in May of 2021, as the building is serving as the home for Three Rivers Presbyterian Church. 

 

 

 

The altar

 

 

The pressed tin ceiling

 

 

So, what happened to the steeple? Sources say that when the Lutheran church built a new building on Hwy. 21 south of Covington they needed the bell from the 23rd Avenue building, so they dismantled the steeple, removed the bell and took it to the new church. 

 

 

 

The Three Rivers Presbyterian Church

 

See also:

Abita Springs Evangelical Lutheran Church

Parish Archivist Bertha Neff 

Rosemerry Fuhrmann Hanian