Read about - Westminster Presbyterian Church

educe the cost, and delicious dinners produced by Reuben
and Eileen Beuerle were being held to augment the building
funds. The youth groups held a spaghetti dinner, the Women’s
Association was working – all were making contributions
to the cause.
In March 1968 the congregation approved execution of
the necessary contracts for a building costing up to $300,000
with a mortgage loan not to exceed $200,000. A vote of thanks
was given to Ralph Vogler and the sub-committee for leadership
through the period of preparation.
By April 1968 letting of contracts had been approved, a
mortgage of $189,000 at 6 ³⁄4% interest had been obtained
through the Ann Arbor Savings and Loan, and the building
brick had been selected. On Palm Sunday, April 7, after worship
(held in the Phase 1 building) the congregation with
great fanfare and ebullient spirits, joyfully trooped outdoors
for the groundbreaking ceremony. The choir anthem was
“We Would Be Building Temples Still Undone.” Phase 2 was
underway.
Originally, the Livingston firm had envisioned the building
area, which dropped below a ridge paralleling Greenview
Drive, to encompass a stream running along the north side of
the three-phase campus plan, meandering around the buildings,
and ending in a reflecting pool in the south area of the
property. The first plans for the sanctuary showed a building
set on a slab with no basement. Architect Wong advised
borings on the site to determine subsoil characteristics for
the design of the foundations. These indicated footings must
be fourteen feet below grade. In addition, in the area where
Phase 2 was planned, dumping of excavation materials from
neighborhood construction had been permitted, creating an
immense land fill which required excavation to permit building.
With this deep an excavation required for the footings,
plus elimination of the landfill, a basement seemed logical.
the sixties and beyond—33