In a solemn ceremonial service, the Saint Paul's Evangelical Lutheran congregation (German) laid the cornerstone of its new house of worship yesterday afternoon at four o'clock. The new church is under construction at the corner of Franklin and Superior Streets. Although weather conditions were very unfavorable, about four hundred persons gathered to witness the rites, at which Reverend Henry Wunder officiated.

After a band had rendered an appropriate prelude, the congregation sang the hymn "Praise To The Lord, The Almighty, The King of Creation". Thereupon, the Reverend Richmann, of Shaumburg, delivered an address in German on a topic in keeping with the occasion. Reverend Beier, pastor of the Lutheran Church on the West Side, spoke in English, substituting for an Anglo-American clergyman who had accepted an invitation to address the congregation but who was unable to appear. After another hymn had been 2sung by the congregation, Reverend Wunder laid the documents that were to be placed in the cornerstone in a glass box, which was then laid in a copper box. The documents referred to were:

1. The Book of Concord, which contains the confessional writings of the orthodox Evangelical Lutheran Church;

2. A copy of the hymnal used by the congregation;

3. A copy of the constitution of Saint Paul's, signed by the officers, of the members of the building committee, and the voting members of the congregation;

4. A description of the ceremony attending the occasion;

5. The name of the architect and the contractor erecting the building.

6. A copy of all the newspapers published in Chicago.

Reverend Wunder then placed the copper box in the space reserved for it; the keystone was dropped, and the service was concluded with the singing of another hymn. The edifice, according to the plans drawn by the well-known 3architect, Otto Matz, will be 55 feet wide and 100 feet long, and will be built in the Roman style. The basement will be 18 feet high, and will be arranged for school rooms. The upper part of the structure will be of brick construction. There will be one facade on Superior Street and another on Franklin Street. The door and window frames will be of cut stone. The tower will be on the Franklin Street side and will be 150 feet high, measured from the level of the sidewalk. There will be three entrances on the Franklin Street side. The windows will be of stained glass.

[Translator's note: The Reverend Henry Wunder was born on March 12, 1830, at Muggendorf, Bavaria, Germany, the youngest of the nine children of Conrad and Barbara Mueller Wunder. When Henry was eleven years old, his father died. He attended the village school at Muggendorf until 1844, when he entered the institute of Reverend Loehe of Neudettelsau, Bavaria, with the intention of devoting himself to Lutheran mission work in America. He graduated from Loehe's institute in 1846, and was sent to America. He sailed from Bremen on the 4"Caroline," and landed in New York after a trip of sixty three days. He immediately set out for the little known Seminary of the Lutheran Church, which, at that time was located in Altenburg, Missouri. He was graduated in 1849, and on December 16 of that year he was ordained by the Reverend C. F. W. Walther. His first charge was the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Millstadt, Illinois, which he served until 1851, when he accepted a call to become the pastor of the First Saint Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church of Chicago, which had been founded by the Reverend Selle. He began his work with this congregation on September 18, 1851. At that time, Saint Paul's house of worship was on Indiana Street, between Wells and Franklin Streets, where it had been built in 1849. The congregation grew rapidly under the leadership of the Reverend Wunder, and in 1864 a larger church was built, which served only until 1871 when it was destroyed by the Chicago Fire. Wunder and all but three of his flock lost everything they owned. They were not discouraged, however, and immediately built another structure, an exact replica of the one that was destroyed. Reverend Wunder continued to 5serve Saint Paul's until his death in 1915, having served in the ministry for a little more than 64 years and at Saint Paul's for more than 62 years. He also made extended mission journeys to neighboring states and established congregations in La Porte, Indiana; Saint Joseph, Michigan; Aurora, Joliet, Champaign, and Rock Island, Illinois.]