Residents in Milwaukee's Brewers Hill neighborhood are rallying to preserve a 138-year-old Gothic Revival church after learning a demolition permit was filed without the building owner's knowledge.The Second German Episcopal Chu rch, located at the corner of 2nd and Garfield, has been a cornerstone of the community since the late 1800s. The historic cream city brick building caught the attention of neighborhood advocates when a raze permit application appeared in city records in October."This building has a cherished history attached to it, and if the building falls, that history may go along with it," said Rachel Marken, vice president of the Historic Brewers Hill Neighborhood Association. The neighborhood association has monitored the building for years, making the demolition application particularly alarming to residents."We went, as a board, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on, what's happening? They're gonna tear this building down?'" Marken explained.City documents show a raze permit application was submitted to the Department of Neighborhood Services (DNS) in October; however, building owner Ryan Pattee said he did not know about the filing."We did not file the raze permit," Pattee said."Did you know that someone else had filed a raze permit to demolish the building you own," Reporter Jenna Rae asked Pattee."We did not until I got the letter from the Historic Brewers Hill Association. I immediately contacted my attorney, and then contacted the third party that filed it, and told them to remove it immediately," Pattee explained.Watch: Milwaukee neighbors fight to save historic church from potential demolition Milwaukee neighbors fight to save historic church from potential demolitionAccording to DNS documents, New Berlin Grading filed the application. TMJ4 called New Berlin Grading, Wednesday, but never heard back.Pattee remains firm in his position regarding the building's future."I have no plans on razing this building. That's not something I do," Pattee said.A spokesperson for the DNS said the building was never under threat of demolition and that steps in the permitting process would have alerted the owner.The city's Historic Preservation Commission is now reviewing the building's historic designation, with a decision potentially coming January 12.Marken described the Gothic Revival architecture as a "beautiful example of cream city brick" and emphasized the building's importance to the community."Someone got married in this church, their mom used to go to this church, I look at that church out of my backyard every single day," Marken said. "We knew that it was our place to step up and defend a church because a building doesn't have a spokesperson."The neighborhood association continues to advocate for the building's preservation as part of Milwaukee's architectural heritage and the fabric of the Brewers Hill community.This story was reported on-air by Jenna Rae and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.Its about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for TMJ4 on your device.Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.Report a typo or error ...read more read less