File:St. John's Lutheran Church, Orchard Park, New York - 20220630.jpg

English: St. John's Lutheran Church, 4536 South Buffalo Street at West Highland Avenue, Orchard Park, New York, June 2022. Built in 1948 to a design by the Buffalo-based architectural firm of Hudson & Hudson, this handsome buff-brick structure is a fine example of the Late Gothic Revival style that, despite Modernism's domination of other fields of architecture, remained popular in the construction of churches well into the mid-20th century. This sprawling complex centers on a sanctuary with a cross-gabled roof and modest-sized stained glass window above the entry, whose simplified tracery, bluntly pointed arch, and smooth cut-stone quoins all exemplify the aesthetic and era well. Founded in 1908, St. John's Lutheran Church was well-known locally during its early years for the splendid setting of its original building, a charming wood-framed structure nestled amongst verdant trees in what would later become Chestnut Ridge Park. After the founding of the park, the congregation at first rebuffed repeated offers by the county government to buy or move the original building; their minds were changed in 1945, when local businessman, landowner and philanthropist Harry Yates donated to them a much more centrally located parcel. The cornerstone-laying ceremony was held in July of the following year, and construction - which totalled $85,000 in costs and was accomplished by the combined labor of contractors, artisans, and volunteers from among the members of the congregation - lasted a year and a half. St. John's is affiliated with the Missouri Synod of Lutheranism.