Catholic Syrian and Lebanese immigrants settled in this part of Milwaukee during the late nineteenth century. They spoke Arabic and practiced the Melkite Christian rite that adhered to the authority of the Eastern patriarch. St. George’s is the only Melkite parish in Wisconsin. To create an appropriate house of worship, Brielmaier and Sons included features thought to be of Eastern, in this case Byzantine, origin. The design featured round-headed tall windows emphasized by brick arches and compressed onion domes, which are covered in sheet metal, capping the towers. Inside the church an iconostasis (a screen decorated with religious paintings or icons) separates worshipers from the clergy and altar area, as in Orthodox churches.