Property Record
1020 N BROADWAY
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | German-English Academy (Milw. Univ. School) |
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| Other Name: | B Building, Milwaukee School of Engineering |
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| Reference Number: | 16286 |
| Location (Address): | 1020 N BROADWAY |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Milwaukee |
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| Year Built: | 1891 |
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| Additions: | 1892 |
| Survey Date: | 1984 |
| Historic Use: | elementary, middle, jr.high, or high |
| Architectural Style: | Romanesque Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Cream Brick |
| Architect: | CHARLES D. CRANE AND CARL BARKHAUSEN |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | German-English Academy |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 4/11/1977 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | HABS WI-383. Another map code is 9/28. Also functioned as the Klode Furniture Co. from 1930-1933. Hoping to preserve German language and culture in the New World, a group of wealthy German-born Milwaukeeans founded the German-English Academy in 1851. The school enrolled students through the twelfth grade, offering classes in manual arts for boys, domestic science for girls, English for both, and physical education based on the German Turnverein (Turner) system. The schoolhouse actually consists of two cream-brick structures, set on rock-faced limestone foundations and joined by a small hyphen. The south building, built in 1890-91 to house classrooms, features corbeled cornices and diaper work in the front gable, and tourelles at the corners. The north portion or “Turnlehrer Seminar” was built in 1892 to house a gymnasium. Its terracotta spandrels sport depictions of Indian clubs, fencing foils, and other Turnverein athletic equipment. The extensive use of terracotta is characteristic of German American architecture in the 1890s, echoing contemporary German building trends. During World War I, anti-German sentiment compelled the institution to change its name to the Milwaukee University School. The academy left this building in 1927 and relocated in suburban River Hills. Extensive rehabilitation in 1982 restored the academy building's original façade and remodeled the interior for office space. |
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| Bibliographic References: | BUILT IN MILWAUKEE, LANDSCAPE RESEARCH, P. 9. MILWAUKEE HISTORIC BUILDINGS TOUR: JUNEAU TOWN, CITY OF MILWAUKEE DEPARTMENT OF CITY DEVELOPMENT 1994. City Building Permit File. "Downtown Milwaukee" Latus. Milwaukee Sentinel, June 1, 1890. Milwaukee Sentinel, March 15, 1891. Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |