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Summary
Nicolet High School
111 S Third Street, De Pere, Brown County, WI
Date of Construction: 1923
Architects: Foeller, Schober, and Stephenson
The very intact Nicolet High School was built on the west side of the City of De Pere in 1923 as a modern, up-to-date replacement for the west side’s earlier high school building. It is now the west side’s only surviving pre-World War II public school building. The west side’s new $140,000.00, three-story-tall, brick-clad school building was designed in the Neo-Classical Revival style by the prominent Green Bay, Wisconsin architectural firm of Foeller, Schober, and Stephenson. This firm had previously designed a new elementary school for the west side of De Pere in 1901, as well as many other schools located in nearby Green Bay and in other communities located throughout northeast Wisconsin.
Once completed, the school continued to be used for its original purpose until 1958, by which time the needs of De Pere’s rapidly increasing west side student population could no longer be met by its existing building. Consequently, Nicolet High School was sold to the Norbertine Order of the Roman Catholic Church, whose St. Norbert College campus in De Pere was located just one block to the south of the high school. A newer, much larger west side public high school was then built to replace it. The timing of this sale was excellent because by 1958, the private Catholic high school for boys that the Norbertine Fathers had conducted in one of the St. Norbert College‘s buildings for more than thirty years was also in dire need of larger quarters. As a result, the former Nicolet High School was slightly remodeled and then reopened as Abbot Pennings High School in 1959. Abbot Pennings High School continued in operation as a high school until June of 1990, at which time it was merged with other schools in the Green Bay diocese. Subsequently, the former high school building was purchased by St. Norbert College, which renamed it as the Pennings Activity Center and which still uses the building today to house both classrooms and various administrative offices.
Property Details
| Criteria | Architecture/Engineering,Event |
|---|---|
| Area Of Significance | Architecture,Education |
| Period of Significance | 1923,1923-1958 |
| Architectural Style | Classical Revival |
| Architect | Foeller, Schober & Stephenson |
| Resource Type | Building |
| Historic Use | School |
Resources Within The Property
| Contributing Buildings | 1 |
|---|---|
| Contributing Sites | 0 |
| Contributing Structures | 0 |
| Contributing Objects | 0 |
| Non-Contributing Buildings | 0 |
| Non-Contributing Sites | 0 |
| Non-Contributing Structures | 0 |
| Non-Contributing Objects | 0 |
Designations
| Historic Status | Listed in the State Register |
|---|---|
| National Historic Landmark Listing Date | May 8, 2015 |
| Historic Status | Listed in the National Register |
| National Historic Landmark Listing Date | Oct 5, 2015 |
| Historic Status | Removed from State Register |
| National Historic Landmark Listing Date | Aug 23, 2024 |
| Historic Status | Removed from National Register |
| National Historic Landmark Listing Date | Dec 18, 2024 |
State & National Registers of Historic Places
The State Register and National Register recognize buildings, sites, districts, structures, and objects that are significant in national, state, or local history. The State Historic Preservation Office in conjunction with the National Park Service maintains the list for Wisconsin and makes the data available to the public for research and education.
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Bounded by Grant St, Lee J. Roemer Mall, Marsh St, and the Fox River
100001658
Located in De Pere, Brown County
