543 N Water St

543 N Water St

Milwaukee

Milwaukee

1961

1963

2000,2025

parking structure

Miesian

Metal

Harrison & Abramovitz

No

Locally designated 11-17-87. 750 Car Capacity.ty. 2001- "Built in 1961, this six-story parking garage is sheathed with metal mesh and has a 750-car capacity. Wisconsin Architecture & History Inventory records indicate this structure was locally designated on November 1 7, 1987. But a representative from the City of Milwaukee Preservation Office states that this structure is not listed. Rather, the East Side Commercial Historic District, which borders but does not include this structure, was locally designated on November 17, 1987. It appears that the Wisconsin Architecture & History Inventory records inadvertently include this property in that designation." - "Marquette Interchange, Milwaukee", WisDOT ID #1060-05-02, Prepared by Heritage Research (McQuillen) (2001). 2025; The Marine Bank Parking Building is a 1961 Miesian-style commercial parking structure designed by Harrison & Abramovitz. The large-scale rectilinear form is six stories high with a width that spans one city block. Its footprint is boxed in by East Clybourn Street, East Michigan Street, North Water Street, and the Milwaukee River. The concrete construction is raised on concrete piers and is joined at the lower level by teller stations, stairwells, and elevator shafts clad in cream brick. The perimeter of the ramp is caged in metal mesh curtain walls stretched over a grid-like frame, spanning from the second level and just past the cornice. The parking structure is connected by skywalk to Chase Bank at 111 East Wisconsin Avenue – an International-style office high-rise designed by the same architectural firm in the same year (it was heavily remodeled in 2021). The original footprint was expanded by a 1963 addition. This resource was evaluated for the National Register under Criteria A, B, and C. Preliminary research does not suggest any potential significance under Criterion A: History, or Criterion B: People. Under Criterion C: Architecture, the resource is an intact, yet typical example of the Miesian style applied to a mid-twentieth century commercial parking structure. The structure is a modest example of the work undertaken by the Harrison & Abramovitz firm, whose catalogue includes the United Nations headquarters in New York City. It lacks sufficient architectural interest to be eligible for the National Register within the context of Milwaukee.

Not Listed