| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. Pfeifer Construction Co. was the builder. Remodeled in 2007. Main facade is plate-glass and exposed steel structural beams.
The last privately-built railroad passenger station constructed in the United States, the Milwaukee Road built this station in 1965. It was designed by Donald L. Grieb & Associates of Milwaukee. The station was also utilized by the Chicago & NorthWestern Railroad as a passenger depot and the Milwaukee Road used it for its general offices into the early 1980s. Amtrak service was instituted in 1971. The 2007 remodel was designed by Eppstein Uhen Architects.
Resurveyed for Milwaukee Downtown Connector Arch/History Survey, SHPO#10-0983, Prepared by Heritage Research (2010).
Donald Grieb, famous for his design of the Mitchell Park Geodesic Domes, created Milwaukee’s Amtrak Depot using repeated arch motifs typical of the New Formalism. While his domes became one of Milwaukee’s landmarks, the Amtrak station never earned a corresponding level of civic pride. Locals ridiculed it for its skinny windows, “gimmicky” bell tower, unusable entry portico, and acres of industrial wasteland south across the Menomonee River. In 2000, the Wisconsin Transportation Department purchased the building for an intermodal transportation center for rail, cabs, and buses. Its top two floors provide offices for Wisconsin DOT planners. |
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