| Additional Information: | A 'site file' titled "General Mitchell Airport, Air Reserve Station" 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. Previously surveyed in 2007.
2007-
Building 300 is located at 300 East College Avenue on the north side of 9th Avenue at General Mitchell IAP ARS in the City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Building 300 is a single-story, rectangular-plan, concrete block building that sits atop a concrete foundation. It is capped by a flat roof. The roof fascia is sheathed in anodized aluminum. The building is pierced by two industrial windows on the east and west facades, respectively. Access is gained by doors on the north and south facades.
Building 300 was constructed in 1956 as the Pumping Station for the US Air Force Reserve (AFRES) installation at General Billy Mitchell Field, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was designed by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Milwaukee District, the branch of the military that typically oversaw design and construction for military installations.
As described in the Historic Building Inventory and Evaluation, General Mitchell International Airport Air Reserve Station prepared for the Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence (AFCEE) in 2007, Building 300 has played an evolving role in the history of the installation which has been home to the 440th Airlift Wing (AW) since 1957, a unit of AFRES dedicated to providing air transport and airlift for deploying troops, cargo, and humanitarian aid in support of national policy. For the first two-and-a-half decades of its existence, it functioned as the pump house for installation's reservoir, an independent water supply system that would enable the installation to remain open and active in the event of a major catastrophe. In the 1980s, the reservoir was closed and converted into an indoor arms range and as a result, Building 300 was converted into a training classroom. Building 300 has been altered over time, including a change in function.
2024: This pump house/classroom has undergone few, if any changes since it was last inventoried. The structure's function was altered around 1980 to become a classroom, but the footprint and exterior have undergone minimal alterations. Although components reflective of its original use have been removed, the 1956 astylistic utilitarian structure is associated with the early, Cold War era activities of the air reserve station. Specific or significant events associated with the structure have not been identified. |
|---|
