Property Record
1801 W OLIVE ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Rufus King High School |
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| Other Name: | Rufus King International School - High School Campus |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 16272 |
| Location (Address): | 1801 W OLIVE ST |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Milwaukee |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1932 |
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| Additions: | 2000 |
| Survey Date: | 1980 |
| Historic Use: | school – elem/middle/jr high/high |
| Architectural Style: | Art Deco |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Guy Wiley |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
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| 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. Good example of a large high school in the Art Moderne style. Built at a time when the Great Depression delayed most construction activity in America, this Art Moderne high school, embellished by local artists, testifies to the ingenuity and frugality of its designers and builders, who accomplished their work at reduced cost. The U-shaped building has an impressive, robust character distinct from the Collegiate Gothic and vaguely Neoclassical styles typically employed for Milwaukee’s school buildings during the 1920s and 1930s. The large, soaring central tower is a feature common to many public and institutional buildings designed in the Art Moderne style. The school is named after an early Milwaukee School Board president named for his grandfather, Rufus King, a signer of the U.S. Constitution. As of 2019, the interiors of the school are highly intact and display high quality materials, including terrazzo, decorative metalwork, tilework, and art glass. The school also retains two unique spaces: an “Old English”-style little theater with beamed ceiling, Gothic windows, and Elizabethan timber balcony; and a model apartment containing a paneled dining room and a living room with working fireplace, constructed as part of the school’s home economics department. |
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| Bibliographic References: | BUILT IN MILWAUKEE, LANDSCAPE RESEARCH, P. 103. School Board - Construction Division. Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |