| Additional Information: | This one-story structure is comprised of three periods of construction that date to 1937, 1964 and 1973. Sheathed with Lannon stone, the building features a classical entry with a portico to the south. Centered along a side-gabled wing, the entrance includes a multiple-light glass door with flanking sidelights. A pair of multiple-light, double-hung sash windows are located to the left (south), while a three-sided bay window is at the right. A front-facing gabled wing dominates the street-facing elevation and carries a series of four, regularly placed, double-hung sash windows. A vented circular opening rests in the peak and is trimmed with brick. The remaining Delafield Street elevation is, again, side-gabled like the entrance block and carries additional multiple-light windows. Most windows along this elevation, which have all been replaced, are flanked with black shutters. The final addition to the building is located at the rear, but it is also sheathed with Lannon stone and includes multiple-light fenestration.
The Waukesha Police Department was established in 1896, the same year that the City of Waukesha incorporated as a second-class city. The first police station was located on the second floor of 300 W. Main Street. With Theodore Kolster serving as police chief and George Coutts as mayor, the Police and Fire Commission approved the construction of a building that was to specifically serve as the police department. The city contracted with the Milwaukee firm of Kloppenburg & Butterfield to draw up the plans, which date to 1936. The original part of the building was completed in 1937 at an estimated cost of $30,000. The first addition, which consisted of six rooms, was designed in 1961 by local engineering firm of DeQuardo & Crouch Associates, but was not built until 1964. Another addition, this one measuring 100 x 100 feet, was added in 1973 at an approximate cost of $130,953.00. In 1992, the department moved to its new headquarters at 1901 Delafield Street. The subject building is currently utilized by the Waukesha Department of Public Works. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Original permit dated 30 November 1936; est. cost, $30,000; architects cited on plans and E.C. Knuth, contractor.
Permit for addition, 17 April 1973, est. cost, $130,953.
Original 1936 plans on file at the Wisconsin Architectural Archive, Milwaukee Public (Central) Library.
Walter Schwanz, Marcie Zarr and Lt. William H. Graham Jr., comps., “A Historical Look at the Waukesha Police Department,” Available online at www.ci.waukesha.wi.us/web/guest/policehistory, Accessed May 2014; “Spring City’s Past,” 36; Kloppenburg & Butterfield, “Municipal Police Headquarters Building,” Original plans, 15 August 1936, Plans on file at the WAA; Permit for addition, 29 September 1961; Permit for addition, 17 April 1973; “Waukesha Project to Be Studied,” The Milwaukee Journal, 10 November 1972.
WPA Project Cards (Waukesha-Statewide), Available online at http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/ref/ collection/tp/id/80609, Accessed June 2014. |
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