Property Record
2424 S 4TH STREET
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Greenbush Street Grade School |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | James Whitcomb Riley Grade School |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 230649 |
| Location (Address): | 2424 S 4TH STREET |
|---|---|
| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Milwaukee |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
| Section: | |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1920 |
|---|---|
| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2015 |
| Historic Use: | school – elem/middle/jr high/high |
| Architectural Style: | Late Gothic Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Van Ryn & DeGelleke |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | 2015- "The Greenbush Street School was constructed between 1920 and 1921 and designed by the Milwaukee architecture firm Van Ryn & Degelleke. The building is located at the south side of a large corner lot and is surrounded by a modern chainlink fence. A large, open concrete playground is located on the north side of the school and a modern jungle gym is in front of the school. It is a large, square, brown brick building with a poured concrete foundation, terra cotta details, and modest limestone accents. It is two stories with a raised basement with a limestone water table. The roof is flat with a castellated brick parapet with limestone coping. The parapet features decorative, multicolor, terra cotta diamond plaques that are surrounded by basketweave brickwork on all four elevations of the building. The school faces west onto S. 4th Street and has a central, projecting, two-story entrance tower. The main doorway is covered by a projecting overhang that features a simple metal detail. The entrance doors appear to be modern metal replacements. Windows on all elevations and stories, though varying in width and height, appear to be one-over-one replacements. On the second floor is a row a decorative projecting brick above the windows. The south (side) elevation features a two-story entrance tower at the center. At the west corner is a one-story projecting bay that is most likely where the kindergarten classroom was located. The north (side) elevation also features a centered, two-story, projecting entrance. The school was in session during fieldwork; therefore, interior access was denied, making it difficult to evaluate the school as a property type. The Greenbush Street School was originally planned in 1916, but construction did not begin until 1920, probably due to the shortages associated with World War I. The school was designed by Van Ryn & Degelleke, an architecture firm well known for school designs. In 1912 the firm was hired by the Milwaukee Public School Board as part-time school architects, a role it retained for 12 years. Greenbush Street School is one of the many schools the firm designed during this period. In 1930, after a city-wide street renaming project, the school was renamed the James Whitcomb Riley School, for the poet who wrote "Little Orphan Annie.''" - "STH 38 / S. Chase Ave, W Lincoln Ave to E Ohio Ave", WisDOT ID #2060-00-06, Prepared by Mead & Hunt, Inc. (2015). |
|---|---|
| Bibliographic References: |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |