Property Record
7600 W NORTH AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | LONGFELLOW MIDDLE SCHOOL |
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| Other Name: | |
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| Reference Number: | 233197 |
| Location (Address): | 7600 W NORTH AVE |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Wauwatosa |
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| Year Built: | 1956 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 201620242025 |
| Historic Use: | school – elem/middle/jr high/high |
| Architectural Style: | Contemporary |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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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. The first Longfellow school was a Junior High School built in 1928 on the present site of the Wauwatosa High School on the east side of Wauwatosa. The high school expanded and incorporated the junior high school in 1931, but the junior remained a part of the school building until the 1950s. Longfellow Middle School was constructed in 1956. Longfellow Middle School was original constructed with two extant auditoriums, two gymnasiums, and a swimming pool. The school presently has 833 students. 2024: Longfellow Middle School is an irregular-plan, Contemporary-style educational building constructed in 1956. It is clad in brick with stone accents and has a concrete foundation and flat roof with metal parapet. The front (south) facade features multi-light metal windows and multiple doors under a deep awning with concrete supports. The side (east) elevation includes a row of metal-frame fixed-light windows, and a metal sign for the school. Two, two-story, angled wings connect the southern massing that fronts North Avenue with a northern massing that fronts a large parking lot. The rear (north) elevation includes glass-block windows and three recessed entrances. A courtyard is located between the wings and the northern massing. A concrete driveway circles the buildings on the north, east, and west sides, and athletic fields are located to the north of the building. This school was constructed as part of an effort to expand the Wauwatosa school district in the 1950s. It appears to be a highly intact example of a postwar junior high school and Contemporary-style school building design. The building displays character-defining features associated with schools of this period including flat-roof; rectangular building massing; long, horizontal fixed-glass and glass block windows; geometric details such as square cut outs in recessed entrances; and overhanging entry canopies. 2025 - Appearance unchanged |
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| Bibliographic References: | Wauwatosa School District website. <www.edlinesites.net/pages/Wauwatosa_School_District> accessed January 1, 2017 |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |