Property Record
1711 S SUNNY SLOPE RD
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | New Berlin Fire Station No. 2 |
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| Reference Number: | 239526 |
| Location (Address): | 1711 S SUNNY SLOPE RD |
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| County: | Waukesha |
| City: | New Berlin |
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| Year Built: | 1963 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2019 |
| Historic Use: | fire house |
| Architectural Style: | Contemporary |
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| Wall Material: | Stone Veneer |
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| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | Stone veneer, board and brick sidings. Nearly identical to the station at 5161 S. Sunny Slope Road. 2019 City of New Berlin survey recommendation write-up: This 1960s Contemporary-style fire station is comprised of two units; a gabled garage wing for vehicle storage and a shed-roof office/living quarters that extends from the north elevation of the garage. Built of concrete block, the overall structure is sheathed with a combination of brick, stone veneer and board siding. The garage wing includes two, large, overhead garage doors (one door of which has been replaced) and windows along the south elevation appear to be slider examples. Windows along the north wing are double-hung sash. This structure was built in 1963 as Station No. 2 of the New Berlin Fire Department. The New Berlin Fire Department began with a twenty-man volunteer department that was organized on 2 February 1954, with Earl Brennan elected fire chief. The first station was located in an addition put on to the east end of the Town Garage on W. National Avenue. The department’s fourth station, built in 1968 at 5161 S. Sunny Slope Road, was identical to that of Station No. 2, until a substantial 1999 addition doubled that building’s size. Station No. 3 was established in 1966 at 19985 W. National Avenue--formerly the Prospect Hill Motors property (now home to the New Berlin Historical Society Museum). A fifth station was completed at 2600 S. Calhoun Road in 1971 (that building now serves as the city’s Parks & Recreation Department). As of 1973, the department consisted of 133 men—all of which were still volunteers. With 150 members in 1985, it was recognized as the largest volunteer department in the state. Although the fire chief was a paid position as of 1969, it was not until 2001 that the department was municipally run and paid. Today the department operates four stations: Station No.’s 2 and 4 as described above, as well as two new facilities--Station No. 1 at16260 W. National Avenue and Station No. 3 at 5120 S. Racine Avenue. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Historical & Architectural Resources Survey, City of New Berlin, Waukesha County, Wisconsin prepared by tes | Historical Consulting, LLC, 2019. Footnotes for the 2019 City of New Berlin survey information provided below: “New Berlin Fire Department Tries Out New Equipment and Trucks in Demonstration,” Waukesha Daily Freeman, 6 December 1954, 9; “New Berlin Fire Department Begins Operating in March,” Waukesha Daily Freeman, 20 December 1954, 7; Audrey Juds, “Fire Department Celebrates 50th,” New Berlin Citizen, 28 October 2004; Juds and Totten, New Berlin, Wisconsin, 133-34. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |