Property Record
700 E JONES ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | JONES ISLAND SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT |
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| Other Name: | MILWAUKEE METROPOLITAN SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT |
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| Reference Number: | 27225 |
| Location (Address): | 700 E JONES ST |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Milwaukee |
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| Year Built: | 1925 |
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| Additions: | 1951 1935 |
| Survey Date: | 1979 |
| Historic Use: | sewage utility |
| Architectural Style: | Astylistic Utilitarian Building |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
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| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
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| 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, Division of Historic Preservation-Public History. HAER WI-3. PHOTOS 13/3-11 ARE FILED WITH THE MENOMINEE VALLEY INTENSIVE SURVEY NEGATIVES. The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage Plant was America's first large-scale activated sludge plant. It's success led the way for many other American municipalities to adopt its method of using microorganisms to convert sewage into organic sludge. Prior to 1925, the City of Milwaukee and its suburbs discharged sewage and industrial waste directly into the Milwaukee, Menomonee, and Kinnickinnic rivers, which flowed into Lake Michigan. Polluted rivers caused an almost unbearable stench and public nuisance. An earlier attempt to pump fresh Lake Michigan water via tunnels into the Milwaukee and Kinnickinnic rivers, did little to solve the problem. The plant was designated an National Civil Engineering Landmark in 1974. Resurveyed 2011. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Merritt, Raymond H. Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage Treatment Plant (Jones Island Wastewater Treatment Plant). Historic American Engineering Record. HAER No. WI-3, 1982. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |