Property Record
5812 N SANTA MONICA BLVD
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Richards School |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 9321 |
| Location (Address): | 5812 N SANTA MONICA BLVD |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Whitefish Bay |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
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| Quarter Section: | |
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| Year Built: | 1928 |
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| Additions: | 1932 1951 1958 1989 2011 |
| Survey Date: | 20111980 |
| Historic Use: | school – elem/middle/jr high/high |
| Architectural Style: | Late Gothic Revival |
| 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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| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | 1980- ENTRY TOWER W/ WIDE SEGMENTAL ARCH OVER ENTRYGOTHIC TRACERY BETWEEN WINDOWS 2011- In 1928, Whitefish Bay’s third elementary school, Richards School, was constructed for approximately $242,000 on 5.5 acres of land. It served kindergarten through eighth grade students in the northern portion of the village. It was built using the same plan as Humboldt School, constructed of concrete, and faced with brick and Bedford stone. Both schools were designed as three units: the original central unit with a wing on each side to be constructed as the need for more classrooms arose. The construction of the first of these wings soon after the school’s opening helped house the village’s ninth grade students in 1930, as well as the tenth grade the following school year, during the transition away from attending Shorewood High School before the completion of Whitefish Bay High School in 1932. Additions were constructed to Richards School in 1951 for classrooms and again in 1958 for a combination gymnasium and auditorium. In 1989, the school district reorganized, at which time Richards School’s sixth through eighth grades were moved to the new Whitefish Bay Middle School, located in the former Henry Clay School. Richards School serves kindergarten through fifth grade to present day. In 2010, construction began on a new cafeteria wing. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Whitefish Bay Historical Research Project. Volume 9. Mimi Bird Collection, Whitefish Bay: Whitefish Bay Public Library |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |