German-English Academy

Building Info

Address:
1020 N Broadway
Taxkey:
3930412000
Architect:
Crane and Barkhausen
Architectural Style:
Neo-Romanesque
Status:
Completed
Assessment:
$2,346,000 (2015)
Year Built:
1891
Size:
37,673 sq-ft

Historic office building located in downtown Milwaukee. Owned by the Milwaukee School of Engineering, but the university leases out the building to private office tenants.

From the 1981 Landmarks Commission/Department of City Development report…

Fearing a gradual loss of cultural identity and alarmed because public schools failed to teach the German language, a group of wealthy and influential German citizens of Milwaukee founded the Milwaukee Educational Association (Milwaukee Schulverein) on May 10, 1851. Later that year the Association established a school. In 1853 a building was erected on land purchased on Broadway between Juneau and Knapp Streets and with several expansions the school remained in this building for over thirty-five years. Since the German-English Academy had joined during these years with the National Teacher’s Seminary and the North America Gymnastic Union, more space was needed. In 1891 Mrs. Guido Pfister and her daughter, Mrs. Frederick Vogel, built a new school on the present site in memory of their husband and father and donated it to the Association. In 1892 the Gymnastic Union built a gymnasium and school rooms next door and subsequently the two buildings were joined.

The buildings were designed by the architectural firm of Charles D. Crane and Carl C. Barkhausen. The architecture shows an eclectic influence of Queen Anne and Victorian Romanesque styles. The building is three and one-half stories high, veneered with crema creak and decorated with cream-colored terra cotta. The gymnasium wing features a series of three two-story round-arched windows decorated with clusters of tiny supporting columns.

During World War I the name of the school was changed first to the Milwaukee Academy and then to Milwaukee University School. In 1927 the School vacated the building, and it remained until until 1930, when the Klode Furniture Company purchased it. The Milwaukee School of Engineering acquired and has occupied it since 1933.

Photos

Activity

ID	Date	Type	Description
ELEV-19-00027	2019/02/08	Permit	Elevator Permit
ELEC-FA-19-00017	2019/01/24	Permit	Fire Alarm Permit
TANK-19-00008	2019/01/11	Permit	Tank Permit
ELEC-18-08352	2018/11/28	Permit	Electrical Permit
PBFS-18-01243	2018/10/26	Permit	Plumbing-Fire Protection Permit
COM-ALT-18-00814	2018/10/04	Permit	Commercial Alteration Permit
HVAC-GEN-18-02755	2018/08/25	Permit	HVAC General Permit.
PLB-18-03065	2018/06/30	Permit	Building Plumbing Permit.
PLB-18-03026	2018/06/28	Permit	Building Plumbing Permit.
PWEU-18-02059	2018/05/22	Permit	ROW Excavation Utility.
BLD_COND-18-00007	2018/05/10	Permit	Conditional Building Permit.
PWEU-18-01835	2018/05/10	Permit	ROW Excavation Utility.
COM-ALT-18-00368	2018/05/05	Permit	Commercial Alteration Permit.
PWEU-18-01669	2018/05/02	Permit	ROW Excavation Utility.
ELEC-18-02723	2018/05/01	Permit	Electrical Permit.
COM-FF-18-00008	2018/04/10	Permit	Commercial Footing and Foundation Permit.
COM-ADD-18-00029	2018/04/10	Permit	Commercial Addition Permit.
ECP-18-00177	2018/04/10	Permit	Erosion Control Permit.
ASBP-18-00056	2018/03/22	Permit	Asbestos Project.
PWOP-18-00178	2018/02/26	Permit	ROW Occupancy Permit.
PWOP-17-01390	2017/09/29	Permit	ROW Occupancy Permit.
ID	Date	Description	Type