Salvation Army Now Wants To Save Black Landmark It Planned To Raze

1730 N. 7th St., Salvation Army Lodge. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

In the midst of battle, The Salvation Army has dramatically changed its plan of attack.

The organization initially sought to demolish two of the three buildings at Central City Plaza to create a new homeless shelter.

In doing so, it would have demolished most of the first and only Black designed, developed and owned commercial complex in Wisconsin. Now, it will save the buildings and intends to construct an addition to accommodate its needs.

“We had no idea about the historic significance of this property,” said Salvation Army major Rachel Stouder to the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee building Tuesday afternoon. The organization has used the former plaza motel as a homeless shelter for more than 45 years.

Stouder and the service organization weren’t alone in not knowing the history.

“Shame to say it, I did not know that history prior to you sharing it with me,” said area Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs in praising Historic Preservation Commission senior planner Tim Askin for his research into the complex’s history. Zoning committee chair and council preservation guru Ald. Robert Bauman also previously said he wasn’t aware of the history.

Even Milwaukee Preservation Alliance member Chris Rute, who applied for emergency historic protection for the one-story building at 1747 N. 6th St. in January after the Salvation Army applied to demolish it, said he wasn’t fully aware of the complex’s history. He later expanded his application to permanent historic designation for the entire complex.

Completed in 1973 and designed by Wisconsin’s first Black architect Alonzo Robinson, Central City Plaza included a motel, a restaurant, grocery store, bowling alley, liquor store and other businesses. But the Central City Development Corporation, led by Felmers Chaney, Milwaukee’s first Black police sergeant, and other Black leaders, went bankrupt within a couple of years. The motel has spent most of its life as a shelter for The Salvation Army, while the other buildings have had varied uses including a health care clinic, a dispatching hub for Milwaukee’s Yellow Cab and a Masonic lodge. The complex is located in the Hillside neighborhood at the intersection of W. Walnut and N. 6th streets. It was developed as part of a larger, mostly unsuccessful urban renewal effort.

Askin’s initial report helped generate an understanding of the complex, known most recently only as a visually distinctive collection of buildings constructed in the New Formalism style. It also spurred a coalition of the Milwaukee Preservation Alliance, the Modernism preservation organization Docomomo Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Black Historical Society/Museum and Kim Robinson, Alonzo’s son, to advocate for its preservation.

“To hear about all of this is really great,” said Kim Robinson of the movement to save his late father’s work.

“We agree with the significance. We not only agree with the significance, but we believe it should continue to be taught,” said Stouder.

The Salvation Army initially opposed the designation, setting up a battle pitting Black historians and preservation advocates against a social service agency. Now, the groups are all in alignment.

“We’ve spoken with our architect and they’ve worked really hard to design what we believe is a solution to design a bridge between the two buildings that we own,” said Stouder. Rute and others had previously advocated for at least preserving the facades of the buildings.

“We think this could be a really wonderful solution, both for The Salvation Army and preserving the character of the site,” said architect Clint Selle of Bray Architects. A two-story building, with an approximately 16,000 square foot footprint, would be built atop a parking lot that divides the motel, 1730 N. 7th St., from the 6th Street building.

Bauman said he was confident the historic commission would endorse the connecting structure if it was designed appropriately.

A third building, 600 W. Walnut St., continues to operate as an office building. Property owner Kalan Haywood has never submitted a comment on the record about the designation, but Coggs said he is aware of the complex’s history and was one of the first people to share it with her.

“I’m so grateful to see it work out better than I could have even imagined,” said Coggs. “In a time of our nation when there are extreme efforts to erase the uncomfortable parts of our history, it is so refreshing to see people coming together to affirm and display and preserve the history right here in the city.”

“We are definitely excited about the pivot that the Salvation Army made,” said Department of City Development commercial corridor team member Terrence Moore. He said he was personally happy to see that progress and preservation could occupy the same space, particularly when it comes to Black history. “It is my hope that Milwaukee can be the example of what’s possible if we lead with our hearts and treat each other with humanity, and I think that’s exactly what has happened here.”

The committee unanimously endorsed the permanent historic district. The full council will consider the designation at its April 22 meeting, but will not hold a public hearing. There are some members with close ties to the building, including Russell W. Stamper, II, whose father had a law office in the Walnut Street building and DiAndre Jackson, whose mother worked in a parole office in one of the buildings.

Askin’s 36-page report includes a detailed accounting of the complex’s history and those involved.

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