The Milwaukee Soldiers Home Project is funded in time for Veterans Day
The Housing Trust Fund Advisory Board allocates $150,000 to the project which offers housing to homeless veterans.
Headquarters Building with Old Main behind. Photo by Christopher Hillard.
Alderman Michael Murphy of District 10 is pleased to honor the service member community and their courageous efforts to preserve democracy this Veterans Day by allocating money to The Milwaukee Soldiers Home Project. Today, Ald. Murphy as Chairman of the Housing Trust Fund Advisory Board, along with board members, has allocated $150,000 to the project which offers housing to homeless veterans.
The Milwaukee Housing Trust Fund provides grants and loans for the construction, rehabilitation, and accessibility modification of affordable housing for low- to moderate-income households.
Ald. Murphy says, “Our veterans embody our American ideals of hard work, sacrifice, and resiliency. It is imperative that we honor our veteran’s sacrifices and take care of our service members when they return home, and this project does just that.”
This is part of a larger project to restore and rehabilitate six historic buildings including the iconic Old Main, and provide 101 housing units for veterans and their families who are at risk of becoming homeless.
The allocation of funds comes on the heels of the launch of a capital campaign to support the project. The campaign, led by a coalition of community organizations and volunteers, has a goal of $4.25 million that will leverage an additional $36 million in private investments that have already been secured.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
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This is fantastic news. I’ve walked my dogs on the grounds for the past 20+ years. I also was heavily involved in the wonderful annual Reclaiming Our Heritage event at Wood National Cemetery and the Clement Zablocki VA Hospital grounds. To see these historic buildings slowly become increasingly dilapitated over the years hurt me deep down. I am so happy the funding has come through and, once again, Old Main and the surrounding buildings will house veterans in need.
The history of these grounds is fascinating and worth exploring:
https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/national_cemeteries/wisconsin/Wood_National_Cemetery.html
PS: Liberace, while still living at home in West Allis, used to entertain veterans of the Spanish American War at the Ward Theater.
An interesting read from “Out at the Soldiers’ Home” by Elizabeth Corbett. This book, originally published in 1941, had a limited reprint in 2008:
http://historicmilwaukeeva.org/Ward_Theater.html
I’ve seen the restoration progress. What happened to the U. S. Grant stained glass window in the Ward Theatre? Is it gone or will it be returned?