37th Street School
37th Street School
The Washington Park area is home to the 37th Street Elementary School building between W. Walnut Street and W. Roberts Street on the West Side of Milwaukee. The school building was built in 1903 and was first listed as a public school in Wright's City of Milwaukee Directory in 1904 as a part of Milwaukee's 19th District.
According to Robert Tanzilo, author of Historic Milwaukee Public Schoolhouses, the school is considered part of a historic family of schoolhouses in the Milwaukee Public School District. The 37th Street School is a twin to the Seifert School, also built in 1903. Interestingly, the two extremely similar schools are credited to two different architects out of two different firms. The 37th Street School was designed by George Birnbach, while George Ehlers was credited for designing the Siefert School. In addition, the Brown Street School, built in 1882, is considered to be the twins' eldest sibling, as they all share a U-shaped building plan and have central facades featuring tall, arched windows. The third floor of the 37th Street School houses what is referred to as a "German Gym," according to Tanzilo. This name refers to gyms that were built in German communities that were smaller in size compared to average gyms. The small gym is part of the reason why the Milwaukee Public School District bought the lots adjacent to the school in the 1920s so that the outdoor playground could be expanded. The Neighborhood Schools Initiative was created by Milwaukee Public Schools to address the issue of increasing numbers of children being bussed to other schools due to overcrowded facilities in 1999. As part of this initiative, the 37th Street School closed in 2005, and both the student and teacher populations moved around the corner to the newly built Bethune Academy on N. 35th Street. The City of Milwaukee has issued requests for the proposals for reusing the school building. Interest has been shown in converting the building to residential use as well as converting it to a center for social services and community training programs. According to the City of Milwaukee's website, there is great potential in the reuse of the existing masonry structure. |
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