During the late eighteenth and nineteenth century, along with the rest of country Milwaukee saw an influx of immigrants. However it seemed as though the majority of the new residents of Milwaukee were either from Germany or from German speaking regions. While the majority of the children went to the traditional public or private schools, some parents felt that in the traditional school their children would lose their cultural identity, so in 1891 the Milwaukee Educational Association built the German-English Academy to ensure that their cultural identity would never be lost. This school became an intersection between Milwaukee and Germany. These two cultures were influencing one another and this school hoped to find an even ground that immigrants could value. The school stayed in this building for over thirty five years. The German-English Academy went through several name changes and is now called University school of Milwaukee. It is currently located north of Milwaukee near River Hills.
Since 1947 the building has been owned and occupied by the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). Since ganging ownership MSOE has used the building with the original intent of keeping the German culture and language alive in Milwaukee is still its purpose today. |
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When looking into the history of the surrounding area it wasn't surprising that the German English Academy is located where it is. When the school was built, the majority of the neighborhood was comprised of either German immigrants or immigrants who spoke German. As time went on the school changed names a few times and eventually left the building and the culture of the city may have changed, the strong Germany cultural influence remains.
After conducting separate interviews, with a current MSOE student and the manager of nearby German restaurant. It was discovered that the German culture somewhat remains in that, the building is home to MSOE's German department. Also local restaurants still have a heavy German influence both their menu's and atmosphere. |
Project 1
As we road the Milwaukee Green Line bus, the scale and the density of the buildings grew as we headed south towards downtown and approached our stop. Our journey around the blocks eventually lead us to several parks, unique buildings and finally to find students walking along the sidewalks. We joined the relatable crowd as they walked towards the Milwaukee School of Engineering campus. When we reached the edge of campus is when a building caught our eye that we knew would tell us a story about the history of Milwaukee.
The building sat very closely to the Grohmann Museum on the major intersection of First St and Broadway, seeming to be out of place. Located in its interesting location it seemed to be on the threshold between an era of cream city brick and Victorian architecture, and the modern buildings of the MSOE campus and the downtown skyline. Seeing this intersection between two very different architectural styles reveled that this corner transformed over Milwaukee’s history.
State St and Broadway both have fairly heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic passing by, especially during the school year. The sidewalks along the building and the fence to the north keep them running parallel to each other. As we approached the building, we reached a distance where we could see the detail and a large terracotta panel in the middle of the facade that read German-English Academy.The detailed terracotta panels divide the building to show the levels. Different patterns intersect around focal points of the building such as the large arch windows. We knew from the ornamentation, that this building was supposed to illuminate wealth and prosperity to its community. With further research on the building’s history, we discovered that in the nineteenth century a group of German immigrants in Milwaukee, including founder Peter Engelmann, were fearful that they were loosing their cultural identity because public schools were failing to teach their cultural values and language. The Milwaukee Educational Association built the German-English Academy in 1891 to make sure that their cultural identity would never be lost. This school became an intersection between Milwaukee and Germany. These two cultures were influencing one another and this school hoped to find an even ground that immigrants could value. The school stayed in this building for over thirty five years. The German-English Academy went through several name changes and is now called University school of Milwaukee. It is currently located North of Milwaukee near River Hills. After the University School of Milwaukee moved to their new location the Milwaukee School of Engineering took possession of the building in 1947. We talked to a few current MSOE students that worked in the Museum next door. They explained to us that the building was still home to the German classes offered through the university and many of the German professors had their offices on the upper floors of the building. It made us happy to know that the original intent of keeping the German culture and language alive in Milwaukee is still its purpose today.
1- Urban Milwaukee, Online Source
2- On Milwaukee-Digital Magazine, Online Source
The building sat very closely to the Grohmann Museum on the major intersection of First St and Broadway, seeming to be out of place. Located in its interesting location it seemed to be on the threshold between an era of cream city brick and Victorian architecture, and the modern buildings of the MSOE campus and the downtown skyline. Seeing this intersection between two very different architectural styles reveled that this corner transformed over Milwaukee’s history.
State St and Broadway both have fairly heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic passing by, especially during the school year. The sidewalks along the building and the fence to the north keep them running parallel to each other. As we approached the building, we reached a distance where we could see the detail and a large terracotta panel in the middle of the facade that read German-English Academy.The detailed terracotta panels divide the building to show the levels. Different patterns intersect around focal points of the building such as the large arch windows. We knew from the ornamentation, that this building was supposed to illuminate wealth and prosperity to its community. With further research on the building’s history, we discovered that in the nineteenth century a group of German immigrants in Milwaukee, including founder Peter Engelmann, were fearful that they were loosing their cultural identity because public schools were failing to teach their cultural values and language. The Milwaukee Educational Association built the German-English Academy in 1891 to make sure that their cultural identity would never be lost. This school became an intersection between Milwaukee and Germany. These two cultures were influencing one another and this school hoped to find an even ground that immigrants could value. The school stayed in this building for over thirty five years. The German-English Academy went through several name changes and is now called University school of Milwaukee. It is currently located North of Milwaukee near River Hills. After the University School of Milwaukee moved to their new location the Milwaukee School of Engineering took possession of the building in 1947. We talked to a few current MSOE students that worked in the Museum next door. They explained to us that the building was still home to the German classes offered through the university and many of the German professors had their offices on the upper floors of the building. It made us happy to know that the original intent of keeping the German culture and language alive in Milwaukee is still its purpose today.
1- Urban Milwaukee, Online Source
2- On Milwaukee-Digital Magazine, Online Source
Project 2 |
As you stand at the intersection of State Street and Broadway in Milwaukee’s Juneau Town, the Grohmann Museum will catch your eye first. It is the newest addition to the intersection, but looking right next door will reveal an architectural piece that captivates Milwaukee’s rich German history. The German-English Academy sits right next door to the museum, almost touching it. The placement of the buildings creates a boundary between two different architectural styles. To the south you will see modern buildings, like the museum, and to the north you see other evidence of Milwaukee’s history of Victorian cream city brick architecture like the school. Through mapping, other thresholds revealed themselves.
The Sanborn Maps complimented some of the pictures found in the earlier stages. When the building was first built there was much more open space. There used to be a park on the lot north of the school. Now it has been converted to a parking lot that many Milwaukee School of Engineering Student cut through to get to classes. The area has transformed from a neighborhood to a city college campus over the years. Overall, it has become more dense and transportation focused. There is a great amount of vehicle and foot traffic that passes the building regularly, mostly throughout the day during school hours. Project one explored how the building was built in order to intersect German Culture with Milwaukee culture. The relationship between the two cultures seems to have lasted the test of time. Today, based on census data, Wisconsin is ranked second for German population in the United States. Zooming into Milwaukee clearly defined the areas of dense German population within the city. When the building was built, the community directly adjacent was mostly German decent. Now that the academy has been adopted by the MSOE, the population of the neighborhood has transformed to be a diverse group of young college students in the adjacent block of the building, but there is still a significant German population in Juneau Town. Based on the collected data, the majority of the German population lives a block north and two blocks south from the German-English Academy. The original goal of the German-English Academy was to make sure that the language and culture was being taught in school. In response to the academy’s goal, we choose to look at households in the adjacent area that still speak German. These household hold importance to carry on the language and were mostly in the neighborhood two blocks south. Founder Peter Engelmann would be proud to know that there are still families in the area that are pursuing his dream and keeping a strong connection between German and Milwaukee culture. The street corner that the building is on becomes a intersection between students during the day. Students passing through campus stop at the corner to talk. This cultivation of relationships is important for a school. Even though there is not a neighborhood directly adjacent you still get a sense of community. Just as the surrounding neighborhoods have common ancestry, the MSOE campus shares a common objective to come, absorb and share knowledge. This is the sort of environments that historically rich buildings thrive in. Mapping the physical, cultural and sensory elements of the built environment by the German-English academy supported our overall idea of intersection. The building has a strong connection to Milwaukee and Juneau Town. Photography |
Project 3 |
Project Summary:
German-English Academy that was originally built in 1891 inside a German community within Milwaukee. Our main purpose of this project was to show how the German-English Academy intersected with the Milwaukee community. The building has had to adapt to the changes that have taken place within the city since it was built. The exterior of the German-English Academy is what makes it stand out from the other buildings around it because it has interesting terracotta panels that are around the building that shows wealth and sense of pride to the German community. Today the MSOE campus has adopted the building and still uses it to teach German classes. The exterior of the building is still the same which makes it stand out from the modern buildings that surround the German-English Academy. The German-English Academy intersects with the Milwaukee community by embracing its new surroundings but still keeping the old German tradition within the city. Interview Summary: We used the interviews to get perspective on how people view the building today verses its purpose when it was built and to understand how the community has changed over time. From previous assignments, we have collected data about how this building is an intersection between German and Milwaukee cultures. When it was first built it contributed to a neighborhood as a school to keep the German culture within the education process. The building still has a similar importance today, but that neighborhood has transformed since the building has been adopted by the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Several students informed us that there are still German language classes in the building through the university. Our two in depth interviews were with a student from MSOE, Nate Verdun and the manager of Mader’s German restaurant, Dan Hazard. The student and the local business employ both contribute to the sense of community in the neighborhood. It was important for us to get both perspectives. The student experiences the building as part of their education hub. They may or may not understand the significance of the buildings past but they informed us how they see the building today. The German-English Academy has been an important building to the MSOE campus for some time now. Ever since adopting the German-English Academy, MSOE has still carried on the same German Tradition that the school was originally made for. We interviewed an MSOE student named Nate Verdun he was a Junior studying electrical engineering. He gave us some good insight on the MSOE campus. He said, “that it is interesting because most of the buildings on campus used to be used for a different reasons like a brewery or an autoshop but they have all been transformed into classrooms and offices for the school to use.” Nate didn’t know a lot of information on German-English Academy but he did know that a lot of German foreign students use it for transfer reasons and some German classes. Mader’s German Restaurant has been around since 1902. It is a third generation family owned restaurant. The restaurant is 2.5 blocks away from the academy, just across the river. They have been visited by many celebrities, including presidents, and have been in the community since around the time the German English Academy was built. Dan Hazard, manager, has worked in German restaurants since 1974 and has worked at Mader’s since 1988. He informed us that the restaurant is mostly about “keeping heritage alive”. Many of the dishes they serve today have been on their menu since they opened in 1902. Mader’s German Restaurant is very involved with the German community through German Clubs and through German fest on the Milwaukee Summerfest Grounds. When we asked him about the community he spoke to us about how studies show that 43% of the surrounding neighborhood is of German decent. He is excited to see that many of the board of directors for the entities they are involved are turning over to younger generations. This means there is another generation that is trying to keep the German Heritage alive in Milwaukee. We were happy to see that our interviews solidified some of the ideas we had about the community and the German English Academy. It is still an intersection between Milwaukee and German Culture and there are many other place, such as Mader’s, that support this intersection. Based on our interviews, we feel like both of these buildings add something important to the community even as the community has changed over time. |
Project 4 |
Riding south on the Milwaukee Green Line bus from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Campus, the surrounding context starts to scale and become denser as one heads towards downtown. Getting off at the Wisconsin bus stop, we journeyed around several blocks before joining the relatable crowd of students on their journey to class at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. When we reached the edge of campus, a building caught our eye that we knew would tell us a story about the history of Milwaukee and the intersection between cultures.
The building sits very closely to the Grohmann Museum on the intersection of State Street and Broadway, seeming out of place. Its interesting location revealed a threshold between to different architectural styles. To the north the building relates to the surrounding historical Milwaukee Cream City brick Victorian architecture. To the south the building contrasts with the modern of the museum and other campus and downtown buildings. Seeing this juncture between two very different architectural styles reveled that this corner has transformed over time. Even though the area is being enhanced by new architecture, remnants of the Milwaukee’s history remain. State Street and Broadway provide a path of transportation for both pedestrians and vehicles, which is busier during the school year. The sidewalks along the building and the fence to the north keep the two different traffic types running parallel as they pass the building. As we approached the cream city brick building that originally caught our eye, we reached a distance where we could see the detail and a large terracotta panel in the middle of the façade that read “German-English Academy”. The detailed terracotta panels dived the building to show each levelV (see figure 1). Different patterns intersect around focal points of the building such as the large arch windows. It ornate detail that divided the façade emanates pride and prosperity to its community. With further research into the buildings history, we discovered that in the nineteenth century a group of German immigrants in Milwaukee, including founder Peter Engelmann, were fearful they were loosing their cultural identity. Milwaukee public schools were failing to teach their German cultural values and language. The Milwaukee Educational Association built the German-English Academy in 1891 to make sure their cultural identity would not be lost.[1] This school became an intersection between Milwaukee and Germany. These two cultures were influencing one another and this school hoped to find an even ground that German immigrants could value. The German community cared for this building to be a landmark that would honor their ancestry and provide for future generations. The school stayed in this building for over thirty-five years. The German-English Academy went through several name changes and is now called University School of Milwaukee. It is currently located north of Milwaukee near River Hills. After the University School of Milwaukee was established, the Milwaukee School of Engineering adopted the building in 1947.[1] Students informed us that several of the German professors have offices and classes in the building. Even after 125 years the school is still being used for its original purpose: Keep German culture alive in Milwaukee. When the school was built the surrounding neighborhood was mostly German. Today, the German population stands at about 43% of the neighborhood (see Figure 2). This number has dropped due to the growing, diverse student population that inhabits the surrounding blocks of MSOE’s campus. A large percentage stills finds comfort in the surrounding German heritage that this neighborhood and Milwaukee has to offer. Overtime, this building has continued to be a part of a larger community. It was built to bring together the German and Milwaukee culture We interviewed both MSOE student, Nate Verdun, and Dan Hazard from Mader’s German Restaurant to further understand how people interact with the community. Both the student and local business employ contribute to the sense of community. Things like schools, restaurants, churches, grocery stores, etc. are necessary components to a successful community. Even though the area has undergone significant change since the academy was built, the surrounding community is thriving. We used the interviews to get perspective on how people view the building today verses its purpose when it was built and to understand how the community has changed over time. When it was first built it contributed to a neighborhood as a school to keep the German culture within the education process. The building still has a similar importance today. It was important for us to get both perspectives. The student experiences the building as part of their education hub. They may or may not understand the significance of the buildings past but they informed us how they see the building today. Nate Verdun is a junior studying electrical engineering at MSOE. When asked about the German-English Academy building he informed us that, like the German-English Academy, many of the educational buildings are repurposed. For example, two of the building were a brewery and an auto shop prior to MSOE buying them and transformed them into classroom and office space. Nate wasn’t aware of the history of the building prior to this meeting but he knew that its being used for foreign language classes and office space. The other interview was with Mader’s German Restaurant (see Figure 3). We choose this building because it is only 2.5 blocks away from the academy, just across the river, and has a similar purpose of intersection both the Milwaukee and German cultures. The restaurant has been around since 1902, just over 10 years after the German-English Academy was established. It is a third generation family owned restaurant. They have been visited by many celebrities, including presidents, and have been a big part of the community since it was started. Dan Hazard, manager, has worked in German restaurants since 1974 and has worked at Mader’s since 1988. He informed us that the restaurant is mostly about “keeping heritage alive”. Many of the dishes they serve today have been on their menu since they opened in 1902. Mader’s German Restaurant is very involved with the German community through German Clubs and through German fest on the Milwaukee Summerfest Grounds. When we asked him about the community he spoke to us about how studies show that 43% of the surrounding neighborhood is of German decent. He is excited to see that many of the board of directors for the entities they are involved are turning over to younger generations. This means there is another generation that is trying to keep the German Heritage alive in Milwaukee. Throughout this semester our research, mapping and interviews supported our original ideas about this building embracing the ideas of intersection. It caught our eye due to its placement and throughout the semester has taught us much about Milwaukee’s history and about looking at buildings as more than structure. This building told us many stories about connecting communities, especially between the German and Milwaukee culture. This building is important to Milwaukee’s history and is worth getting to know. |