Fifth Street School in Milwaukee is as an excellent example of the Romanesque Revival style. The original three-story school building was designed by Herman Schnetzky, a German-born Milwaukee architect who was versatile in a variety of architectural styles. It was one of at least two dozen schools built between 1883 and 1892 to accommodate the city’s rapid population growth.

The Romanesque Revival style was widely used in the design of Milwaukee public schools during 1880s and 1890s. Fifth Street School’s brick-clad edifice features hallmarks of the style, such as the use of gabled wall dormers, steeply pitched pyramidal roof, windows grouped beneath decorative round arches, and parapets detailed with miniature round arches. Stylistically, the school represents a period in which Milwaukee public school buildings featured a picturesque appearance with high quality craftsmanship and decorative detailing. Cost-saving measures undertaken by the school board by the late 1890s resulted in buildings with less elaborate ornamentation. The building has excellent exterior integrity, retaining its original cladding, fenestration, and decorative detailing.

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