Property Record
300 E COLLEGE AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Gen. Mitchell Airport, Air Reserve Station-Structures 7101-2 |
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| Other Name: | Aircraft apron and taxiway |
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| Reference Number: | 144826 |
| Location (Address): | 300 E COLLEGE AVE |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Milwaukee |
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| Year Built: | 1956 |
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| Survey Date: | 200920072024 |
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| Architect: | DeLeuw Cather & Company, Chicago / US Army Corps of Eng. |
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| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | A 'site file' titled "General Mitchell Airport, Air Reserve Station" exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. Previously surveyed in 2007. 2007- Structures 7101 (Apron) and 7102 (Taxiway) are located at 300 East College Avenue at General Mitchell IAP ARS in the City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Structure 7101 is a square-shaped apron that dominates the eastern portion of the installation and encompasses 106,868 square yards. It provides parking space for the C-130H Hercules aircraft flown by the 440th Airlift Wing (AW) and forms an intermediate space between the installation and the runway system at General Mitchell IAP. Multiple aviation-related buildings and structures surround the hangar, including Building 217 (Maintenance Hangar) to the west, Building 302 (Fuel Systems Maintenance Dock) to the southwest, the Petroleum, Oil & Lubricants (POL) Area to the south, and firefighting training facilities to the northeast. The apron is constructed of multiple square concrete panels, many of which have been replaced over time. The restricted area of the apron is demarcated by a red-painted stripe along the west edge of the apron, past which passage is regulated. Two taxiways extend from the eastern edge of the apron: Structure 7102, the original taxiway, and a new taxiway that was built between 2004-06. Structure 7102 is located at the northeast corner of the apron and provides access to Runway 1-19R at General Mitchell IAP. The taxiway is constructed of square concrete panels similar to the apron. The southwest corner of the taxiway conforms to a stepped pattern, indicating a gradual transition between the surface of the taxiway and the surface of the apron. Yellow striping on the taxiway regulates air traffic. Structures 7101 and 7102 were constructed in 1956 as the original apron and taxiway for the US Air Force Reserve (AFRES) installation at General Billy Mitchell Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Designed by the Chicago-based engineering firm, DeLeuw Cather & Company, the firm was hired by the US Army, Office of the District Engineer, Chicago District, the branch of the military that typically oversaw design and construction for military installations. Structures 7101 and 7102 were initially built as the apron and taxiway for the 2473rd Air Force Reserve Training Center (AFRTC), a fighter-bomber unit. One year after its completion in 1957, the unit was deactivated and eventually replaced by the 440th Troop Carrier Wing (TCW) and its mission shifted to airlift endeavors. As described in the Historic Building Inventory and Evaluation, General Mitchell International Airport Air Reserve Station prepared for the Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence (AFCEE) in 2007, Structures 7101 and 7102 have played a standard role in the history of the installation. From 1956 to the present, they have functioned as the apron and original taxiway of the 440th TCW and its successor, the 440th Airlift Wing (AW). The 440th AW has assisted AFRES in fulfilling its airlift mission by providing air transport and airlift for deploying troops, cargo, and humanitarian aid in support of national policy. Between late 1950s to early 1970s, the 440th AW flew the Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar, and parked the aircraft on Structure 7101, while accessing Runway 1-19R at General Billy Mitchell Field from Structure 7102. The aircraft was developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet which was designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechanized equipment, and to drop cargo and troops by parachute. The 440th AW was able to use the runway system at the commercial airport because it had entered into a long-term lease agreement with Milwaukee County to facilitate such activities. According to historic photos, in the 1960s, Milwaukee County extended Runway 1-19R south of Structure 7102. With this improvement, the 440th AW was able to construct a second taxiway that extended southeast from the eastern edge of Structure 7101 to access the extended portion of the runway. Thus, between 1969-79, Structure 7103 was erected for this purpose. During the early 1970s, the 440th AW's ability to achieve its mission was vastly improved when it was assigned a new, more powerful aircraft, the Lockheed C-130A Hercules to replace the C-119 Flying Boxcar which the unit had flown since its inception in 1957. The unit flew the C-130A until 1989, when it received factory-fresh C-130H aircraft. Over time, these aircraft have used Structures 7101 and 7102 to for parking and taxiway purposes. During the Cold War (1946-89) and later, multiple missions were launched from Structures 7101 and 7102. These included a month-long deployment of the 440th TCW during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, and from the 1970s-80s, multiple training missions within the US, including Alaska. Missions were also carried out abroad during this period in regions as varied as Central America, Europe, India and Russia, to name a few. Multiple humanitarian missions were also initiated, including responses to natural disasters such as snowstorms and hurricanes. In the 1990s, deployment of the 440th AW to Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm set forth from Structures 7101 and 7102. In the 2000s, deployments to Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in support of the war on terror have also taken place, and recently, deployments to Iraq have also originated from this location. After 2004, Structure 7103 was removed and replaced with a new taxiway that extended directly east to link Structure 7101 with Runway 1-19R (AFCEE, 2007). |
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| Bibliographic References: | AFCEE. Historic Building Inventory and Evaluation, General Mitchell International Airport Air Reserve Station. 2007. DeLeuw, Cather & Company/USACE Milwaukee District. "Paving Layout, Taxiway & Apron." Structures 7101 and 7102. Drawing No. 7101-002. 1955. On file at Building 106 (Civil Engineering), General Mitchell IAP ARS, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |