Property Record
7229 W BECHER ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Thomas Jefferson Middle School |
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| Other Name: | Thomas Jefferson Elementary School |
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| Reference Number: | 144842 |
| Location (Address): | 7229 W BECHER ST |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | West Allis |
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| Year Built: | 1922 |
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| Additions: | 1928 1952 |
| Survey Date: | 2007 |
| Historic Use: | school – elem/middle/jr high/high |
| Architectural Style: | Late Gothic Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Lindl & Schutte (1928, 1952) |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | 1928 addition completed by the Pfieffer construction Company. 1952 addtion designed by Lindl-Schutte and constructed by Thos. H. Bentley & Son contractor. Oriented to W. Becher Street, this three-story, educational facility is faced with brick and trimmed with stone. The primary facade features three entrances, all of which are sheltered by a classical, flat-roofed, stone entry comprised of columns topped with an entablature. The raised basement level, as well as the upper two stories, carry a series of regularly spaced, banks of windows, most of which are rectangular. Like nearly all of the other West Allis schools of this general era, window openings remain intact; however, original windows have been covered on the exterior by translucent material. A stone water table defines the basement level from the first; additional stone trim runs immediately above the third-floor windows, as well as serves as sills along both of the upper two floors. The original block of what was originally known as Thomas Jefferson Middle School was built in 1922. Just six years later, a $41,000 addition was made to the building, which was designed by Lindl & Schutte, Inc., and constructed by the Pfeiffer Construction Company (See Chapter 9 for biographical information on Lindl & Schutte). Again, in 1952, an addition was made to the school, also designed by the firm of Lindl & Schutte. Since that time, the school has been renamed Thomas Jefferson Elementary School. A WPA-built, field house/restroom facility is located at the south end of the school property and was completed in 1940. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Building Permit 4 May 1928 (addition, $41,000);Leonard Szudy. "A Half Century of Public Education in West Allis, Wisconsin, From 1906-1959" (College Distertation for Colorado State College, 1960), 74, 75. No original permit exists for the school; Permit for 1st addition, dated 4 May 1928; Letter to Lindl-Schutte Inc., dated 13 November 1928; the design of the 1952 addition was completed by the firm of Lindl-Schutte and the contractor is cited as Thomas H. Bentley & Son, Letter to Lindl-Schutte, re: addition, dated 5 December 1951, Letter in permit file, Located at the West Allis City Hall. The Jefferson School binder at the WAHS was reviewed for information; however, it produced only a clipping regarding the construction of the fieldhouse, "Observe Opening of Fieldhouse," Uncited newspaper clipping, dated 10 January 1941. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |