Property Record
825 E LEXINGTON BLVD
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Whitefish Bay Fire Department |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 189021 |
| Location (Address): | 825 E LEXINGTON BLVD |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Whitefish Bay |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
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| Year Built: | 1954 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2011 |
| Historic Use: | fire house |
| Architectural Style: | Contemporary |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Stone Veneer |
| Architect: | DeLyle G. Beyer (builder) |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
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| Additional Information: | Whitefish Bay was protected by a volunteer fire department of approximately twenty five men until 1916, when the village contracted fire protection services from the City of Milwaukee. The city’s nearest station was more than two miles south of the village limits. The first step towards establishing a full-time fire department was taken in 1923 with the purchase of public fire extinguishers. In the September of 1928, a single fire engine was purchased and six full-time firemen were hired for the establishment of the Whitefish Bay Fire Department. In 1931 an addition to the village hall designed by architect Roy O. Papenthien was completed, creating a home for the fire and other departments. With these additions the village administration, library, police department, fire department, department of public works, inspection departments, and municipal court were all housed under the same roof. Living quarters for the firemen were added in 1936. By 1950, several of these departments had outgrown the facility resulting in the creation of a civic center plan for the redevelopment of the former railroad and street car right-of-way that ran east of Marlborough Drive. In 1954, the extant fire station designed by architect George F. Spinti III was constructed by DeLyle G. Beyer at the intersection of Lexington Boulevard and Marlborough Drive. An addition was constructed onto the station in 1970 by Roberts Construction Company. Whitefish Bay’s Fire Department maintains a reciprocal aid agreement with departments of the neighboring North Shore communities. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Building permit records on file at Whitefish Bay Village Hall. Herzog, Lewis W. Notes on Whitefish Bay. On file at the Whitefish Bay Public Library, Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin. Whitefish Bay Historical Research Project. Volume 27. Mimi Bird Collection, Whitefish Bay: Whitefish Bay Public Library Whitefish Bay – Then and Now. Milwaukee, Wisocnsin: League of Women Voters of the North Shore of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, 1970. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |