Property Record
2354 N TEUTONIA AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Steamfitters Educational Society Building |
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| Other Name: | Steamfitters Local 601 Headquarters |
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| Reference Number: | 230559 |
| Location (Address): | 2354 N TEUTONIA AVE |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Milwaukee |
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| Year Built: | 1942 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2015 |
| Historic Use: | social recreational/fraternal hall |
| Architectural Style: | Art/Streamline Moderne |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Walter Memmler |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | This property is comprised of two buildings and an addition in between; the southernmost building of which is the focus of this discussion. Faced with brick, this one-story structure features a double-door entry within a rectangular opening along the south half of the N. Teutonia Avenue (west) elevation. A rounded aluminum overhang shelters the entry above which is a transom. A tall-and-narrow window infilled with glass block is located at the far left (north) and right (south) end of the entrance elevation, while a large rectangular former window opening is now infilled with brick and includes two vertical channels of glass block. The visible south elevation includes a series of rectangular window openings, all of which are infilled with glass block. The building’s interior included a meeting hall, club rooms, offices, as well as an apprenticeship training school. The southernmost portion (far right) of this one-story facility was completed in 1942 by Local 601, United Association of Journeymen Steamfitters, as a training facility for their newly established apprenticeship program. The local’s educational board was established “for the express purpose of setting up an apprenticeship program and eliminating the outmoded helper situation which existed at that time in the construction field.” Cost of the building--which was designed by Walter Memmler--and the training equipment, was estimated at $22,000. Classes began in December 1942. The classes were offered “to enable journeyman mechanics to extend their knowledge in specialized fields and familiarize themselves with new techniques and developments in the trade.” In 1950, the Education Board established the two separate five-year training programs--for Steamfitter & Refrigeration Service--that still exist today. By 1958, the local had outgrown the subject facility and left for new quarters which they remodeled for their use. Local 601’s most recent state-of-the-art training facility was built in 1994 and trains approximately 250 apprentices per year. -"N Teutonia Ave, W Garfield Ave-W Groeling Ave ", WisDOT #2080-00-03, Prepared by Heritage Research, Ltd. (Schnell). (2015). |
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| Bibliographic References: | Walter Memmler, “Steamfitters Educational Society Building,” 4 January 1941, On file at the Wisconsin Architectural Archive, Milwaukee Public (Central) Library; “Steamfitters Have School,” Milwaukee Labor Press, 26 November 1942; ‘Steamfitters Launch New Apprentice Plan,” The Milwaukee Sentinel, 22 May 1941; “Apprenticeship: Local 601 Builds Finest Training Programs,” in Steamfitters Local 601: Commemorative History Program Book, Compiled and written by Labor Histories (2013) page 29, Available online at www.unionhistories.com/books/ua-601-history-book-web.pdf, Accessed October 2015. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |