HUMBOLDT PARK | Property Record | Wisconsin Historical Society

Property Record

HUMBOLDT PARK

Architecture and History Inventory
HUMBOLDT PARK | Property Record | Wisconsin Historical Society
NAMES
Historic Name:SOUTH PARK
Other Name:HUMBOLDT PARK AND PAVILION
Contributing:
Reference Number:27764
PROPERTY LOCATION
Location (Address):HUMBOLDT PARK
County:Milwaukee
City:Milwaukee
Township/Village:
Unincorporated Community:
Town:
Range:
Direction:
Section:
Quarter Section:
Quarter/Quarter Section:
PROPERTY FEATURES
Year Built:1890
Additions: 1977 1919
Survey Date:1990
Historic Use:park
Architectural Style:NA (unknown or not a building)
Structural System:
Wall Material:
Architect: FERRY AND CLAS
Other Buildings On Site:
Demolished?:No
Demolished Date:
NATIONAL AND STATE REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
National/State Register Listing Name:Not listed
National Register Listing Date:
State Register Listing Date:
NOTES
Additional Information:ONE OF THE CITY'S ORIGINAL FIVE PARKS. FIRST 45 ACRES WERE PURCHASED IN 1890 from Jane Wilcox and Henry Mann by the newly formed Milwaukee Board of Park Commissioners; 27.5 ACRES WERE ADDED IN 1919. PARK WAS originally called "South Park" and then "Howell Avenue Park". By 1906 it had been renamed AFTER RENOWNED SCIENTIST AND NATURALIST BARON Alexander VON HUMBOLDT. The park provides nature study, recreation areas, a duck sanctuary, and an outdoor amphitheater for musical events. TWO ORIGINAL FEATURES ARE THE MAN-MADE LAGOON, built in 1893, AND THE LILY POND. THE CHALET WAS ADDED IN 1977. A 20-FOOT GRANITE PERGOLA COMMEMORATES BAY VIEW SOLDIERS WHO DIED IN WWI. This pergola cost $15,000, was made by the American Granite Co. and was dedicated on 5/22/1921. A coursed stone Colonial Revival service building and a bandshell, both designed by Ferry and Clas, were built in 1932. The music shell seats up to 10,000.
Bibliographic References:MILWAUKEE HISTORIC BUILDINGS DRIVING TOUR OF BAY VIEW. Statues and Monuments in Milwaukee County Parks, n.d. after 1976. Milwaukee County Park Commission files. Milwaukee Board of Park Commissioners, Annual Report, v. 1 (1891/1892), p. 16. Architectural Record, v. 76 (11/1934), pp. 342-343.
RECORD LOCATION
Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin

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