Property Record
642 W NORTH AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Chief Lippert Fire Station (#1) |
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| Other Name: | Milwaukee Inner City Arts Council |
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| Reference Number: | 28730 |
| Location (Address): | 642 W NORTH AVE |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Milwaukee |
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| Year Built: | 1876 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 200020202024 |
| Historic Use: | fire house |
| Architectural Style: | Italianate |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Cream Brick |
| Architect: | Thomas Philpot |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Chief Lippert Fire Station |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 10/28/1988 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' 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. Excellent example of a cream brick fire/police station of this date with integrity of form and appearance. Complete historical and architectural description in National Register nomination. Milwaukee's oldest extant fire station offers a glimpse into the life and work of a nineteenth-century fire crew. Firemen once spent time in cramped quarters on the top floor. Watchmen climbed a seven-story, wood-framed watch tower, its stubby remains are at the building’s southeast corner, to survey the neighborhood for suspicious smoke. If they spotted any, fire bells would clang, the firemen would sprint downstairs (the station originally lacked fire poles), and soon the horse-drawn fire engine would come screaming out of the broad, segmentally arched opening on the main facade (originally hung with paneled doors). "Chief Lippert" honors Henry Lippert, who established Milwaukee's modern fire department when he became chief in 1871. His namesake station housed a "chemical engine," a Victorian innovation that pumped fire-suppressing chemicals instead of water. When this station was built, the city's water system did not serve the area around this fast-growing German enclave of wooden cottages, bordering the Brewers' Hill neighborhood to the east. The station has undergone many modifications. A rear wing housing additional stables was erected in 1908. A few decades later, its 1883 fire tower was removed after telephones and fire boxes had rendered it obsolete. In the early 1950s, the fire house was converted to a library; at that time the engine-house doors were removed and the doorway filled in to create a window bay. In the 1980s, the building became home to the Inner City Arts Council, and a colorful mural was painted onto the west wall, paying tribute to Milwaukee's African-American artists, dancers, and musicians. *Resurveyed 2020 by HRL. I-43 compliance project. No significant changes. 2024: Appearance unchanged. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Date of construction, designer: NR nomination. Plaque. Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |