| 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 State Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation.
This building features the world's largest four-faced clock. Alterations and/or additions to the building took place in 1927, 1943, 1948, 1958, and 1964. [A]. F. Scott as well as others were attributed to the design of this structure. The Allen-Bradley Co. traces its origins to the partnership formed in 1904 by the Bradley brothers, Harry and Lynde, for the development of electrical controls. Their offices and drafting room were above a deli at the corner of S. 1st and Madison streets. The company grew rapidly and in 1916 they purchased a building on S. 1st, a building they later enlarged. Today, their electronic equipment and components firm they founded is a major Wisconsin industry. Its main plant occupies one of Milwaukee's largest buildings-one million square feet of floor space, while laboratories, warehouses, and other plant facilities occupy auxiliary structures nearby. The Allen-Bradley clock tower is 280' tall and its four-sided clock is supposedly the largest of its kind in the world. The clock tower, completed in 1963, serves as an official navigation aid and is so designated on the maps of the U.S. Coast Guard. 2016 - Appearance unchanged - north half of city block contains western half of Allen-Bradley complex, an eight-story building with hip roof towers, copper flashing, and ribbed concrete wall detail and replacement windows throughout. A glass curtain-wall hyphen spans the roadway above 2nd Street and connects to east half of the complex on the adjacent block. Prominent clock is landmark of Milwaukee and is the world's largest four sided clock. Established in 1909 by the Bradley Brothers, Allen-Bradley is a manufacturer of electronic control devices with world wide distribution. Complete historical description in Wisconsin Inventory form.
"A map of Milwaukee published in 1855-1856 reveals that few structures then existed in this now-populous industrial and residential section. On the east side of Clinton (now South 1st Street) between Scott and Railroad (now Greenfield) stood just one building. IT happens that a portion of this pioneer building has come down to us. The Federal style structure at 1216 South 1st, currently the Herdeman and Klug Corporation, is reputed to be a reminder of the time and tenure of Alanson Sweet, early settler, outspoken politician, and enterprising businessman, as it is said to have belonged to him in the early 1840's. Across 1st Street from the little 19th century building stands the vast structure housing the Allen-Bradley Company, a firm tracing its origins to the partnership formed in 1904 by the Bradley brothers, Harry and Lynde, for the development of electrical controls. Their offices and drafting room were above a delicatessen at the corner of South 1st and Madison Streets. From these modest beginnings, their company grew rapidly, and in 1916 they purchased a building on South 1st, a structure they later enlarged. Today the electronic equipment and components firm they founded is a major Wisconsin industry. Its main plant occupies one of Milwaukee's largest buildings --one million square feet of floor space, while laboratories, warehouses, and other plant facilities occupy auxiliary structures nearby. Among Milwaukee landmarks none is more familiar than the Allen-Bradley clock tower; it is 280 feet high, and its four-sided clock is the largest of its kind in the world. The clock tower, completed in 1963, serves as an official navigation aid and is so designated on the maps of the United States Coast Guard." Pagel, Mary Ellen & Virginia A. Palmer, University Extension University of Wisconsin, Guides to Historic Milwaukee: Walker's Point and South, 1969. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. PERMITS. B. MILWAUKEE HISTORIC BUILDINGS TOUR: WALKER'S POINT (COMMERCIAL), CITY OF MILWAUKEE DEPARTMENT OF CITY DEVELOPMENT, 1994. Pagel, p. 15.
Harry L. Bradley, “Allen-Bradley: An American Story,” 1957, 38, 53, Rockwell Automation, http://www.rockwellautomation.com/resources/downloads/rockwellautomation/pdf/about-us/history/Harry_L_Bradley_manuscript.pdf;
“Sanborn Fire Insurance Company, Milwaukee, 1910, Volume 4,” Sheet 424.
Milwaukee City Directory, 1910 (Wright Directory Co., 1910), 109.
“Addition for Allen-Bradley,” Chilton’s Automotive Industries 38, no. 20 (May 16, 1918): 980.
“Changing With the Times” (Allen-Bradley Company, 1987), 27-65. http://www.rockwellautomation.com/resources/downloads/rockwellautomation/pdf/about-us/history/1987ChangingwithTimes_Ch01-04.pdf.
“Sanborn Fire Insurance Company, Milwaukee, 1910-Revised 1951, Volume 4” (New York: Sanborn Map Company, 1951), Sheet 424.
Thomas H. Fehring, Mechanical Engineering: A Century of Progress (NorCENergy Consultants, LLC, 1980), 47.
Meg Jones, “Keeping Allen-Bradley Clock Running Is On His Watch,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 28, 2016, http://www.jsonline.com/greensheet/keeping-allen-bradley-clock-running-is-on-his-watch-b99653997z1-366862831.html.
Pagel, Mary Ellen & Virginia A. Palmer, University Extension University of Wisconsin, Guides to Historic Milwaukee: Walker's Point and South, 1969. |
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