Project 2 Final Images

Milwaukee County School of Agriculture and Domestic Economy

Wisconsin has a huge history of agriculture, and now we see it predominately in rural areas. This was a high school in Milwaukee that began operating for the 1912-13 school year until 1928 when enrollment had continually decreased to the point where they could no longer afford to run the school. The students were given hands on technical training, like for example, learning how to build a farm shed. In 1978 the buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. More recently the history and the buildings themselves have been severely neglected. Some people believe that the buildings have been purposely neglected in hopes to have them condemned and something more commercial built in their place. In 2007 Scott Walker authorized SWAT officers to host a training conference in these buildings which caused damage to the interiors. In 2010 UWM proposed a plan and purchased the land to develop the location as Innovation Park and engineering and research campus. There have also been proposals to renovate these buildings into apartments and building more apartments around them. Currently these buildings still sit in a state of neglect with nothing being done to renovate them. The buildings are so contrary how Milwaukee is now seen as an industrial city. There are very few people alive now that were alive while this school was running. Urban gardening is up and coming in the city of Milwaukee and is often viewed as something brand new without acknowledging Milwaukee’s past roots in agriculture. These buildings are a glimpse at what is left of Milwaukee’s agricultural past which is dissipating and being returned to nature at this very moment.