Milwaukee #15: German-English Academy Building

1020 North Broadway

German-English Academy Building in January 2001.

This historic building was built in 1891 as a school for German immigrants.  The Milwaukee School of Engineering purchased the building in 1932, but by the 1970s, it was no longer in use. MSOE wanted to acquire the vacant land on the northeast corner of Milwaukee and State Streets that was owned by the city in exchange for this building, which the city had declared a landmark in 1973. The city was balking at the exchange however, so MSOE hired a demolition company to swing a wrecking ball near the building (though MSOE had no intention of actually tearing it down). The activity naturally attracted the local media, and set city officials scrambling to make a deal with MSOE. The bluff worked; the city agreed to the exchange to “save” the historic building, and MSOE got the vacant land, which is today the MSOE athletic field. The building ended up on the National Register of Historic Places and was renovated into office space. In August 2002, Eckhart G. Grohmann purchased the building to serve as a home for his extensive Man At Work art collection, which he donated to MSOE. Presumably, (and ironically) the building is to be donated to the school as well.

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