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Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Milwaukee #18A: Allen-Bradley Hall of Science

432 East Kilbourn Avenue

What is known on the MSOE Campus simply as the Science Building is actually two buildings, though they are so intertwined they are generally thought of as one. These two buildings are the Allen-Bradley Hall of Science and the Fred F. Loock Engineering Center. The Allen-Bradley Hall of Science is the older of the two.

Milwaukee School of Engineering Allen-Bradley Hall of Science in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in November 2000
Allen-Bradley Hall of Science in November 2000.

A former parking garage for a Cadillac dealership, this building was acquired by MSOE in 1958, and renovated with an aluminum and glass exterior. Dedicated in 1960, this building contains classrooms, laboratories and the Fluid Power Institute.

This building once had a Foucault Pendulum (which shows the rotation of the earth) suspended in a stairway, with the bottom of the pendulum in a student lounge area. By the fall of 2000, the pendulum was touching the ground, as shown here, and was removed not long after.

Fallen Foucault Pendulum at the Milwaukee School of Engineering Allen-Bradley Hall of Science in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in November 2000
Fallen Foucault Pendulum in November 2000 

Continue to 18B: Fred F. Loock Engineering Center

2 comments:

  1. I never knew the AB building was a former parking garage. That makes complete sense, there were still the slopped hallways that would be remnants of a former parking ramp.

    Too bad about the pendulum, I thought it was the essence of science. But it was never working during my tenure there.

    -1995 Alumni

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    1. I had always thought the pendulum had recently failed, and before it was removed completely I had hoped it would be fixed. It's a little sad to find out it hadn't worked in many years. Most people had no idea what it was supposed to be. I only knew what it was because I'm from Oregon and the convention center in Portland has the largest Foucault Pendulum in the world.

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