Milwaukee #21: MSOE Roy W. Johnson Hall

1121 North Milwaukee Street

Roy W. Johnson Hall is the tall building in the background.

Completed in 1965, the 12-story Roy W. Johnson Hall, or RWJ as it is known on campus, is MSOE’s first dormitory. It is named in honor of former MSOE Regent and chairman of the board of the Controls Company of America.  Originally, RWJ was intended to be 24 stories tall, and would have been one of the tallest buildings in Milwaukee. During construction, it was discovered that the building was beginning to lean, so the building was cut down to a 13-story building (12 floors plus ground…and a basement). To stabilize the building, one of the three elevator shafts was partially filled with concrete. Today, there are still three sets of elevator doors on every floor in RWJ, though only two of the shafts have elevators in them.

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