The History of The Milwaukee-Downer College Buildings

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is an amalgamation of old and new buildings. As a student, I had always wondered how UWM came to possess these buildings, and what the story behind them was. 

In particular, the red-brick buildings on the northeastern portion of campus always stood out to me. This area of campus is more peaceful and down to earth compared to UWM’s usual urban university feeling. 

UWM purchased these buildings from Milwaukee-Downer Female College when they merged with Lawrence College in Appleton. Throughout his documentary, we will explore each building’s origin and how UWM still utilizes them to this day.

Milwaukee Female College

Milwaukee-Downer College was actually the result of a merger between two other institutions: Milwaukee Female College and the Wisconsin Female College in Fox Lake. 

The story of Milwaukee Female College begins in 1848. Wisconsin had just achieved statehood on May 29th, and the city of Milwaukee was established two years prior. Reverend William Leonard Parsons was a minister from Aurora, Illinois. He came to Milwaukee to preach a sermon before the newly established Free Congregational Society in a building that would eventually become the Grand Avenue Church.  

On August 18th, the reverend’s wife, Lucy Seymour Parsons, announced that she would open a new seminary high school for young ladies nearby the church. Prior to this endeavor, Miss Parsons had years of teaching and administrative experience from being a schoolmistress in upstate New York.

The Milwaukee Female Seminary opened on September 14th, 1848. The school was held in a two-story building built behind the church. Across the street, there was a building which served as the Parson’s family residence as well as a boarding building for the students who attended the school.  

In April of 1850, Catharine Beecher, an educator who developed a new way to educate women at a collegiate level, visited Milwaukee Female Seminary. Catharine Beecher was actually the older sister of Harriet Beecher Stowe, the famous author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.   

Catharine Beecher had a unique philosophy for the time. She believed that child care, school teaching, nursing and homemaking were the careers that women were best suited for, and that they should be educated in these careers at a collegiate level. Women still had a ways to go before they would break into male-dominated fields, but The Great Beecher Plan was the beginning of Women receiving a college-level education, and it was adopted in many schools across the Midwest. 

Beecher reorganized the school into a teacher-training school, and it was renamed Milwaukee Normal Institute and High School. Beecher was never a full staff member, but more of a consultant overseeing the implementation of her plan within the school. 

On January 27th, 1852, several of the teachers along with local educators organized into the Ladies Educational Society of Milwaukee to raise money for a bigger building for the school. That Spring, they purchased a plot of land about one third of an acre on the southeast corner of Milwaukee Street and Juneau Avenue. The cornerstone was laid in June of 1852.  

In the fall, the school was moved into the new gothic-style building recently erected at the site. The new building had a large study hall for lectures adorned with statues along the walls. The next year, the name was changed to Milwaukee Female College. 

Mrs. Parsons did not make the move with the college, and one of the teachers, Mary Mortimer, took over as principal. Mrs. Parsons left Milwaukee in 1854 to establish another school in Dubuque, Iowa under The Great Beecher Plan.  

In 1860, they added a two-story dorm building with a fancy parlor. In 1871 Mary Mortimer entrusted the presidency to two assistants, Helen Brace and Helen Philips. When they took over, they added new facilities for art and music.  

In 1874, Charles Farrar took over as principal and the institution was renamed Milwaukee College. Under Charles Farrar’s leadership they added a third story to the dorms with a new natural history room, gymnasium, and a physics laboratory.  

In 1875 Hiram Barber presented a telescope to Milwaukee College manufactured by the famous American telescope maker Alvan Clark and Sons. Soon after, William P. McLaren donated funds for the purchase of a transit instrument, an eight day sidereal chronometer, and a two day mean solar chronometer. The college used this equipment to open a new observatory later that year.  

In 1878, they also added a library and named it the Mortimer Memorial Library after Mary Mortimer. There was also a separate room in the library for the Ladies’ Art and Science Class. In 1886, they expanded the dormitory by 30 rooms but failed to meet the expected enrollment.  

Wisconsin Female College  

The other predecessor, Wisconsin Female College, began in 1854 when the newly established Wisconsin Baptist Education Society was looking for land to build schools for the young people in their denomination. They were offered a 20-acre site in Beaver Dam along with $15,000 for its establishment which they accepted and turned into a Men’s College called Wayland Academy which still exists to this day.  

They were also offered a site in Fox Lake with $5,000 for its establishment which they accepted and turned into Wisconsin Female College. An archictect named T. G. Eggleston designed the building. He began work early in the spring, and on July 4, 1855, the corner stone was laid. 

On October 8th, 1856, the college opened its doors to 58 students. The main building had a Dining Room, Parlor and Art Studio. By 1857, the student body had doubled, and the school was thriving. However, Wayland Academy’s construction ended up costing more than anticipated. So in 1857 the Wisconsin Baptist Education Society withdrew their support from Wisconsin Female College and support for the college fell on the Fox Lake community. 

In 1864, Judge Jason Downer became acquainted with Wisconsin Female College, and became president of their board of trustees to invest in the higher education of women. In 1866, Judge Downer gave the college $9,500 towards the construction of a new building that would house a chapel and library. On July 5th, 1870, the new building was dedicated as Downer Hall in his name.  

Judge Jason Downer died on August 27th, 1883 at his home in Milwaukee. In February 1889, the Wisconsin Female College was renamed to Downer College in Judge Downer’s honor. In September of 1891, Ellen C. Sabin took over as president of Downer College.

It just so happens that Milwaukee College was looking for a new president, and they visited Downer College to interview Ellen Sabin. She was offered the presidency of Milwaukee Female College, but instead she suggested amalgamating the two schools. Milwaukee offered a larger population than Fox Lake, but the Milwaukee Female College buildings were not adequate to hold the two institutions. In the meantime, Downer College moved into the current Milwaukee Female College buildings for the school year of 1895.  

The old Fox Lake Buildings were leased to Mr. J. R. Pratt to create a Bible institute. They would later become the Peerless hotel and Sanatorium. In January of 1910, the Peerless Hotel and Sanatorium was destroyed by a fire. 

Milwaukee-Downer College

On June 22^nd, 1897, Ellen Sabin sent a letter to the Milwaukee Downer College trustees sharing her dismay about having to use the old Milwaukee Female College buildings.

“The continuance of a school in this building is a deplorable thing,” said Sabin. The need of new buildings cannot be put too strongly. The loss of energy in overcoming or enduring the inconveniences we experience is appalling… The continued usefulness, the very existence of the college … demands that it find more desirable quarters before the year September, 1898 opens.”

Therefore, they decided to find a new site and erect new buildings to hold the combined colleges. A ten-acre site on Downer Avenue was purchased for $35,000 for the construction of new buildings. This plot of land was originally a dairy farm owned by Guido Pfister, a leather tanner who immigrated from Germany. Guido Pfister passed away in 1889, and this plot of land was later sold to Milwaukee Downer College in 1896. His son, Charles Pfister, would go on to establish the Pfister Hotel, which is one of Milwaukee’s oldest hotels. 

The meeting of the Board of Trustees of February 17, 1897 announced that plans had been received from seven architects for the new buildings for the college, and on March 4, the building committee made its selection of the winning design submitted by Howland Russell and Alexander Eschweiler in collaboration. 

“Eschweiler and Russell best pleased the committee, combining artistic architectural effects with adaptation to the grounds and compliance with the requirements and the limitation of cost,” said the report.  

A deal was struck between the two architects where they would take turns designing each building. They would be built in the “English Domestic Gothic” style out of red sandstone, St. Louis red pressed brick, decorated terra cotta for the bays and oriels, and slate roofing. 

The old school building on Milwaukee Street was not sold and remained college property until December of 1905. It then became the College Hotel, later called the Carlton Hotel.  It was demolished in 1963. 

The instruction building was named Merrill Hall after Mr. William P. Merrill who gave $10,000 for the construction of the building. The cornerstone was laid on June 16^th, 1898. 

At the east end of the second floor the first library was established by Mrs. Horace A. J. Upham. It was named the Elizabeth Greene Memorial Library in honor of her mother Elizabeth L. Greene, one of the original trustees of Milwaukee Female College. It held about 4000 volumes. An adjacent room was used for the Art Library assembled by the Ladies’ Art and Science Class.  

Holton Hall was built as the dormitory for seminary students. It was named after Edward D. Holton, one of the original trustees for Milwaukee Female College. Holton Hall also served as the main entrance to the college for any visitors, so it was the fanciest place on campus at the time.

Merrill and Holton Halls were finished and ready for occupancy in September of 1899. Both of the buildings were designed by Eschweiler and Russell in collaboration. 

The next building to be built was a dormitory for the college students, and it was designed by Eschweiler and finished in 1901. It was called College Hall until June of 1904 when the board of trustees voted to name it Johnston Hall after their recently deceased president John T. Johnston.

The third residence hall was called Third Hall, and was designed by Russell and opened in September of 1903. Shortly after, it was renamed McLaren Hall in honor of William McLaren who was a trustee of Milwaukee-Downer College. 

In 1904, Mrs. Horace J. Upham gave the college $10,000 to build a new building to house the library which was completed in the fall of 1904. The library had since grown to 6,000 volumes. The building was designed by Eschweiler, and named the Elizabeth Greene Memorial Library after one of the original trustees of Milwaukee Female College. The old library room on the second floor of Merrill Hall was turned into a periodical reading room. 

In September of 1905, the Power House was completed, containing the heating and lighting plants and the steam laundry. A separate infirmary building was funded by Elizabeth Plankinton and opened in March of 1906. The Powerhouse and infirmary were both designed by Russell. 

A new building to house the music department was funded with a $10,000 gift from Mr. And Mrs. Frederick Sivyer. The music hall was designed by Eschweiler, and completed in February of 1907. It was named Albert Memorial Hall after the Sivyer’s son Albert Edward. 

Soon after its completion, two arcades connecting it to Holton and McLaren Hall were constructed. These passageways were also used as conservatories for plants. The area enclosed by these buildings became Hawthornden, a green space on campus with a sundial and seating. Hawthornden also served as an outdoor theater and event space for celebrations like May Day.  

A new building to house the Home Economics department was funded with a $10,000 endowment fund from the College Endowment Association. The building was designed by Russell, and completed in January of 1908. It was named Kimberly Hall in honor of Helen Cheney Kimberly, who helped establish the Home Economics department.  

In 1909, plans were underway for a new Seminary campus across the street from the college buildings. The estimated cost of these buildings and their furnishings was $155,000. Alice Chapman helped fund the construction, and the main building was named Chapman Hall in her honor.  The dormitory was built in a similar style to Holton Hall and named Vogel Hall after Louise Pfister Vogel. The Vogel family had several family members on the board of trustees.

Throughout the college’s existence, they received several private collections. The largest and most renowned collection received was the Thomas A. Greene geological collection which contained about 75,000 specimens of minerals and fossils, especially fossils from the Silurian and Devonian periods. The Greene Memorial Museum was designed by Eschweiler to be completely fireproof. It was completed in March of 1913.  Later, the college would grow the collection to 100,000 specimens.

With the growing number of students in the sciences and the inadequate facilities of Merrill, a new building was certainlly needed. After Lucia Briggs became president of the college, plans were made to build a new building that would house all the science departments. 

In November of 1927, the Milwaukee Downer College class of 1929 had the old cornerstone of the Wisconsin Female College building in Fox Lake dug up and brought to Milwaukee to be laid with the new cornerstone of the new science Hall. The new building was named the Ellen C. Sabin Science Hall, and Miss Sabin was there for the laying of the cornerstone. 

The building was designed by the architecture firm Van Ryn and DeGelleke, and ground was broken on August 10^th. The building was completed in September of 1928. Sabin Hall was the biggest building yet on campus, and was built at an estimated cost of $320,000. 

In 1935, Milwaukee-Downer Seminary merged with the Lake School for Girls. By taking over the Lake School for Girls, the Seminary enlarged its academic program to include all years from kindergarten through high school. The younger students were taught in a new building which was completed in 1936. The building was decorated with animals, flowers, and inspirational quotes to appeal more to the children. 

Longtime benefactor of the college Miss Alice Chapman passed away in the 1930s, and bequeathed $1,000,000 to the college to be used for the construction of a library or other needed building. Miss Chapman attended Milwaukee Female College and became a member of the Milwaukee Downer College Board of Trustees in 1906.  

The college’s collection had grown to a considerable size, and many books were being stored in the basements or separated into departmental libraries spread out across campus. Due to the value of the collection, it was also deemed unsafe to house them in a non-fireproof building.  

Mr. Charles Collens of the firm Allen, Collens and Willis was selected as the architect. When the construction of the new library began, the current collection had 33,500 bound volumes and 13,700 periodicals. The new library was completed in 1936, and it had more than enough space, being able to accommodate 125,000 volumes. It was named Chapman Memorial Library in memory of Alice Chapman.  

Beginning in 1947-48 there was an ominous decline in student enrollment at Milwaukee Downer College. Starting in 1952, increasing student enrollments at UWM caused them to seek additional space for academic buildings, dormitories, and parking. 

UWM purchased the Seminary property in 1959 for $1,550,000, which included Chapman Hall, Vogel Hall, and the kindergarten building. Chapman Hall was renamed Pearse Hall after Carroll G. Pearse who was president of the Milwaukee State Teachers College from 1913 to 1923. The Kindergarten was renamed Vogel Hall, and Vogel Hall was renamed Garland Hall after Pulitzer Prize winning author Hamlin Garland. 

While Milwaukee Downer College was facing a decline in student enrollment, there were still plans to build several new buildings including a new dormitory to accommodate the expected enrollment boom.

However, that expected enrollment boom would never come, causing the Milwaukee-Downer College trustees to begin to consider consolidation with another liberal arts college. Two members of the Downer board of trustees were also on the board of trustees for Lawrence College in Appleton, and they alerted the Lawrence board of Downer’s predicament and possible interest in merging. 

At 10:30 a.m. on October 22, 1963, Charles W. Stone, the chairman of the Downer board of trustees, assembled the students and faculty in Merrill Hall and read the following statement: 

“We have asked you to gather here at this time so that I may announce on behalf of the trustees a historic decision for the future of Milwaukee-Downer College. The trustees of Milwaukee-Downer College and of Lawrence College have agreed to join together in the establishment of Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin.”  

UWM buys the Milwaukee-Downer College Campus

UWM purchased the remaining buildings and 43 acres of land on the Downer campus for 10 million dollars in 1964. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee also purchased the 75,000 fossils and 13,000 mineral specimens in the Thomas Greene Museum collection. The Thomas Greene Memorial Museum was opened to the public on February 6^th, 1970.  

When UWM acquired the downer buildings, a study was done in May of 1965 to record the current conditions of the buildings and make recommendations for their use.  

The report for Albert Hall said that the building would need a completely new heating system, and that would only extend the building’s life by about five years. The remodeling costs including fees was estimated to be $125,567.

According to the report, “In view of the excessive sq. ft. cost of remodeling the building, it is recommended that it be taken out of service and demolished as soon as suitable quarters can be found for the occupying department.” Albert Hall was used to house UWM’s School of Social Welfare until it was demolished on August 5^th, 1970. 

According to the report for McLaren Hall, “The building shows the wear of its full-time occupancy; its condition is somewhat deplorable. As the recommendations and summary will indicate, it is hoped that this particular building will not be used for any greater length of time, at least not for more than three years.” 

The report concluded that McLaren should be abandoned after the school year, and be demolished for a new building. Johnston and Holton were used as women’s residence halls and McLaren as a men’s residence. The Downer College residence halls, with approximately 240 residents, were the site of the first food service operation. 

These facilities were used as residence halls until June of 1970 when Sandburg Hall opened. At that time these buildings were turned over to the University for other uses except McClaren which was torn down. In the midst of all this demolition, it was unclear what UWM planned to do with the rest of the Downer buildings.  

The Milwaukee Historic Preservation Commission had designated the Milwaukee-Downer College buildings as historic buildings in 1973. UWM was unable to accept this designation, because they had not yet completed the necessary engineering and architectural studies.

“We had been made aware, notably by the Committee to Renovate the Downer Buildings, of the architectural interest which the buildings hold, of their historical significance and of the character and feeling which they add to our campus,” according to a press release from UWM. “But we had to be very practical. As a state agency we had to make certain that the buildings are sound enough to have a continued useful life and that they can be renovated and maintained within economic reason.”  

On November 1st, 1974, UWM announced through a press release that they had made a decision. The completed studies reported that it would actually be less costly to preserve the Milwaukee-Downer College buildings than to construct new buildings in order to obtain the same amount of space.

“The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has made a firm decision to do all within its power to preserve these buildings. Not only to preserve them but to renovate them to a standard that will make them useful for another 75 years,” said the press release. “The Milwaukee-Downer buildings are historic jewels from the 19th century which need to be polished up in the 20th century so that we can continue to use and enjoy them now and far into the 21st century. Thank you again for this honor.” 

UWM requested $2.4 million in funding for the 1975-77 fiscal period to begin this effort. Brielmaier, Sherer & Sherer were selected for the renovation based on their expertise in “perpendicular Gothic” and church architecture.  

The Milwaukee Landmark Plaque would be mounted ceremonially on Merrill Hall, May 1, 1976.  The completion of Holton Hall, first building to be renovated, was celebrated at a rededication ceremony on May 9, 1981. Full scale construction on the other three Downer College buildings would not be completed until 1982 and completion of the three seminary building renovations took until 1985.