Elizabeth Greene Memorial Library September 1899, From the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives, Milw Mss L Series 11 Box 5 Folder 6 
Greene Memorial Library in Merrill Hall, The history of Milwaukee-Downer College, 1851-1951, Grace Norton Kieckhefer, November 1950, Series 33, Number 2, From the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Library, MKE Main Collection, LD 7251 .M66 M585 
Greene Memorial Library in Merrill Hall, The history of Milwaukee-Downer College, 1851-1951, Grace Norton Kieckhefer, November 1950, Series 33, Number 2, From the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Library, MKE Main Collection, LD 7251 .M66 M585 
Art Library, Milwaukee-Downer College Bulletin 1902, From the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives, Milw Mss L Series 10 Box 1 Folder 3 
Greene Library in Merrill Hall, Milwaukee-Downer College Bulletin 1904, From the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives, Milw Mss L Series 11 Box 1 Folder 1
In Merrill Hall, at the east end of the second floor the first library was established by Mrs. Horace A. J. Upham. It was named the 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.
Greene Hall
Greene Hall, From the university of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives, Milw Mss L Series 11 Box 1 Folder 2 
Greene Hall, From the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives, Milw Mss L Series 11 Box 1 Folder 2 
Greene Hall, From the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives, Milw Mss L Series 11 Box 5 Folder 1
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. The building was designed by Alexander Eschweiler, and named the Elizabeth Greene Memorial Library after one of the original trustees of Milwaukee College.
The library had since grown to 6,000 volumes. The old library room on the second floor of Merrill Hall was turned into a periodical reading room.
The ceiling of Greene Hall is adorned with these beautiful carvings representing music and literature. Each support beam has a stone carving that represents a different subject that was taught at the school.
Chapman Memorial Library
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 since the completion of Greene Memorial Library, 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 Hall in memory of Alice Chapman.
Library books being moved to Chapman Hall, From the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives, Milw Mss L Series 11 Box 2 Folder 8 
Greene Memorial Library empty, Milwaukee-Downer College Cumtux 1938, From the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives, Milw Mss L Series 7 Box 17 
Greene Hall Lounge, Lawrence University Archives, ARC2007-058 
Greene Hall Lounge, Milwaukee-Downer College Cumtux 1945, From the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives, Milw Mss L Series 7 Box 18 
Greene Hall Lounge, Milwaukee-Downer College Cumtux 1961, From the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives, Milw Mss L Series 7 Box 20 
Greene Hall Lounge, In A Word, Languages and Literature, Milwaukee-Downer College Bulletin June 1954, Series 37, Number 1, From the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives, Milw Mss L Series 10 Box 4 Credit: Cael Byrne 
Greene Hall Lounge, From the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives, Milw Mss L Series 11 Box 4 Folder 2 
Greene Hall Lounge, From the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives, Milw Mss L Series 11 Box 4 Folder 2 
Greene Hall being used for lectures, From the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives, Milw Mss L Series 11 Box 6 Folder 4 
Greene Hall being used for lectures, The Dowager, Milwaukee-Downer College, 1964, Lawrence Lux, Milwaukee-Downer College Written Histories
When the books were moved to Chapman Hall, Greene Hall was redecorated and furnished to be used as a lounge for teas, yearbook photos and lectures.
The jewel of Chapman Hall was the Teakwood room on the second floor. Despite its unassuming location, the room has a complex and layered history spanning three different continents.
The story of the teakwood room begins with Timothy Appleton Chapman and his daughter, Alice chapman, attending the Chicago World’s Fair of 1892 when they saw a display from designer Lockwood de Forest from New York.
De Forest had lived in India for several years, establishing Ahmedabad Woodcarving Company which specialized in hand-carved teakwood from East India. Unlike the usual highly-polished black teakwood, these pieces were in their natural color, a warm cinnamon brown.
The Chapman family commissioned de Forest to design the music room for their Milwaukee home on Cass Street including wall panelings, arches, pillars, even carved cabinets, tables and chairs.
While the teakwood was being prepared in India, the black plague broke out among the native Indians. Work came to a standstill. When it was resumed, each piece of teakwood was held for months for fumigation.
Eventually, word came that their shipment had gone to London, along with pieces for a similar room designed for Windsor Castle. From London it would be shipped to New York, and at last by train to its final destination. When the shipment arrived, the teakwood adornements fit perfectly in place to complete the music room.
Frequent visitors included Students from Milwaukee-Downer College, young musicians, artists, writers and teachers. But none enjoyed the warmth of Miss Chapman’s hospitality more than Miss Sabin, president of Downer, and her sucessor, Miss Lucia R. Briggs.
When Alice Chapman passed, she provided for a specially-built wing within the Chapman Library, which she bequeathed to the college. This wing would house the complete teakwood room and its treasures.
Many people came to visit Milwaukee Downer College to see the new Teakwood Room installed in Chapman Library. Kamala Nimbkar visited Milwaukee Downer College to observe the Occupational Therapy department in preparation for founding an “Occupational Therapy.” school in India.
During her visit, she was enamored by the teakwood room, and how it captured India’s beauty. But she felt one thing was out of place – the painting of a Wisconsin landscape above the mantel of the fireplace.
She asked and was promptly given permission to replace it. Drawing a hasty sketch of the fireplace, she recorded its dimensions, then outlined a picture above it.
Back home, she commissioned an outstanding Indian artist, Narayan Bendre, to do a painting of Saraswate, the Hindu goddess of poetry, music and wisdom.
Teakwood Room in Chapman Hall, The Dowager, Milwaukee-Downer College, 1964, Lawrence Lux, Milwaukee-Downer College Written Histories 
Teakwood Room in Chapman Hall, Lawrence University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, ARC2007-061 
Teakwood room in Chapman Hall, Lawrence University Archives, ARC2009-220 
Teakwood Room in Chapman Hall, Milwaukee-Downer College Cumtux 1961, From the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives, Milw Mss L Series 7 Box 17
Within months the painting arrived, and the goddess took her place above the mantel in the teakwood room. The painting depicts Saraswati sitting on a lotus leaf while playing a sitar.
Merging with Lawrence University
When the Milwaukee-Downer College merged with Lawrence University in 1964, The Associated Colleges of the MidWest purchased the books in the college’s collection through a grant from the Ford Foundation. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee also bid for the collection, but was overwhelmingly topped by the ACMW offer.
Approximately 35,700 books were added to the Lawrence University library. Some of these were considered to be rare books and are now located in the Milwaukee-Downer Room in the Lawrence Seeley G. Mudd Library. Forty thousand duplicate books were later given to the library of Cuttington University in Liberia.
Teakwood Room at Lawrence University, Images provided by Lawrence University 
Teakwood Room at Lawrence University, Images provided by Lawrence University 
Teakwood Room at Lawrence University, Images provided by Lawrence University 
Teakwood Room at Lawrence University, Images provided by Lawrence University 
Teakwood Room at Lawrence University, Images provided by Lawrence University 
Teakwood Room, Jason Downer Center Dedication Ceremony, October 26, 1968, Lawrence University Bulletin December, 1968, Volume 4, Number 2, Lawrence University Archives ARC2013-187,
It was also decided that the Teakwood room would be disassembled, and moved to Lawrence University to be installed in a new building that would be called the Jason Downer Center.
Mrs. William M. Chester was selected to supervise the moving of the Teakwood room. Mrs. Chester was a niece of Alice Chapman, and her successor on the Milwaukee-Downer College board of trustees with continuing membership on the Lawrence University board.
The building opened in 1968 and was named the Jason Downer Center. According to the dedication, “In the Chapman Teakwood Room we have permanently installed on our campus the perpetual memory of the dedication to education of the Chapman family. In at least two ways this room will contribute greatly to the Lawrence Community.”
A copper box was placed within the cornerstone of the building which contained issues of The Downer Dial and The Lawrentian, the menu for the food center in the building, a memory book called The Dowager released at the time of the merger, and histories of Milwaukee-Downer College and its two predecessors Milwaukee Female College and Downer College at Fox Lake.
This building was renovated in 2013 and is now called Alice G. Chapman Hall.
There are several pieces of furniture in the Teakwood Room in Alice G. Chapman Hall at Lawrence University that could be original to the Teakwood Room.
Chancellor’s Office in Chapman Hall. Credit: Cael Byrne Credit: Cael Byrne 
Chancellor’s Office in Chapman Hall. Credit: Cael Byrne Credit: Cael Byrne 
Chancellor’s Office in Chapman Hall. Credit: Cael Byrne Credit: Cael Byrne 
Chancellor’s Office in Chapman Hall. Credit: Cael Byrne Credit: Cael Byrne 
Chancellor’s Office in Chapman Hall. Credit: Cael Byrne Credit: Cael Byrne
UWM turned the remaining room into the chancellor’s office.
Directly connected to the teakwood room was the comparably beautiful Oak Room. Today, the Oak Room looks relatively similar, although much of the furniture has been replaced.
Bench in Chapman Hall. Credit: Cael Byrne Credit: Cael Byrne 
Bench in Chapman Hall. Credit: Cael Byrne Credit: Cael Byrne 
Bench in Chapman Hall. Credit: Cael Byrne Credit: Cael Byrne 
Bench in Chapman Hall. Credit: Cael Byrne Credit: Cael Byrne 
Bench in Chapman Hall. Credit: Cael Byrne Credit: Cael Byrne 
Bench in Chapman Hall. Credit: Cael Byrne Credit: Cael Byrne 
Bench in Chapman Hall. Credit: Cael Byrne Credit: Cael Byrne 
Bench in Chapman Hall. Credit: Cael Byrne Credit: Cael Byrne 
Bench in Chapman Hall. Credit: Cael Byrne Credit: Cael Byrne
These benches are original pieces from the lobby of Chapman Hall.
As for Greene Hall, it was used as an Art History Museum to house the prestigious collection of Greek and Russian icons and Eastern and Western European liturgical objects loaned to UWM by the family of Charles Bolles Bolles-Rogers in New York.
According to a press release from October 28th, 1972, “Contemporary and functional exhibition panels have been installed along the museum’s east and west interior walls. The vaulted ceiling has been retained. To preserve the integrity of the exterior the double arched windows have been left untouched although they are blocked from inside.”
Greene Hall occupied by the nursing department. Credit: Cael Byrne Credit: Cael Byrne 
Greene Hall. Credit: Cael Byrne Credit: Cael Byrne 
Greene Hall Entrance. Credit: Cael Byrne Credit: Cael Byrne 
Greene Hall Study Hall, From the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives, UWM AC 6 Series 6 Box 11 Folder 8
Nowadays, Greene Hall is being used as a training space by UWM’s occupational therapy and rehabilitation therapy program. Before that program moved in, it was used as an event space for the Communications Department.
“Greene Hall used to be our main space, that we would hold all of our award ceremonies, big events, and the graduate students used to hold their ‘Comm Prom’ in that room,” said Sabrina Fuller Muniz, building chair of the Milwaukee-Downer College Buildings. “It’s nice to centralize yourself in a place and time in history, especially during those kind of big moments like award ceremonies and things like that.”
Library Gallery:
Chapman Memorial Library Gallery:
