Some time in the next few days, the first major physical signs of new development will take place at the Milwaukee County Grounds in Wauwatosa. A parkway will be constructed as the construction of UWM's new Innovation Park gets underway. The first new building will be a business incubator facility.
"I think people were surprised, both at the state of disrepair, but also in the feeling of potential that's especially evident in the Administration building." - Jon Olson, reporter, Wauwatosa Now.
But nearby, some century-old buildings on the County Grounds stand by, awaiting the news of their fate. The four buildings once housed a school, and were designed by the noted architect Alexander Eschweiler. Preservationists hope to save at least one of those buildings, though the cost is likely to be steep.
Jon Olson is a reporter who covers city government and other stories for the Journal Communications suburban weekly, Wauwatosa Now. He described his impressions of the interior buildings and their uncertain future in a recent "reporter's notebook" piece. Olson told Lake Effect's Mitch Teich about the history that led to Eschweiler buildings to this point.
