Three local structures have earned the distinction of Milwaukee County Landmarks.
The Milwaukee County Landmarks Committee, with the approval of the Board of Directors of the Milwaukee County Historical Society, awarded the honor to the recently-renovated The Little Red Store, 7720 Harwood Ave., in Wauwatosa; The South Shore Pavilion in Bay View's South Shore Park; and Shorewood Department of Public Works Administration Building, 3801 N. Morris Blvd.
Plaques for the buildings and certificates for the property owners will be awarded at the Milwaukee County Historical Society's annual meeting, Monday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. in the South Shore Pavilion.
Most of the MCHS landmarks are outside the City of Milwaukee to avoid conflict with a similar program run by the city. The South Shore Pavilion is located in a county park. The Milwaukee County Landmark program has designated almost 100 properties since its inception in 1976. You can see them all at the MCHS Web site.
Here are MCHS' descriptions of the "new" landmarks:
The Little Red Store, 7720 Harwood Ave., Wauwatosa: The oldest commercial building in Wauwatosa, the Little Red Store was built in 1854 by Dr. Levi Halsted in the center of the village at the intersection of the Plank Road, the Menomonee River and the railroad. It served as the community's first railroad depot and express office, and it remains the oldest standing post office building in Milwaukee County. The Little Red Store was designated a city landmark by the Wauwatosa Landmark Commission in 1978 and a historic structure under the city's historic preservation ordinance in 1998. The property is designated for its historic significance.
Shorewood Department of Public Works Administration Building, 3801 N. Morris Blvd., Shorewood: Distinguished by its decorative brickwork, turrets, and battlemented parapets, the Shorewood Department of Public Works Administration Building was constructed in 1936 with funding from the federal government's Works Progress Administration. Shorewood resident Henry C. Hengels who was the architect for the Administration Building also designed the Shorewood Police and Fire Safety Building and the Pavilion-Bathhouse at Atwater Beach. The property is designated for its historic and architectural significance.
South Shore Park Pavilion, 2900 S. Shore Dr.: The South Shore Park Pavilion was designed by the Milwaukee architectural firm of Clas & Clas and completed in 1933. Like many other buildings in the Milwaukee County Parks System, it was constructed with relief labor made available through Depression-era programs of the federal government. The property was designated for its historic significance.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
