Milwaukee to name Fire Department HQ after state's first African American architect
The Milwaukee Fire Department Headquarters, at 711 W. Wells Street, is being renamed to honor the first African American architect in the state who designed it. Alonzo Robinson was the city and state’s first licensed African American architect. He designed the Milwaukee Fire Department Headquarters in 1960. It was finished a year later, one of the first of hundreds of buildings Robinson designed in the Milwaukee Area.According to WTMJ Milwaukee, "The family says Alonzo didn’t want to be recognized for being the first African American architect but rather, he wanted his work to be noteworthy. In addition to the MFD HQ, he designed churches, like the Mt. Carmel Baptist Church near 17th and Meinecke, and he designed other city buildings as well."
The Milwaukee Fire Department Headquarters, at 711 W. Wells Street, is being renamed to honor the first African American architect in the state who designed it. Alonzo Robinson was the city and state’s first licensed African American architect. He designed the Milwaukee Fire Department Headquarters in 1960. It was finished a year later, one of the first of hundreds of buildings Robinson designed in the Milwaukee Area.
According to WTMJ Milwaukee, "The family says Alonzo didn’t want to be recognized for being the first African American architect but rather, he wanted his work to be noteworthy. In addition to the MFD HQ, he designed churches, like the Mt. Carmel Baptist Church near 17th and Meinecke, and he designed other city buildings as well."
