National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, Northwestern Branch, Wadsworth Library, 5000 West National Avenue, Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, WI

Significance: The Wadsworth Library was built in 1891-92 during a period of expansion for the Northwestern Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. Originally the recreational facilities for resident veterans were housed in the multi-purpose Main Building, including a room designated as a library. Expansion of the membership and a shift away from the centralized model in the 1880s and 1890s resulted in the construction of a number of specialized new buildings, including the library. The library is attributed to prominent Milwaukee architect Henry C. Koch. Koch's firm was the architect for many buildings during this period of expansion including the hospital (1879), Ward Memorial Hall (1881), and chapel (1889). The library is still used for its original purpose and is an important part of the historic core of the Northwestern Branch campus.

Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N1471

Survey number: HABS WI-360-D

Building/structure dates: 1892 Initial Construction

National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 05000530

soldiers homes libraries south milwaukee wis national home volunteer disabled volunteer soldiers northwestern northwestern branch wadsworth library wadsworth library west national avenue milwaukee milwaukee county national home for disabled volunteer soldiers wisconsin lisa pfueller davidson paul davidson daniel de sousa historic american buildings survey anne kidd henry c koch alex matsov jason mcnatt james w rosenthal mark schara us department of veterans affairs photo ultra high resolution high resolution architecture library of congress national register of historic places

1933 - 1970

Library of Congress

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