The Plankinton Estate

In the 1870s and 1880s, what was once Spring Street and would later become Wisconsin Avenue was transformed into Grand Avenue thanks to a number of mansions built there by the Milwaukee social and economic elite. Three of these mansions belonged to John Plankinton, a leader in the meatpacking industry in Milwaukee. The Estate consisted of land located between 15th and 16th Streets and between Grand and Clybour Avenues. In 1918, the entire estate was bought by Marquette, which used the land to construct a number of new buildings: the Old Gymnasium (1922) Cramer Hall (1933) home to College of Health Scienes, and Haggerty Hall (1941), the home of the College of Engineering. The John and William Plankinton Mansions  housed various academic departments and clinics, while Elizabeth’s mansion was leased the Knights of Columbus, who used it as a clubhouse. However, due to the cost of upkeep and the need for better, more modern buildings, the William and John Plankinton mansions were demolished in the early 1970s.

            The Elizabeth Plankinton mansion was the last to be demolished. Seeing it as valuable part of Milwaukee's history, organizations like the Wisconsin Heritages, Inc., students and alumni of Marquette, concerned citizens Milwaukee began to campaign for the preservation of the venerable mansion. When the lease for the mansion was up in 1978, they successfully delayed the demolition while they tried to find donors to save the mansion. However, as the October, 1980, deadline loomed and preservationists made a last-ditch effort, Marquette began to demolish the mansion several days before it was scheduled to be torn down. This was seen by some as a dirty way to keep the public and city council from finding a last ditch effort to save the mansion even though it was a forgone conclusion at that time. A decade later, the Alumni Memorial Union was erected in its place.