The National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Milwaukee Preservation Alliance announced today that the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center has commenced the stabilization of Ward Memorial Theater, in the National Soldiers Home National Historic Landmark District in Milwaukee.
The work comes on the heels of completed roof stabilization work on a rear wing section of the District’s “Old Main” building. The repairs have been a key focus of a broad group of community leaders that make up the Milwaukee VA Soldiers Home Community Advisory Council.
The group, formed after the District’s designation as one of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, has come together to advocate for the protection, repair and rehabilitation of the district’s vacant buildings and identify a vision for returning the buildings to the service of veterans.
“We applaud the VA for their work to get these repairs complete, prevent further damage and help lay the ground work for the future reuse of these historic buildings,” said Dawn McCarthy, president of the Milwaukee Preservation Alliance. “The VA successfully repaired Old Main’s roof collapse before the worst of the winter weather and is now focused on stabilizing the roof of another historical and architectural landmark, Ward Memorial Theater.”
Ward Memorial Theater was designed by Henry C. Koch and constructed in 1881.
