Committee OKs renaming Milwaukee Fire HQ after Alonzo Robinson

MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee's Public Works Committee unanimously recommended on Wednesday, Jan. 27 renaming the Milwaukee Fire Department headquarters at 7th and Wells after Alonzo Robinson, Wisconsin's first African American architect.

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Robinson is the designer and architect of the MFD headquarters. But he is also known for designing other buildings in downtown Milwaukee including central-city churches, the former YMCA (now a Marquette University facility) at N. 10th and W. Wisconsin Ave., the Doyne Park shelter house, and a new sixth-floor courtroom in the Milwaukee County Courthouse.

"I think it’s an absolutely righteous concept to memorialize and honor Mr. Robinson in this way," Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said.

The fire chief -- proud to be a part of the renaming. 

He says the building is well-made, with a late 50s early 60s design -- all drafted by hand. 

"The building has more fire poles than any station in our catalog and so from any spot in this building you can hit a fire pole and get down that apparatus and get out the door so we can respond in a timely fashion."

Wednesday -- the legislation was unanimously recommended for approval by the public works committee. If approved a sign would replace this one to read -- "the Alonzo Robinson Milwaukee Fire Department Administration Building." 

The move to rename the headquarters will go before the full Common Council at 9 a.m. on Feb. 9.

"I consider myself a pretty good historian about Milwaukee Fire Department stuff, and this was brand new news to me and I think that is telling of its own right, and so it’s about time," Lipski said.