Contact: Kara O’Keeffe Wisconsin Historical Society E-Mail: kara.okeeffe@wisconsinhistory.org
West Allis, Wis. – The Wisconsin Historical Society has announced the listing of the Kopperud Park Residential Historic District in the city of West Allis, Milwaukee County, in the National Register of Historic Places. National Register designation provides access to certain benefits, including qualification for grants and for rehabilitation income tax credits, while it does not restrict private property owners in the use of their property.
This district is unique for its history connecting it to community development efforts during the Great Depression, and governmental initiatives to help provide funding for new homes. Kopperud Park Residential Historic District is associated with the National Better Housing movement, a result of legislation initiated by then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, which was part of his greater New Deal program. The district is comprised of a total fifteen homes, thirteen of which were built as a result of the establishment of the National Housing Act of 1934 and the City of West Allis’ creation of a local Better Housing Bureau. Official ground-breaking for two of the thirteen contributing homes was held on National Better Housing Day (15 June 1935), along with approximately 1,500 other homes nationwide.
While other homes in West Allis are also known to have been built as a result of the Federal program that was administered locally, the subject group is located together on one city block, whereas the others are scattered throughout the city. This district represents a period of planning and development in the city of West Allis that coincided with Roosevelt’s New Deal, which helped Americans cope with the effects of the Great Depression.
The register is the official national list of historic properties in America deemed worthy of preservation and is maintained by the National Park Service in the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Wisconsin Historical Society administers the program within Wisconsin. It includes sites, buildings, structures, objects and districts that are significant in national, state or local history, architecture, archaeology, engineering or culture.
To learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin, visit www.wisconsinhistory.org.
About Wisconsin Historical Society
The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. For more information, visit wisconsinhistory.org.
