website watertownhistory.org
ebook History of
Watertown, Wisconsin
Douglas School
1] 505 Lincoln Street
2] Center Street
1910
12 09 Miss L. Jaeger, teacher in 5th grade Douglas School, handed in her resignation to take effect Dec. 22, 1910, and it was accepted. WG
1911
07 20 School Fire Escape
Sealed proposals for the erection of a fire escape for the Douglas School will be received at the office of the clerk of the board of education. Plans and specifications may be seen at the office of the city clerk . . . WG
08 08 There were two bids received last Wednesday evening for the building of a fire escape at Douglas School, one from Otto Biefeld & Co. for $165 and another from the Dornfeld-Kunert Co. for $175. The former being the lowest bidder was awarded the contract. WG
1959
02 26 Cub
Scouts of Douglas School held their annual blue and gold banquet WDT
08 21 Delay
in construction of new Douglas School
WDT
09 23 The
board of education at a meeting last
night approved the steps taken thus far in
the plans for the new Douglas School to
be erected in Center Street and
instructed the firm of Durrant and Berquist, Dubuque,
Ia., architects, to proceed with the
next step in the preparation of plans
and specifications. The preliminary plans were recently
submitted to the office of Al Buechner, state
building coordinator for the Wisconsin
Department of Public Instructions.
Mr. Buechner approved the sketches and plans as outlined to him and
suggested a number of minor changes
which will be incorporated in the
general plans. WDT
10 23 Something entirely new in Watertown public
school construction is being planned in the design of the new Douglas School on
which work is due to start early in 1960.
The new school will be “twice the size of the new Schurz School” in the
seventh ward and is to be constructed in Center Street on a site acquired by
the city some years ago. The new school
will have no basement. It will be
fundamentally a two-level structure that will blend into the landscape. It will have ten regular classrooms, two
kindergartens, a large general all-purpose room, three
special areas, including facilities for a handicapped class, a library and
storage area as well as administrative and auxiliary areas. Each teaching station will have northern
exposure and the glare of sunlight will be entirely eliminated. The school will also contain kitchen, locker,
stage and other facilities. WDT
1960
02 23 Bids
on new Douglas School to be constructed
WDT
1961
09 14 Another
major school problem, which has been in the stage of development for some time
and which recently has grown acute, confronts the city administration, notably the
members of the common council who will have to find ways of financing it. If the plan, which was proposed at a special
conference last night, is carried through it will mean some $200,000 for a
proposed addition to and remodeling of the old Douglas School for use by the
Watertown Vocational and Adult School.
Added to that will be another initial $60,000 for an addition of several
classrooms at the high school. WDT
1986
08 25 A
rezoning request and some adamant neighborhood opposition stand in the way of a
Brookfield man’s plans to convert the old Douglas School building into an
apartment complex. “What we’re proposing
is eight very attractive apartments, new housing. They’re doing the same thing right now with
the Kusel building,” said businessman Al Vigil of his
plans for 505 Lincoln Street. “It’s a
very attractive building and would be excellent for apartments. Right now the place is deteriorating.” The people living around the old school
building, however, don’t share Vigil’s optimism. WDT
09 12 The developers called it an open house, a chance for the
neighbors to view sketches and see how a proposed conversion of a schoolhouse
will enhance their neighborhood. At
least one of the neighbors thought it was a “propaganda sales pitch.” “This will not be subsidized housing,”
emphasized Al Vigil of Brookfield, who bought the old Douglas School and
MATC-Watertown building at 505 Lincoln Street.
“The kind of tenants we want are people in their 50s and older, people
who are looking to retire and want a nice place to live.” Vigil is president of Eagle Marketing
Corporation, a group of investors which is also planning a waterfront
development project in Hustisford. The organization also developed the Depot
Restaurant in Waukesha and is in the process of opening six steak houses
throughout the state. WDT
10 06 A
proposal to convert the old Douglas School to an apartment complex was referred
back to the plan commission after the developer said he was working on a plan
that he believed would satisfy the project’s opponents. R.P. White, representing Al Vigil, said the
Brookfield investor was developing “a complete change in the type of ownership
that he thinks will be acceptable to the entire community.” Vigil had previously proposed to convert the
former school at 505 Lincoln Street to an eight-unit apartment building for the
elderly. The project, Vigil estimated,
would cost $300,000, of which $76,000 would be paid through a community block
grant loan. WDT
1987
01 03 Jones
Intercable, the cable television company in
Watertown, has purchased the old Douglas School. Officials of Jones said they planned no
additional use of the property other than to continue to use the location for
its microwave tower and all associated equipment used in providing cable
service to the city. That site had been
the topic of a bitter controversy involving a developer and residents in the
area. Al Vigil, a Brookfield developer,
had announced plans to purchase the building and convert it into an apartment
complex. However, residents in the area
voiced strong opposition to the plan, and urged that it not be rezoned for that
purpose. WDT
1999
02 27 A land division and changes to an existing conditional use
permit for the former Douglas School property were approved by the Watertown
Plan Commission. The owner of the
property, Marcus Cable, sought the changes in order to divide the lot into two
parcels, each of which will be sold for single-family home construction. The old school property has stood vacant
since the building was razed about three years ago. WDT
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