Greendale Historic District facts for kids
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Greendale Historic District
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Greendale Historic District
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 Location in Wisconsin
Location in the United States
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| Location | Greendale, Wisconsin |
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| Architect | Harry Bentley/Walter Thomas |
| NRHP reference No. | 05000763 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | July 29, 2005 |
| Designated NHLD | October 16, 2012 |
The Greendale Historic District is a special area in Greendale, Wisconsin. It's recognized as a National Historic Landmark District. This means it's a very important place in American history. The village was planned in the 1930s. It was part of a big government program called the New Deal. This program aimed to build new "greenbelt towns." These towns were model suburbs. Greendale is one of only three such towns built by the U.S. government. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. Later, it became a National Historic Landmark in 2012.
How Greendale Was Born
After the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the U.S. economy struggled. Many people lost their jobs. This time was known as the Great Depression. By 1933, 14 million Americans had no work. Many homes were lost, and new house building almost stopped. People often lived in crowded city areas.
Franklin D. Roosevelt became president in 1933. He promised to fix the economy with his New Deal plan. He wanted to try new ideas. One idea was the "greenbelt towns" program. Rexford Tugwell, a government official, shared this idea with Roosevelt.
The plan was based on the "garden city" idea from England. The goal was to build new towns. These towns would be just outside big cities. This would help with housing problems. It would also slow down the growth of city slums. Tugwell explained his idea. He wanted to buy cheap land near cities. Then, build a whole new community there. People would move to these new towns. After that, old city slums could be torn down and turned into parks.
The government looked at 100 major cities. They wanted to find the best place for a new town. Milwaukee, Wisconsin was chosen. It had many different types of factories. Greendale was built west of Milwaukee.
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited Greendale during its construction. She wrote that it was a "delightful site." She thought it was a "really good development." Henry A. Wallace, who later became Vice President, also toured Greendale.
Building Greendale took place from 1936 to 1938. The plan was to build 750 homes. But due to less money, only 572 were built. About half of these were single-family houses. The other half were duplexes or row-houses. Some had up to six homes in one building.
Greendale was one of three "greenbelt towns" built by the federal government of the United States. The others were Greenbelt, Maryland, near Washington, D.C., and Greenhills, Ohio, near Cincinnati. These towns were important projects during the Great Depression.
What Greendale Looks Like
Greendale is located southwest of Milwaukee. Its main historic area is bordered by West Loomis Road, West Grange Avenue, Westway, and Southway. The town's design from the 1930s is very special. It has paths for cars and for people walking or biking. The roads wind around, leading to single-family and duplex homes. There's also a central area for shops and town offices.
Parks of different sizes are spread throughout the town. The original plan was to build three groups of homes. But because of money cuts, only one group was actually built. Workers for the construction were partly paid by the Works Progress Administration. This was another New Deal program.
The main town buildings were designed by Walter G. Thomas. They are in the Colonial Revival style. All the utility lines, like water, sewer, electricity, and phone, were buried underground. This made the town look neat. The paths for walking were designed so people could reach parks from their homes without crossing busy roads. The homes are usually two stories tall. They have concrete cinder block walls. These walls are covered with stucco on the outside and plaster on the inside.
