MILWAUKEE — The state of Wisconsin has about 1,528 licensed architects. Of those, 11 are Black. Alonzo Robinson Jr. was the first. Licensed in 1956, Robinson is credited with about 120 projects.
I met with Kim Robinson, Alonzo’s son, and a group dedicated to documenting Alonzo’s work. I wanted to know about his work, but also about the man, father, and community member.
“My dad raised his family—three sons and a daughter—to be individuals. He instilled in us that, as individuals, we should go out and seek what we want to do in life.” Kim continued, “He was very soft-spoken, very quiet, and he loved to draw. He had an office in the attic and had a model train set up so we could play with the trains and race cars while he drew.”
I asked Kim if he had an idea of the importance of his father’s work.
“I did not understand the importance of what my dad was doing as an architect, but I remember him coming to Lee Elementary School to speak for Black History Month, and everybody said, ‘That's your dad.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s my dad. He’s an architect.’ He was well-known in the community, but he was about helping people. He did a lot of work with different churches in Milwaukee. That was huge for him because, at that time, many churches didn’t have the money to pay for a big architectural firm, so my dad did a lot of work pro bono.”
Though Alonzo Robinson was a quiet, soft-spoken man, his work speaks volumes.
Justin Miller, an architectural historian at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, is currently working on documenting Alonzo Robinson Jr.'s work through a federal grant program sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation called The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund.
It is the largest fund in the U.S. dedicated to Black buildings and resources.
“It's a very competitive program. There were about 700 applicants this year, and we were fortunate to be selected as one of 35 projects around the country. We’ve identified about 120 projects that he designed, ranging from large-scale new buildings, like the Kosciuszko Park Pavilion across from the basilica, to a lot of really wonderful small churches. He also did a lot of small projects, such as remodeling daycares, beauty salons, car washes, and convenience stores, mostly for Black clients. These are really the bulk of his work,” Justin says.
Watch: Alonzo Robinson Jr.'s son discusses his father’s impact as Wisconsin’s first Black architect
Seth Ter Haar, a fellow for Docomo Wisconsin—an organization that works to conserve, highlight, and document mid-century modern architecture in Wisconsin—says, “We were founded in 2022, and since our beginning, it’s been our mission to advocate for minority voices within the architectural canon. We like to look at mid-century architecture as a medium for diversifying the canon of architecture. Robinson's work is important because he focused on the layperson and provided architecture to anyone who really wanted it.”
Most Milwaukeeans are familiar with the Milwaukee Fire Department’s Administration building on 7th and Wells, but did you know that it too is one of Alonzo Robinson Jr.’s designs?
Fire Chief Aaron Lipski says, “I was alerted by Commissioner Jerrel Kruschke of DPW that there was interest in renaming this building to honor architect Alonzo Robinson. I know an awful lot about the fire department, but this was a detail I never knew. It's monumental because, at the time, Alonzo Robinson was the only African American licensed architect in the state and certainly in the city. Back in the ’60s, there would have been very little room for African Americans to be involved in the fire department or in buildings and bridges or in architecture firms. And yet he persisted. This building is still very much in use.”
In the fire station’s lobby, there’s a museum-quality display of Robinson’s work, including some of his drafting tools.
Chief Lipski’s research uncovered the original blueprints showing where Robinson signed off on the construction. Chief Lipski says, “His name will not be forgotten because it's on the wall.”
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