Title: Housing Authority Records
Inclusive Dates: 1918-1960

Creator:

• Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (Wisconsin).

Call Number: City of Milwaukee Archival Collection 13

Quantity: 0.8 cubic ft. (2 boxes)

Repository:

Milwaukee Public Library, Frank P. Zeidler Room

Archival Location:

Milwaukee Public Library (Map)

Abstract:

The City of Milwaukee Housing Authority was created in 1944 and provides housing options to Milwaukeeans, as well as assisting them in becoming self-sufficient through a variety of services. Collection contains correspondence, reports, and various publications.

Note:

To request materials from this collection, create/login to your Special Collections Account.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.mwpl-cmac0013

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The City of Milwaukee Common Council created The Housing Authority in January 1944. Mayor John L. Bohn made and the Common Council approved the appointments of five commissioners in April. The Housing Authority formally began its duties May 1, 1944 under the guidance of Mayor Bohn, who outlined a program of postwar planning and rehabilitation of blighted areas and solicited federal aid for the city’s slum clearance program. An Architectural Planner was appointed in October and Richard Perrin, Authority Executive Director, was appointed in January 1945.

The Common Council adopted a charter ordinance designating the Housing Authority as the agent of the City of Milwaukee in matters of blight clearance and redevelopment, and set forth its powers, duties, and functions. The Authority researched housing conditions in slum and blighted areas, and planned the redevelopment and construction of housing projects to meet the needs of the lowest income groups. The Common Council created a Redevelopment Coordinating Committee in 1945. In November 1946, the Common Council adopted a resolution setting up a redevelopment coordinating committee so that “a long-range program on redevelopment and rehabilitation may be projected and presented to the Common Council…”. This resolution established five additional positions for the Housing Authority to be paid from the urban rehabilitation fund.

In 1948, the Urban Redevelopment Coordinating Committee completed its first major report, Urban Redevelopment and Blight Elimination in Milwaukee. In 1949, the Housing Authority suggested to the Common Council that urban redevelopment as made possible by the Housing Act of 1949 be conducted under its power. On February 27, 1950 the Common Council resolution number 49-2311 transferred the redevelopment function from the Public Land Commission to the Housing Authority.

On February 2, 1956, Ordinance No. 564 became effective, creating the position of Urban Renewal Coordinator. This ordinance was amended by Ordinance No. 173, effective July 19, 1956. Steps were taken to coordinate the various city departments engaged in urban renewal. Sol Ackerman, newly designated Urban Renewal Coordinator, officially started his duties July 23, 1956. The Housing Authority merged with the Department of City Development in 1960.

This collection contains the department’s annual reports, along with other various departmental publications and reports on housing in Milwaukee. It also contains correspondence from the Urban Renewal Coordinator, Sol Ackerman from 1956-1957 on a variety of projects. Some of the materials pre-date the Housing Authority.

The materials are arranged alphabetically, then chronologically within each folder.

City of Milwaukee Housing Authority Records, 1918-1960, Collection 13. City of Milwaukee Archival Collections, Milwaukee Public Library, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Archival Collections

• City Plan Commission Records. City of Milwaukee Archival Collection 55.

• Common Council Records. City of Milwaukee Archival Collection 6.

• Department of City Development Records. City of Milwaukee Archival Collection 19.

• Richard Perrin Papers. Local History Manuscript Collection 157.

Publications and Other Items

Annual Reports

Application for Public Housing Urban Initiatives Program

Housing Herald

Report to the Common Council on the Sixth Ward Housing Financing

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials. The collection is open to all in accordance with state law. The public may view City of Milwaukee Archival Collections by appointment at the Central Library. To request an in-person appointment, create/login to your Special Collections Account. If you have any questions, please contact the Archives and Special Collections Department at mplarchives@milwaukee.gov.

Use Restrictions

The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

Acquisition Information

Milwaukee Public Library receives official materials from city departments via the Milwaukee City Records Center, pursuant to state statutes and city ordinances governing the permanent retention of city records.

Processing Information

Processed by Gayle M. Ecklund, 2000. Materials added by Bob Jaeger, 2017 and 2019.

Box   2 Folder   1	“Analysis of Public Housing Administration in the City of Milwaukee”, 1954
Box   2 Folder   2	Annual Reports, 1952-1960
Box   2 Folder   3	Community Welfare Council, 1960
Box   2 Folder   4	Concerning a Federal Housing Law, 1937
Box   2 Folder   5	Housing Authorities Law of 1949, 1951
Box   2 Folder   6	Housing Questionnaire, 1949
Box   2 Folder   7	Housing Reports, 1918-1938
Box   2 Folder   8	Milwaukee Housing Surveys, 1949
Box   2 Folder   9	Need for Housing and Legislation, 1949-1954
Box   2 Folder   10	Proposed Expressway System, 1951
Box   2 Folder   11	“Public Housing in Milwaukee”, 1952-1953
Box   2 Folder   12	Public Housing Pamphlets and Newsletters, 1942-1957
Box   2 Folder   13	Resident Handbooks, 1978, undated
Box   2 Folder   14	Slum Clearance and Urban Renewal Under the Housing Act of 1949, 1949
	Urban Renewal Coordinator
Box   1 Folder   1	American Council to Improve Our Neighborhood, 1957
Box   1 Folder   2-8	Correspondence, 1956-1957
Box   1 Folder   9	Hillside Neighborhood Redevelopment Project, 1957
Box   1 Folder   10	Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee, 1956
Box   1 Folder   11	Lower Third Ward Redevelopment Project, 1957
Box   1 Folder   12	Memorandums, Mayor Frank P. Zeidler, 1956
Box   1 Folder   13	Relocation Housing, 1957
Box   1 Folder   14	Workable Program of Urban Renewal (recertification), 1956-1957
Box   1 Folder   15	Urban Renewal Reports, miscellaneous reports, outlines, and recertification, 1954-1959
Box   2 Folder   15	Veterans' Housing, 1947-1949