Commission backs National Register nominations for St. Benedict the Moor, Calvary Baptist and updates Harley-Davidson nomination

The Milwaukee Historic Preservation Commission voted to forward multiple National Register nominations to state and federal reviewers, including Saint Benedict the Moor Roman Catholic Church (924 W. State St.), Calvary Baptist Church (2959 N. Teutonia Ave.) and an updated nomination for the Harley-Davidson complex on West Juneau Avenue.

Justin Miller of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee presented the CLG-funded nominations. He said Saint Benedict the Moor, established in 1908 and locally designated three decades ago, is being proposed for the National Register under Criterion A for its long history of social services, education (including a once-significant African American coeducational boarding school), and medical care that served Milwaukee’s Black community. Miller highlighted an original carved altarpiece installed in 1924 that depicts the Uganda Martyrs and intentionally represents darker-skinned figures as part of the parish’s identity.

The commission discussed the nomination’s social-history emphasis; staff noted the local designation focused more on architecture and that the National Register nomination expands the record on the parish’s social role. Commissioners voted to approve forwarding the nomination.

Miller also presented Calvary Baptist Church’s nomination under Criterion C for architecture: a distinctive 1971 Neo-Expressionist building by William Wenzler that adapts traditional Cameroonian/West African building forms into two sculptural, curved volumes (the congregation affectionately refers to them as 'huts'). Commissioners praised the building’s originality and the nomination’s documentation of Wenzler’s work.

Finally, staff introduced an updated Harley-Davidson nomination focused on the complex’s industrial significance, architects involved, and its early-20th-century development tied to the railroad corridor. Commissioners moved to recommend the updated nomination for further review by state and federal agencies.

All three nominations were recommended by the commission without recorded opposition; staff noted final federal listing remains subject to state and National Park Service review.