Milwaukee Fire Department High Pressure Pumping Station

The Milwaukee Fire Department High Pressure Pumping Station, at 2011 S. 1st St. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was built in 1931. It has also been known as the Kinnickinnic River Pumping Station. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.[1][2]

Milwaukee Fire Department High Pressure Pumping Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	2011 S. 1st St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Coordinates	43°00′21″N 87°54′41″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1931
Architect	Milwaukee's Water Engineering Division
Architectural style	Late Gothic Revival, Perpendicular English Style
NRHP reference No.	81000049[1]
Added to NRHP	July 7, 1981

The building was built to replace the function of Fireboat No. 17 in the area around the pumping station, which was an area of heavy industry and where streets, railway tracks, bridges and the Kinnickinnic River crossed multiple times. It provided assurance that high pressure water could be supplied to fight fires in the area, and required a six-man crew rather than the 16-man crew required to man the fireboat. The station's 600 h.p. Allis-Chalmers three-stage centrifugal M-i type pumps delivered water at pressures on the order of 475 pounds per square inch through special mains 12 to 20 inches in diameter, as compared to a conventional city water system which delivers no more than 80 pounds per square inch and then requires pumps on fire trucks to shoot the water high onto buildings. This was the only such station built in Milwaukee.[3]

As the city water system improved and the Great Depression weakened industry in the area, need for the special station decreased, and it was retired after 20+ years of service.[3]