by Kevin Zimmermann
SHEBOYGAN, WI (WHBL) – After over a half century as the gathering place for Sheboygan, and decades of proposals to preserve it, the Sheboygan Armory’s last days are upon it. The city announced that demolition of the historic building begins this week and will be done around the beginning of next year. Structural demolition won’t begin until work on asbestos abatement and other materials is completed.
This last April the City of Sheboygan, Sheboygan County Historical Society and Museum, and the Sheboygan County Historical Research Center executed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Wisconsin State Historic Preservation Officer to allow the demolition to proceed.
As part of that agreement, the Sheboygan County Historical Museum will receive the center court circle in wood, phone booth door, bench seats and brackets. The museum will also be selling about 250 boards of bench seats to the public as a fundraiser for an Armory display. The 1941 cornerstone will be removed, and some items that can’t be salvaged will be preserved via high-res photography.
Multiple city residents are being interviewed for development of a documentary being produced by the city’s cable TV operations, and a qualified historic preservation consultant will do a survey that meets National Park Service and Wisconsin Historical Society standards.
