After numerous unsuccessful attempts by a variety of community groups and developers to restore the structure, demolition of the Sheboygan Municipal Auditorium and Armory is scheduled to begin the week of the July 13, 2020. Crews from Best Enterprises, De Pere, Wisconsin will be mobilizing on site and installing fencing to surround the work site. Over the course of the next few weeks, crews will be completing final abatement work of asbestos glazed windows and other building elements. After this work is completed, crews will begin demolishing the building. The plans call for an on-site concrete crushing machine. The contractor estimates demolition will take approximately six months to complete.
In April 2020, 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 based on the mitigation plan that the City will complete. The mitigation items include: 1) Salvage Opportunity, 2) Armory Documentary, and 3) Architectural and Historical Resources Survey Update and Public Meeting.
Salvage Opportunity: City staff worked with Travis Gross of the Sheboygan County Historical Society to salvage items for public display at the Sheboygan County Historical Museum. Items salvaged included: center court circle in wood, phone booth door, bench seats and brackets, and approximately 250 boards of bench seats to be sold by the Museum. (Note: The Museum intends to sell the bench seats to the public to raise money to create an Armory display in the museum.) Items to be completed during demolition include removing the 1941 cornerstone and trying to remove the “S” above the stage. Discussion was had about removing the terrazzo canons and logo in the front lobby, however due to their composition they could not be effectively salvaged. The City commissioned high-resolution photography of the items, in hopes of preserving them for possible use in the future.
Armory Documentary: City staff and WSCS have started video interviewing multiple city residents with ties to events that occurred in the Armory. City staff and WSCS over the next year will be developing a documentary on the history of the Armory that will be shown at a public venue when completed. Watch for an announcement soon for residents to be able to share their stories about the Armory and potentially be included in the upcoming documentary.
Architectural and Historical Resources Survey Update and Public Meeting: The city has retained the services of a qualified historic preservation consultant to assist with completing a targeted City of Sheboygan resource survey per the National Park Service and Wisconsin Historical Society standards.
