Milwaukee-Downer College College and Downer College merged to become Milwaukee-Downer College with Downer College's Ellen Clara Sabin as president. A new site was chosen on a tract of about ten acres on the northern end of the city of Milwaukee, halfway between Lake Michigan and the Milwaukee River. Two buildings (Merrill and Holton Halls) were constructed, and were first occupied in September, 1899, when Milwaukee-Downer opened in its new quarters. In 1901 a residence hall for students in the college department was completed. According to the report of the state superintendent of public instruction for 1906 the college had 356 students, 32
Lake, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin in 1938. It was to be the Lake City Hall and doubled as a water tower. This landmark features Art Deco details such as empire lines on the façade, scallops above the entrance and stair railings with chevron designs in them. No longer needed by the neighboring Department of Water Works treatment plant to equalize water pressure, the internal tank was abandoned and the building updated for use as municipal office space in 2001. In 1993, the Howard Avenue Water Purification Plant became the source of the Milwaukee Cryptosporidium outbreak, the largest documented waterborne disease outbreak in United States history.