USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee, city and county, Volume I > Part 29
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21,099,618
1918
7,086,550
14,262,459
21,349,009
1919
7,002,991
11,753,968
18,756,959
1920
5,861,506
13,407,299
19,268,805
Status of Proposed Harbor Development .- A rather long and complicated legal procedure put the island into the eity's hands in 1917 at a cost of about $500,000. The condemnation was made in conformity with the bound- ary limitations established by the original plat, which represented a total acreage of 49.34 acres, 36.1 acres of which were condemned. The remainder the city already possessed. In the official appraisal two prices were fixed, $5,227.20 per acre for submerged land, and $8,712.00 per acre for dry land.
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HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE
There were at the time of condemnation 339 buildings of all kinds and con- ditions on 3112 acres of this land.
"The island could not be used without first changing its irregular shape and increasing its area," said F. A. Kaiser, senior engineer of the Harbor Commission. "Steps were then taken to remedy these conditions and as a starter an ordinance was passed by the Common Council on September 22, 1919, establishing a new inner harbor line on Jones Island, reaching from the south pier of the harbor entrance to Greenfield Avenne extended. On November 18 of the same year a contract was let for the construction of 1.375 feet of pile and timber revetment along this newly established doek line. The south end of this revetment was placed on the south limit of the city's property, which is the old harbor entrance. and thence it extends northward.
"The revetment consists of a single row of round piles spared three feet apart with sheet piling driven behind it, and seeured by wales, binders and tie-rods to anchor piles, driven about 30 feet back from the face of the dock. The dock is so designed that it can readily be converted into a permanent concrete structure by the addition of extra piles and a concrete cap. It is impervious to the passage of dredged material and provides for water 30 feet in depth. The cost was $99,487.
"Mong the onter frontage of Jones Island, about 700 Teet from shore, it was planned to build a bulkhead or revetment to retain the fill for the en- largement of the island and on February 24, 1920. the Common Conneil pro- vided for the construction of 2.250 feet of bulkhead, at a cost of $215,863.
"This bulkhead is of heavier type than the inner revetment; it consists of two parallel rows of closely driven round piles of variable distances apart, depending upon the depth of water in which it is constructed. As a general rule the width equals the depth of water. These rows of piling are bound together by wales, binders and tie-rods, and the space between is filled with stone, carried above the tops of the piles to a height of about 7 feet above the water. The lakeside of the bulkhead is rip-rapped to three Teet below water level.
"The lake frontage north of the harbor entrance as far as Wisconsin Street, about 5,000 feet in length, was not included in the Randolph plan. because the city, at that time, had in mind to use this area for park purposes. Later, however, the Government refused to permit this to be used for park purposes, and set it aside as a proper field for onter terminal development. To complete the riparian rights for the entire area, the city had to condemm a number of lots in the Third Ward.
"A story is connected with the condemnation of these lots. the motto of which is: 'Look before you fill, especially when condemnation is in view." The city, in this case, had to pay for property which had been made at its own expense and withont cost to the beneficiaries. The city received these lots af a cost of $17,650.
"To protect the filling which was being deposited north of the harbor entrance, a rubble-mound bulkhead was built, made up of quarry run stone as a core, and large stone for covering. Work was begun on this bulkhead in
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HARBOR AND MARINE INTERESTS
May. 1917, and it was built at an expenditure of $319,304. It is proposed to develop this frontage for piers and warehouses to be devoted to the passenger and freight business of the port.
"In January, 1919, an appropriation of $5,000 was made to engage en- gineering service for the purpose of drafting plans for harbor improvement. Important changes from the situation which existed in 1909 when the Ran- dolph plan was submitted, caused the Harbor Commission to seek new plans, or a modification of the old plan. As, for instance, the large lake frontage north of the harbor entrance was not utilized in the plan of 1909 and the selection of the north 1,000 feet of Jones Island for the Sewerage plant was exceedingly disadvantageons to the general harbor plan.
"HI. MeL. Harding, a leading terminal engineer of New York City, who had executed plans for a number of important harbors of the country, was engaged to prepare plans for the future development of the port. The en- gagement was authorized by the Common Conneil on May 5. 1919.
"The plan is not intended to construct at once the entire system of wharves. piers and slips outlined in the plan. This is to be a project of progressive development, the most important units will be built and equipped as neces- sity requires.
"The plan shows that the lands in the old harbor entrance and those south thereof as far as Wilcox Street are necessary for harbor development under this plan. The ore and stone docks of the linois Steel Company, are located on the west side of this peninsula and these facilities are reached by traeks crossing the lands which are necessary for the harbor projeet as laid out. Provision, however, has been made in this plan for the extension of the steel works, eastward, on lands to be filled in, which will add about 100 acres to the steel plant, as compared to 43 aeres required to be taken by plan. At present, condemnation proceedings are pending with reference to this land.
"The dredging in the Kinnickinnie River along the west side of JJones Island and filling in behind the bulkhead on the outer side of the island, to an elevation of 6 feet above lake level, amounted to 430,000 cubic yards.
"So far there have been 19 old hulks and wrecks of vessels removed from the bottom of the water area to be dredged, west of Jones Island. These wrecks, including schooners 100 feet long, tugs, dredges, seows, floating dry docks, launches, and skiffs, were deposited there at various times between 1872 and 1911. These wrecks were removed by the contractor who is doing the dredging, and were broken up by the use of dynamite and loaded onto a wrecking barge and then deposited at the foot of Greenfield Avenue, where the general public serambled for the wood. Trucks loaded with this wreck- age could be seen there daily.
"After having acquired the lands south of the old harbor entrance, which is Greenfield Avenue extended eastward, it will be possible to develop the great inner Kinniekinnie Basin and also acquire, by filling, a large traet of valuable land. The material from the basin, which is about 1,500,000 eubie yards, considering dredging to 25 feet, would be removed by hydraulic dredge and deposited behind a bulkhead in the lake, which would be built in the extension of the present lake bulkhead. It will require 3,800 feet of bulk-
MILWAUKEE RIVER AND COMMERCIAL CENTER
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HARBOR AND MARINE INTERESTS
head to reach the south street line of Wileox Street and 600 feet more to elose in to the shore along the south street line, or a total of 4,400 feet.
"With the Kinnickinnic Basin developed, many large vessels could moor there for the winter and relieve this situation which has been a serious one so far. This basin could be filled every fall with these large coal-laden ves- sels, which could afterwards be taken to the river doeks and unloaded as needed, thereby lessening the possibility of a coal shortage in the winter season. It is estimated that 40 or 50 vessels could find room in this basin. The revenue from these vessels could be applied against the expense of dock- age maintenance, etc.
"The fill from the basin and the remainder of material at the north end of the island in the Kinniekinnie River will be sufficient material to level up the entire area between the basin and the lake bulkhead and give about 113 acres of land in addition to the 37 aeres now being filled in, or a total of 150 acres.
"As soon as the Government bilds the outer breakwater which will pro- tect the harbor, the piers shown on the east side of the peninsula can be built successively as needed, and in accordance with the best practice. The slips as shown south of the harbor entrance are 1,000 feet in length. Those north are 700 feet with widths of 250 feet. This width of ship permits free move- ment of the vessels in docking and gives ample room for lighters or barges to tie alongside of the vessels, to load or unload, without disturbing the vessel docked on the opposite side of the slip."
The Future Harbor Project .- When the Milwaukee Board of Harbor Com- missioners urged the acceptance of its plans by the common council in 1920 and again when it urged the condemnation of Jones Island south to Wilcox Street in Angust, 1921, it outlined its future plans and policies in a brief from which the following extracts are taken :
A comprehensive study of Milwaukee's harbor possibilities leads to the inevitable conclusion that the peninsula known as Jones Island affords the primary basis for practical development and the ultimate key to a ultilitarian port. In connection with the Kinniekinnic Basin it affords a complete land- locked harbor, and at the same time such outer harbor facilities as the future may demand. The island area, with its contemplated enlargements, will en- able the establishment of such terminal facilities as will be required by the constantly increasing and exacting demands of a modern lake commerce.
The question as to whether the entire island will be required to realize the city's best opportunities and possibilities in providing for a future lake com- merce has been raised. The answer must be in the affirmative. It is the pur- pose here to demonstrate that the entire island area, as outlined by the plans laid down by both Mr. Isham Randolph and Mr. H. McL. Harding, two eminent terminal engineers, will be required to ensure Milwaukee's future as a serviceable lake port, and enable the construction of such facilities as will render the harbor efficient for the handling of a future lake commerce.
In support of the Harbor Commission's contention that the Jones Island area, to be utilized for harbor and terminal purposes, must extend south to Wileox Street, the following facts and arguments are here set forth :
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HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE
Water Frontage and Land Areas, -Jones Island has a lake frontage from the mouth of the harbor to Wilcox Street of 6,900 feet, and a frontage on the inner or river side of 5,750 feet. On the north end of the island 1,000 feet has been reserved for the sewerage plant, thus reducing the water frontage on the onter side to 5,900 feet, and on the inner side to 1.480 feet. After straightening the inner dock line and filling in the lake to a bulkhead line approximating 700 feet from the present shore, the total island area will be 166 acres.
The total inner harbor area employed at present for shipping purposes approximates 217 acres. Here it should be added that the traets of proper size and suitable for water and rail transshipping purposes are no longer avail- able. The industrial and commercial enterprises which have located about the river fronts cannot be displaced to accommodate water shipping interests. Thus, all the dock property having rail facilities is being utilized and more cannot be obtained.
Furthermore, the future of Milwaukee's present harbor facilities is not definitely assured. Practically all river frontage is privately owned and there is nothing to prevent the owner of the best water frontage now in existence from building upon it and using it for factory or like purposes.
Milwaukee's Future Water-borne Commerce .- When it is remembered that Milwaukee's water-borne commerce increased about 260 per cent dur- ing the twenty-five years preceding the war, and applying this ratio of increase to the future, it will become clear that the present doekage will have to be materially increased. No doubt, with increased commeree, the pres- ent facilities will be subjected to more intense use. In the ease of coal business. this is bound to lead to serious congestion of some of the channels. It is not a good advertisement for a port to have an ordinance on the statute books forcing vessels to anchor behind the breakwater and await their turn at the doeks.
llere it should also be remembered that the Milwaukee River is destined ultimately to go into disuse, except for barge traffic. The time will arrive when the Municipality will no longer submit to costly bridge maintenance in the face of a diminishing commerce north of Grand Avenue. In part this will apply to the more remote sections of other harbor channels.
On the other hand the large vessels will seek doeks most conveniently accessible, and which can be reached without navigating through bridge openings and around river turns,-doeks where cargoes can be discharged or received with a minimum loss of time, labor and expense.
What applies to ordinary channels of trade applies also to lake commeree. The lake port that affords the most economical conditions for the handling of freight will draw the lake business. The element of time is an important one in the movement of vessel property which represents large investments and heavy operating expenses. Expeditions arrivals and departures constitute important factors in the conduct of water-borne commerce.
Increased Facilities Not Unreasonable .- For the reasons outlined, and as years progress, much of Milwaukee's inner harbor facilities will have become inefficient or obsolete; therefore it would be fallacions to entertain
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HARBOR AND MARINE INTERESTS
anything like comparisons between present shipping frontage and acreage with the frontage or acreage proposed to be added by the new harbor plan ; nor can it be denied that in the main the proposed new harbor area, under modern utilization, has a potentiality for service far beyond that of a like area in the present harbor. Exception in this respect must be made in the matter of coal dockage, however, as Milwaukee's present coal handling fa- cilities are of the very best.
The Harding plan adds about 280 aeres to the shipping area of the harbor. Of this area about sixty acres will be taken up by railway tracks and road- ways. The plan adds fifty-five aeres to the coal facilities of the port, or an increase of about thirty-seven per cent over the acreage at present employed in the trade. The new coal acreage will have to be worked intensively in order to keep pace with the growth of the coal trade, which, it is figured, will be more than doubled in the next twenty-five years. The prospect is that Jones Island will eventually be devoted to coal handling exclusively.
Thus, with a prospective inerease of 260 per cent in Milwaukee's lake commerce in the next twenty-five years, it must be admitted that the increased facilities provided by the Harding plan are in no wise unreasonable.
Public vs. Private Interests .- In estimating the interests of the city as a whole in the creation and maintenance of an efficient system against the interests of a private corporation there can be but one line of reasoning: Which of the two is of greater importance to the material welfare of a whole community ?
The harbor interests on the other hand, however, affect the welfare of a larger constitueney. While the water shipping interests distribute a payroll of over $2,000,000 annually and $250,000 in the purchase of supplies, they affeet the entire industrial life of the city and to some extent the state.
The item of fuel alone is so vital as to overshadow the interests of any one private institution. Wisconsin does not produce an ounce of coal. All coal must be shipped in from a long distance and the element of economical water transportation becomes a vital factor in keeping the factory furnaces ablaze and in warming the homes of the people. Here it becomes highly essential that the port be kept upon a basis of the highest efficiency. The import of 5,000,000 tons of coal will in a comparatively few years be increased to 10,000,000 tons. To bring this quantity of fuel in at the most advantageous transportation cost involves an economy that will readily mean millions in actual saving, and which concerns the workingman's home as well as the manufacturing plants.
Why More Dock Room is Absolutely Necessary .- Milwaukee is a great coal distributing center, and ample provision must be made for the growth of this important trade. It is impossible to move coal out by rail as fast as it can be received by water, hence reasonable storage space is absolutely essential to the coal business. In normal times Milwaukee receives approx- imately five million tons of coal during the season of navigation.
About half of this coal moves out by rail to interior points or to suburban industries. To ensure the needs of this trade during the closed winter season it is necessary to have close to three million tons of coal on the doek when
MILWAUKEE RIVER NORTH FROM BUFFALO STREET
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HARBOR AND MARINE INTERESTS
navigation closes. In the same ratio, when Milwaukee's coal receipts ag- gregate 10,000,000 tons, which they eventually will, the stock required to tide over the winter season must aggregate 6,000,000 tons.
The area necessary to handle this large additional amount of coal can be found only on Jones Island peninsula. All water frontage on the several channels of the inner harbor suitable for receiving and shipping coal is now oeenpied. Business is conducted at a disadvantage in some instances. In the Menomonee Valley district some yards are compelled to dock vessels in narrow slips extending from the main channels. This confines such yards to the use of the smaller-sized vessels carrying from 5,000 to 6,000 tons.
Small-sized vessels are growing fewer in number on the Great Lakes every season and the time will come when this class of carriers will be able to com- mand a premium freight on coal delivered to docks located in slips. When terminals are provided nearer the harbor mouth, large vessels will no doubt also discriminate against coal delivered to doeks remote from the lake, be- cause of the heavy tow bills in navigating the narrow river channels.
Tow Bills in the Inner Harbor Burdensome .- The tax imposed on the earn- ings of coal and grain carriers by tow bills is necessarily reflected in freight rates demanded to and from the port. Large craft require two ings to assist them in moving up and down river channels, as the danger of damaging bridges or doeks is very great. It has been estimated that tow bills and loss of time in going to and from receiving doeks mean a loss of 5 cents per ton to the coal carrier. This is a serious handicap to the business of a port and must event- ually result in a loss of business, as a differential of this amount runs up into big figures when millions of tons of freight are involved.
With ample outer and inner terminals on the Jones Island peninsula Mil- waukee will be able to overcome to a great extent the burden at present imposed on the carrying trade by tow bills and loss of time in port. For this reason the surrender of any of the water frontage embraced in the Harbor Commission's plan would mean the sacrifieing of a valuable economie ad- vantage.
Milwaukee to Marseilles .- Someone has picturesquely said that an Amer- jean Mediterranean will wash the shores of Wisconsin. This is practically trne now and will, with the passing of time, become absolutely true. A water- borne commerce from Milwaukee to Marseilles, from Chicago to Liverpool, from Sheboygan to Stockholm, sending the produets of the great Mid-West directly to the markets of Europe promises to become an assured faet within a comparatively few years. It involves the construction of a deep waterway from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, via the Welland Canal and the St. Lawrence River-a project that is at once feasible, practical and desirable.
During the World war substantial vessel cargoes were carried directly from the ports of Chicago, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Toledo to ports of Europe. The thoughtful 'man will here ask why we do not constantly send eargoes abroad during the open season of navigation. If you can send one ship from Lake Michigan to Europe why not send many ships? On this question hinges the answer to the inquiry.
The immediate answer is that the ships which the ports of the Great Lakes
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HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE
have been able to send to Europe were not large enough to prove profitable in normal times. Again, it is easier for a vessel to go down stream on the St. Lawrence River than to plow its way back up stream.
The size of ships and their cargoes, together with the depth of the water- ways constitute the controlling factors. A ship carrying a cargo of 4,000 tons will have a draft or water displacement of 1312 feet depth. The present Welland Canal and the locks and canals paralleling the St. Lawrence River have a depth of fourteen feet, just deep enough to carry a vessel of the size named.
But, a 4,000-ton cargo is a small cargo. During the World war, when shipping facilities on the Atlantic Ocean were taxed to the utmost and freight rates ran sky-high, it paid to send even the smaller ships to Europe. But, in normal times the unit must be larger. Ships must carry from 8,000 to 15,000 tons in order to render the trips profitable. Thus, a deeper water- way must be provided, and the most direct, natural and utilitarian route is by way of the Welland Canal and the St. Lawrence River.
The peninsula of land which separates the lakes Erie and Ontario con- sists entirely of Canadian territory. Just ten miles west of Niagara Falls the old Welland Canal was ong many years ago and has rendered excellent service in permitting certain types of ships to pass from one lake to the other.
The present Welland Canal ents across twenty-five miles of land, is equipped with seven locks, and lowers and raises ships 325 feet which is the water level difference between lakes Erie and Ontario.
The Canadian Government began the construction of the new so-called Welland Ship Canal some five years ago which in part utilizes the old canal and in part takes a new course. This new canal, together with the loeks will be considerably wider, longer and deeper than the old.
Note the difference. The present Welland locks are 14 feet deep. 30 feet wide, and 240 feet long. The New Welland locks will be 30 feet deep. 80 feet wide. and 800 feet long. These several locks will have a lifting capacity of 4612 feet each, rivalling the great locks of the Panama Canal.
Locks with similar dimensions will be built in connection with the St. Lawrence River, thus enabling the larger sized ocean freighters as well as the larger lake vessels to pass through them.
Why the Saint Lawrence Route ?- By consulting a globe instead of a flat map, it will be found that the route from Milwaukee to Liverpool via the St. Lawrence River is more direct than the route via New York City. In fart. it is over four hundred miles nearer. When it is considered that Mil- waukee lies within the latitude of Rome, Italy, it is found that the British Istes and Central Europe are considerably to the northward. The route via the Great Lakes, the Welland Canal and the St. Lawrence River runs in a northeasterly direction and is, therefore, the most direet route that could be chosen, between Wisconsin and the leading ports of Europe.
But the Milwaukeeans adhere to another and more cogent argument in favor of the direet all-water route. The freight now shipped from the west- ern lake ports destined for Europe is transferred at Buffalo to the rail lines or to barges. From there it is carried to New York City. where it is
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HARBOR AND MARINE INTERESTS
subjected to another handling. Here it is finally loaded into the ocean freighters and carried to Europe.
The extra handling of grain involves an enormous expense. It is esti- mated that by eliminating this extra handling fully $200,000,000 anmally will be saved to the producers of the West on grain alone. The country raises 1,000,000,000 bushels of wheat. Two-thirds is raised in the lake region. One-half is sent via the lakes to Buffalo where it is transferred to the rail lines or into tow barges for destination to the port of New York.
When the world's production will have caught up with the world's de- mands there will be a trade rivalry of the most strenuous character. The countries that can bring their products expeditionsly and economically to the coast eities will enjoy an advantage over those that cannot. If Milwaukee transforms her lake port into an ocean port she ean ship from her very door to the markets of Enrope.
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