Robert A. Johnston Hall lifts its Gothic-ornamented stone over Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Milwaukee. Feel the presence of a structure designed by Milwaukee architect Charles D. Crane, completed in 1907 and later honored on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. Today it houses the J. William & Mary Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University, but its story goes further back.
Marquette College began in 1881 with a single four-story building on 10th and State streets, accommodating 450 students; enrollment swelled until that original building was crowded. In 1906 baking magnate Robert A. Johnston stepped in with a donation of $100,000 to help build a new home near Gesu Church on Wisconsin Avenue, and when more money was needed he made up the difference — the school named the building for him. The new hall opened to the Jesuit community in 1907, only weeks before Johnston’s death, and for years Johnston Hall housed all departments of the university except the medical department.
Notice the carved stone and Gothic ornamentation Robert Johnston's gift made possible, with Wisconsin Avenue and Gesu Church just beyond.