I've been visiting these buildings for a matter of years, thanks to my dad and his ways of urban exploration, and they have always been one of my favorite locations in Wisconsin.

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I admittedly don't have a lot of information about the Eschweiler Buildings, and unfortunately, all information on the internet seems to be contradictory rumors (mental asylum, TB sanatorium, the usual). I'm working on contacting the chamber of commerce to get some legit history (and maybe a permit to go inside).

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But as for confirmed history, I know for a fact that the buildings were the former agricultural college, given the engraved doorways stating "DAIRY" as well as "ADMINISTRATION" (pictured below) and the like. In 2007 (I believe), the buildings were used in SWAT training, so there are apparently paintball stains throughout the place.

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Unfortunately, the buildings are heavily monitored. While they are public property (the buildings are in a dog park, my dog is pretty freaked by the place), there are surveillance cameras, but only in certain vicinities of the buildings. I've been informed that they are fairly easy to disarm, though I don't really believe in disarming cameras.

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Personal story, just for laughs: I went to the buildings again this summer with 3 of my friends and my dad over the summer. One of my friends went up to one of the doors and touched the door knob. A matter of minutes later, I walked within 10 feet of a wall to get a picture of the graffiti (pictured below) and the motion detectors when ape. Not a little buzz, though. A good 20 minutes of screaming alarms and bystanders giving me dirty looks as they evacuated the premises, in case the cops showed up. They never did, though, leaving me to wonder if the alarms were just a bit of a scare tactic.

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Personally, I wouldn't risk breaking in. Being owned by the county, the buildings are heavily monitored, especially since it's right next to an industrial park and highway. Overall, the buildings are fascinating just on the exterior, but if you are really desperate to get in, I would go to the chamber of commerce, just to be safe. I've also heard that the fines for breaking in are pretty high (it's Milwaukee, what do you expect?).

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When i saw the thread title, i said to myself "I bet there are no interior pictures!" I then hoped i was wrong. Too bad i was right. :/

while they are technically in the park, they're currently owned by UWM. As of a few years ago thy had plans to turn them into an architect school, but to no avail. I remember setting off a motion sensor inside a few years back...

fyi theres a hatch somewhere in the field to the northeast of the buildings that will access the steam tunnels connecting all the buildings together.

a little bit more history:

this was a TB sanitarium around the turn of the century, and a boys school after that. I forget the exact dates. The 'dog park' field you walk across up there is the old potters field and TB burial field. Walking around at night up there could get a little sppoooooooopppy, especially since they're digging up all the fun bones to develop the area.

Some really great shots of one of my favorite places!