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This Month in History: Johnson Electric Regulates Temperature in Historic Building

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April 9, 1896: Library, museum on national register

On April 9, 1896, the Johnson Electric Service Company (Johnson Controls’ original name) contracted with C. B. Kruse Heating Co. to provide temperature regulations for the new Milwaukee Public Library and Museum.

The Public Library and Museum was designed by famed Milwaukee architects Ferry and Clas in a combination of French and Italian renaissance styles known as Neo-renaissance; it featured a U-shape design to provide a common entrance for the library and the museum.

Construction costs for the monumental building, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, were $780,000. Johnson Electric Service Company's billing came to slightly under $3,000.

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In 1885, long before anyone talked about carbon footprints or climate change, Warren Johnson launched a company to explore new ways to harness and conserve precious energy resources.