Historic protection approved for 3rd Ward building on development site

A Milwaukee commission approved historic protections for a 131-year-old former tavern in the 3rd Ward that developers may try to tear down to build new apartments.

The building was most recently a student union for the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, which sold it to local developers General Capital Group and Joseph Property Development. The two-story building is at the point where East Menomonee and East Erie streets meet.

Its notable history includes surviving the 1892 that destroyed most…