The red brick building with crenelated top and central tower was called "the finest armory in the state".

Inside were well-lit classrooms off wide terrazzo corridors, double staircase with ornate ogee window, gymnasium, kitchen, and lounge with beamed ceiling and mammoth fireplace.

The land was part of a 19-acre plot purchased in 1870 by Friedrick Gustave Rabe, a German immigrant, who built a white frame farmhouse for his wife and two daughters.

Called “Red Arrow Division” to signify its tenacity in piercing the enemy line, their shoulder patch design forms a striking centerpiece to the site's current memorial garden.

Now known as Armory Park, the site is home to Whitefish Bay Veterans Monument and Memorial Garden.