large coffee cup on the roof. The central administrative office building of Milwaukee Public Schools is located in this neighborhood. Washington Heights, a neighborhood that advertises itself as, "In the City — Out of the Ordinary!" lies along Milwaukee's western border. While the neighborhood is now only minutes from downtown and close urban amenities, this area was once considered remote. Development of the area began in 1838 when the federal government gave a parcel of land to the Wisconsin Territory. The land was intended for a canal that would connect the Rock River to Lake Michigan, but the venture quickly failed. The land was sold to private investors. In 1839, roughly two-thirds of what is now known as Washington Heights was purchased by George Dousman and turned into an immense farm. In addition to its agricultural operation, the Dousman family founded the Ne-Ska-Ra Mineral Springs Company, which sold bottled water from a spring on their property. Today an elementary school named Neeskara occupies the land where the spring flowed. Later, the Dousman land was sold in several parcels between the 1880s and the 1920s. Early settlement of the area owed much to two major 19th Century projects — the extension of the streetcar line to Wauwatosa and the construction of Washington Park. The area has a notably-strong neighborhood organization, the Washington Heights Neighborhood Association. Washington Park Washington Park is located on Milwaukee's West Side and is bordered by 35th street in the east, US-41 in the west, Vilet Street in the south and North Avenue in the north. Sherman Boulevard and Lisbon Avenue run through the neighborhood. Sherman Boulevard is lined with large brick homes and old trees. In the 1950s, Lisbon was a major business street, today though, with a rise in prostitution and the crime that comes with prostitution, it is home to several vacant storefronts. The neighborhood is now settled by a majority African American population. Washington Park, (originally West Park), a focal point and namesake of the neighborhood, was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, famed designer of New York's Central Park, and built in 1891. The Milwaukee County Zoo started in this neighborhood in 1892 as the "West Park Zoological Gardens," a small mammal and bird exhibit in the West Park barn. On September 20, 1900, the West Park was renamed Washington Park and the zoo followed suit by renaming to Washington Park Zoo. The zoo