The Thomas A. Greene Geological Museum contains the fossil and mineral collection of Thomas A. Greene, an amateur geologist that lived in Milwaukee in the late 1800’s. At the time of his death in 1894, Greene’s fossil and mineral collection was considered the most valuable of its kind west of Philadelphia. Believing that this world-class collection should remain in its locality of origin, Greene’s heirs, Mrs. H.A.J. Upham and Mr. Howard Greene, entrusted the collection to Milwaukee-Downer College, which later became part of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. They also commissioned the construction of the original Greene Geological Museum building to house it. Designed by noted Milwaukee architect Alexander Eschweiler and designated as National Historic Landmark in 1993, that building remains on UWM’s campus. The collection has been moved, however, and is now administered by the Department of Geosciences and is displayed and housed in Lapham Hall.