The Status of Jeffrey Dahmer’s Apartment Building Site Today — Photo

Netflix’s DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story dropped to the streamer in late September. After binging the 10 true crime episodes, viewers want to know more about Jeffrey Dahmer’s apartment building. It’s true that the Oxford Apartments are no longer standing in Milwaukee, but what is there today?

Jeffrey Dahmer’s apartment building — the Oxford Apartments

On May 14, 1990, Jeffrey Dahmer moved from his grandmother’s house to the Oxford Apartments at 924 North 25th Street, Apartment 213, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As it is dramatized in DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, he murdered twelve victims at this location until his ultimate capture on July 22, 1991.

While living at the Oxford Apartments, his neighbors repeatedly complained to the building manager, Sopa Princewill. The residents reported odd smells, falling objects, and at times the sound of a chainsaw. However, when confronted, Dahmer provided numerous excuses and reasons for the sounds and smells. He said that his freezer broke and the food spoiled or that his tropical fish had died. The manager never contacted the police about the odd smells or sounds.

When and why was Jeffrey Dahmer’s apartment building demolished?

The owners of Jeffrey Dahmer’s apartment building, Campus Circle Project, chose to demolish the 49-unit Oxford complex to support the local community. The demolition began on Nov. 16, 1992, the same year Dahmer received 16 terms of life imprisonment for his crimes. 

“It has been a symbol of anger, pain, violence and death,” Project President Patrick LeSage told The Bulletin about the Oxford apartment building. “It needs to be replaced with a sign of our commitment to support the healing process and to work together as a community of people who care.”

In August 1992, only 15 of the 49 apartments held residents. The Project offered to help relocate the occupants before the demolition. Although the owners stated their desire to tear down the building to help the community, it doesn’t seem like many people wanted to live there after Dahmer’s murders came to light. It was likely costing the owners more to keep it open with so few tenants than to tear it down.

At the time of the demolition, the Campus Circle Project pledged to plant flowers and grass on the site. 

What is on the site of Jeffrey Dahmer’s apartment building today?

As shown in the picture above, the site of Jeffrey Dahmer’s apartment building is now grass and a few trees. A black rot-iron fence surrounds the perimeter, but there are no flowers or a garden. All attempts to convert the site to a memorial garden, a playground, or new housing have been unsuccessful.

All 10 episodes of DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story are currently streaming on Netflix.