FINAL REPORT .-„ .. NORTH THIRD STREET AREA INTENSIVE ■ 'HISTORIC STRUCTURES SURVEY
City of Milwaukee Department of City Development Milwaukee, Wisconsin
July, 1983
"This project has been funded with theassistance of a grant-in- f aid from the National Park Service, U.S. Deaprtment of the Interior, under provisions-of the:National Historic Preservation Act of .1966, as amended.- Historic\P^eservAtion-grants-in-aid are administered .in Wisconsin in'7.f
RESOURCE DESIGN GROUP ••• 331 East Kingsley Ann Arbor Michigan 48104 ABSTRACT
The City of Milwaukee, Department of City Development, has undertaken an intensive survey of an area known as Brewers' Hill, for the purposes of determining and recording the architectural and historic resources of the area, and for developing planning and development strategies for the area. The area surveyed and inventoried encompassed approximately 495 acres. The Brewers' Hill area consists of a variety of land uses, but is most easily described as consisting of the North Third Street commercial corridor, the industrial district along the north bank of the Milwaukee River, and resi dential areas closely tied to those two districts. The area is bounded by North Sixth Street on the east, McKinley Avenue on the south, the Milwaukee River on the southwest, and North Avenue on the north. A sub-area also included in the study extends north from North Avenue to East Center Street, and from North Second Street on the east to North First Street on the west. Each of the more than 1200 structures and sites was photographed and docu mented on inventory forms and survey cards.
As a result of the inventory, the consultants recommended that four historic districts be established and that seventeen individual buildings and sites be considered for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The consultants prepared a National Register Multiple Resource Nomination includ ing the aforementioned districts and individual building and sites. The somewhat more general overall results of the survey/inventory effort, including research findings and summaries of resources, are presented in this Intensive Survey Report (The National Register Nomination is included in the Appendix of this report).
Recommendations are presented in the form of suggestions for residential rehabilitation and preservation programs, design guidelines for commercial buildings in the North Third Street corridor (presented in detail in a separate North Third Street Area Historic Preservation Study), and planning strategies for preservation and development activities in the area. TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION
II. HISTORICAL SUMMARY
1. Early Settlement and Development of Milwaukee, 1818-1850 Early Settlement and Development of Kilbourntown, 1845-1860
2. Industry
Industrial Development in Milwaukee, 1850-1930 Industrial Development in North Third Street/Brewers Mill Area
3. Commerce
4. Government Services
5. Education
6. Religion
St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church St. Johannes de Nepomuc Church St. Marcus (Evangelical Lutheran) Church Christ Church Second German Methodist-Episcopal Church Zion’s Church, Evangelical Association German Evangelical Trinity Church Epiphany Church
7. Parks, Planning, and Landscape Architecture
8. Ethnic and Social Organization
Ethnicity in Milwaukee, 1840-1930 Ethnic Patterns: North Third Street/BHA Social Organizations
9. Transportation
10. Architecture
Architectural Styles Classical Revival, 1840-1860 Italianate, 1840-1880 Queen Anne, 1870-1910 Colonial Revival, 1880-1920 TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued)
German-Flemish Revival, 1880-1920 Bungalow, 1890-1940 Craftsman, 1900-1940 Commercial Classic/Greek Revival Italianate/Victorian Italianate Queen Anne Chicago Style Neo-Classic Art Deco Institutional Churches Industrial Architects
11. Neighborhood Development 12. Labor Movements
13. Notable Persons
III. SURVEY METHODOLOGY
IV. SURVEY RESULTS
1. Schlitz Brewing Company Historic District
2. North First Street Historic District
3. North Third Street Historic District
4. Vine-Reservoir Historic District
5. Individual Sites
V. IMPACT AND USE OF THE SURVEY
VI. RECOMMENDATIONS
VII. APPENDIX I. INTRODUCTION
This study was intended to provide an assessment of the historical and archi tectural resources of the North Third Street/Brewers Hill area of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This has been done through an intensive survey of this area in accordance with the guidelines of the Historic Preservation Division of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin and the National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior. Additionally, this study was con ducted under contract with the City of Milwaukee, Department of City Develop ment acting as coordinator for the work product.
This survey has identified those buildings, structures, sites, and districts located within the boundaries of the study area which have sufficient histori cal and/or architectural merit to be eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places under the criteria of the Department of the In terior. The map which follows describes the area of study within the City of Milwaukee.
The project includes two basic work elements. The first was an intensive survey of all properties in the study area and research conducted on several historical themes. The intensive survey of these properties is designed to collect the data necessary to assess the eligibility of- each property for inclusion on the National Register. The results of the intensive survey are then presented in this report and on the intensive survey forms prepared for each site and district.
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EARLY SETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT: MILWAUKEE. 1818-1850
The North Third Street/Brewers Hill area of Milwaukee was one of the first areas of the city to be settled. Thus, its early history is closely tied with the develop ment of Milwaukee. The site of the city, where the Milwaukee River, draining a large area of timberland and prairie to the northwest, and the Menomonee River, serving a large watershed to the west, joined and emptied into Lake Michigan, had long been an important hunting, fishing, and trapping ground for several prehis toric and historic Indian tribes. Hundreds of mounds and dozens of Indian village sites have been located within the city limits. In 1817, the Sauks, Foxes, Chip pewas, Menomonees, Ottawas, Winnebagos and Potawatomies all frequented the area. White explorers and trappers were quick to see the region's potential. French Canadian fur traders established a trading post in the mid-1700s.
Solomon Juneau, considered to be Milwaukee's first permanent settler, arrived to operate the trading post in 1818. He found a landscape dominated by water and its effects. Low wetlands teeming with fish and waterfowl lined the riverbanks. Some of the banks were level and forested; at other points, steep bluffs rose to dry high plateaus cut by springs and ravines. Beyond the bluffs were gently-rolling hardwood forests and the grass prairies. The watercourses divided the area near the trading post into three sections: east, west, and south. The lands were ceded to the white man in 1833, surveyed in 1834, and opended to public sale by 1835. Juneau saw the potential in the area and elected to stay. He became one of the three early settlers who had the most profound effect on the development of the city.
seeking fortune, others merely a new start. A handful of early Yankee settlers claimed the lands that formed the nucleus of the developing city. Juneau was already there, and thus had an advantage in choosing his land. He and Morgan L. Martin purchased the land between the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan on the east bank of the river. George H. Walker purchased a large amount of land to the south of the confluence of the two rivers, an area which came to be known as Walker's Point. Byron Kilbourn chose land to the west of the Milwaukee River. It is Kilbourn's land on which North Third Street and Brewers' Hill were developed.
The three major figures in early development of Milwaukee, Juneau, Kilbourn and Walker, set the tone for later development through their competitive efforts in land speculation and town building. As the three sections were divided by major watercourses, in the early days they developed quite separately. Within their own domains, the three men pursued their own ideas of town planning. While all EARLY SETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT: MILWAUKEE, 1818-1850 (continued) three utilized the common grid system of land surveying, leading to the typical disregard of geological and topographical features in street layout, their streets did hot line up from one side of the river to the other. Juneau and Kilbourn emerged as somewhat more entrepreneurial than Walker, and it was these two who played major parts and who strove to develop their areas independently, Both visualized courthouses and other civic buildings in their settlements.
From 1835 to 1840, the population of the settlement grew from 125 to 1,692. Set tlers from New England and New York were the dominant group during that period, as Indians and French Canadians were replaced by British, German, Irish, and Norwe gian immigrants. The first Black resident, Joe Oliver, came to the village in 1835, as Solomon Juneau's cook. European immigrants began to arrive in signifi cant numbers after 1840, with Germans being the dominant group. By the mid-1840s, over 1,000 Germans were arriving every week. The new city became known among Ger mans as a hospitable place where there were complete neighborhoods in which they could speak German and take part in German customs and activities.
In the early 1840s, the cluster of settlements was still a frontier village. The earliest efforts to build a city consisted of cutting and filling to make some of the swamp land buildable, to level off the bluffs for further development, and to facilitate transportation. Many roads extended from the village, following es tablished Indian trails, to connect with western settlements. Most of the roads were barely passable at first. Kilbourn spent much of his own money to improve his holdings for settlement. By 1837, he had spent $13,000 on the construction of roads and streets.
Kilbourn's settlement, known as Kilbourntown, centered at the corner of Third Street and Juneau Avenue. The area around Juneau Avenue became the focus of the German community at an early date. Clapboard, wood framed buildings of one to three stories clustered close by the river. The earliest structures were dwellings, stores, taverns, sawmills, and trade shops. Two brick houses are said to have been built in the 1830's, and the first brick commercial block was built in 1840 at Third and Juneau. The first bridge to connect the east and west sides was constructed in 1840 at Juneau Avenue, thus assuring the Juneau-Third intersection of continuing importance.
From 1840 to 1850, early residents sought to build up their village(s) and take advantage of their natural assets to create a city. In 1846, the city still consisted of three villages connected by bridges, but the diverging interests managed to cooperate long enough to incorporate the city of Milwaukee. Steam boats were bringing new settlers; some stayed in Milwaukee, others came through on their way to the rich Wisconsin farmland to the west. Milwaukee rapidly became the commercial trade center for the state; and as the western lands were EARLY SETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT: MILWAUKEE, 1818-1850 (continued) cultivated, agricultural raw materials were sent to Milwaukee for processing and shipment. Harbor improvements were begun in the 1840's. Many of the roads leading west were planked. The first railroad in Milwaukee linked the city with Waukesha in 1851. In 1855, a rail link to Chicago was established.
As the transportation network linking Milwaukee with producers in the West and con sumers in the East improved, the city's development was assured. Processing of regional agricultural products provided the fuel for expansion and improvement. Flour milling, meat packing, tanning, brewing, leather goods and shipping were the most important elements in the city's economy throughout the nineteenth century. The combination of strategic location, large market area, excellent transportation potential, hard-working population and frontier entrepreneurial spirit led to the creation of one of the Midwest’s major cities.
EARLY SETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT: KILBOURNTOWN, 1845-1860
The area known as Kilboumtown included the study area, and was considered the best of the three early town sites. Walker's point was primarily swamp, as was Juneau- town. The Kilbourntown area, which on Increase Lapham's City Plan of Milwaukee, 1845, was bounded by what was to be North Avenue on the north, the Milwaukee River and Hubbard Street on the east, Menomonee Street on the south and Eighth Street (with a small area extending to Welfth Street) on the west, was dominated by a geo logic fault which separated in into two general types of ground. Along the river was a low, marshy area from Wisconsin Avenue to a point near Cherry Street. Beyond this point, and to the north of the river below it, was a steep bluff. A rise of land between Cherry and Walnut Streets, solid ground between the bluff and the river marshes, was the first area to be built up as it was the best land available. The location, with grand views and easy access to the center of town and the river basin, was considered a prime spot. As development continued, the marshy areas along the river were filled to accommodate industry, and the bluffs were selectively graded and cut to allow adequate east-west transportation. The edge of the bluffs to the northeast of the first-settled area was to be prime residential building sites due to the fine views of the city and the river valley and the close proxi mity to employers.
Kilbourn platted his holdings in 1835. The original boundaries were Sixth Street on the west, the Milwaukee River on the east, between Walnut and Vine on the north, and Fowrer Street (Third, south of present Wisconsin Avenue) on the south, Land was set aside for a courthouse in the area bounded by the present-day streets of Galena, Third, Fourth, and Court, Much to Kilbourn's dismay, however, the court- house site selected was in Juneau’s plat. Courthouse Square then became the site EARLY SETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT: KILBOURNTOWN, 1845-1860 (continued) of the first public school in Kilbourntown and today is the site of Golda Meir School.
Lots in Kilbourntown generally measured 50 feet by 150 feet. East-west streets were 80 feet wide, while north-south streets were 30 feet, increased to 70 feet at Fourth Street and streets to the west. An island in the Milwaukee River (no longer an island) was subdivided into lots of 40 by 120 feet. The important streets were Third, Juneau, and Vliet, all of which eventually extended out of the city as plank roads.
The earliest settlers in Kilbourntown were farmers and traders. By 1844, there were several substantial houses in the area. Many early residents built houses along or near the plank roads of the 1840's, with North Third Street being the most important. North Third Street was extended to become the Green Bay Plank Road. Vliet Street became Wauwautosa Plank Road, while Walnut Street fed into the North Fond du Lac and Libson Plank Roads.
By 1848, Sherman's Addition completed the platting to North Avenue, from Hubbard to Sixth Streets. The land east of Hubbard and along the river was still in large, unplatted tracts in the hands of a number of individuals. In the 1850's, speculators divided these tracts along the river bluffs according to the square block pattern established by Kilbourn. After the Civil War, developers platted long, narrow blocks which would become characteristic of Milwaukee. INDUSTRY
Industrial Development in Milwaukee, 1850-1930
From 1850 to 1880, industry in Milwaukee located along the Milwaukee River between Juneau Avenue and Michigan Street. When the industrial character of the city changed from agricultural processing to heavy industry after 1880, the Milwaukee River corridor in the North Third Street area was already so built up that there could be no further development without disruption of existing, still thriving, enterprises. Thus, heavy industry located in the Menomonee Valley where there was still land available and transportation was equal to that in the older area.
By the 1850s, the population of Milwaukee had increased to the point that speciali zation of land use began to occur. Downtown was firmly established in Juneau’s original plat, while the Juneau Avenue-Third Street intersection continue to be the center of the German community. Kilbourn's land was being aggressively mar keted and developed concurrently with the industry along the river. North Third Street was becoming an established commercial area. The smallest domestically- oriented businesses, such as grocers and taverns, began to disperse into the neigh borhoods as the residential area of the city expanded. Mills and factories clus tered along the Milwaukee River; breweries located in the vicinity of Juneau Ave nue and the river. Numerous small workshops serving larger industrial concerns and small manufacturing needs located along the river banks among the mills and tanneries.
In the 1880s Milwaukee’s economy shifted from commercial trade center to industrial city. Processing industries such as those lining the banks of the Milwaukee River continued to thrive, however, with the exception of flour milling which declined with the westward movement of the frontier. Tanning, slaughtering, meatpacking, and brewing continued to play a major role in the city's economy. Tanning was the city's single most important industry by 1909. The breweries and tanneries of the city's original industrial area became world famous, shipping their products world wide. Tanning maintained its importance until the 1920s when decreased demand re sulted in some consolidation and a few closings. Brewing became more and more im portant through the early 20th century until Prohibition put a temporary damper on the industry. At one time, the Pabst Brewery was the largest in the nation, while the Schlitz was claimed to be the biggest for a time. Milwaukee's breweries claimed many industry firsts. The quality of the product was assured by the fact that many of the city's brewers were professional brewmasters, born and trained in Germany. V INDUSTRY (continued)
The growth of heavy industry along the Menomonee River had little effect on the Mil waukee River industrial corridor until well past the turn of the century, at least on the major industries of the area. The new industries were automobile-related, or involved iron production and metal fabrication. Many of those who worked in the agriculturally-based industries were not interested in the hard, dirty work in foundries and fabrication plants. The new heavy manufacturing jobs were taken by later groups of immigrants such as Poles and other Eastern Europeans, Italians, and later Hispanics and Blacks. One major effect of the growth of heavy manufac turing and of the consolidation of the agricultural industries was the disappear ance of many of the smaller shops and businesses along the Milwaukee River. This resulted, however, in the availability of land for expansion of the larger indus tries that remained. Thus, the banks of the Milwaukee remained solidly built up through the period of the emergence of heavy manufacturing as the city's leading industry.
Industrial Development in North Third Street/Brewers Hill Area
The basis of the North Third Street/Brewers Hill area's early development was the growth of industry along the Milwaukee River, in turn made possible or at least aided by the improvement of transportation systems in the vicinity and throughout the state of Wisconsin and the Great Lakes. The first industries in the area were sawmills. It is possible that the first establishment was the water-powered saw mill of Daniel Bigelow located on the river at today's Humboldt Avenue in the mid-to-late 1830s. Others soon set up mills nearby to provide lumber for the growing city. In an attempt to boost the potential for industrial development on his lands, Kilbourn and some other local entrepreneurs examined the countryside between the Rock River, some 50 or so miles to the southwest, and the Milwaukee River for the purpose of constructing a canal to connect Lake Michigan with the Mississippi River. Kilbourn promoted the idea for two years and in 1838, a com pany was formed. The initial venture was capitalized at $100,000, with authori zation to raise up to $1,000,000. The cost of construction was estimated at $800,000. Captain John Anderson, an early industrialist of the area, contracted to build the first segment of the canal. In 1842, he completed a dam near where North Avenue crosses the river. The dam, just above Kilbourntown, was 430 feet long and 18 feet high, and created a waterway of 400 feet. By 1842, Anderson had constructed about one mile of canal from the dam south to a terminus just above Juneau Avenue. Water for power was provided at the rate of $75 per year for 100 cubic feet per minute. The company applied for and received 166,000 acres of government land to be sold to pay for canal construction; but a number of events and trends conspired to stop the project, including growing competition from railroads. The canal never progressed beyond the dam and the one-mile seg ment along Kilbourntown. INDUSTRY (continued)
Although the canal never served as a ship channel, it did contribute greatly to the industrial development of the Milwaukee River basin. The availability of water power was a boon to early industrialists. The river itself was navigable to the dam. Thus, the sites along the river, and particularly those between the canal and the river below the bluffs on the west side, became prime property. By 1848, there were 25 mills and factories along the waterway, and the area was well-established as the city’s first major industrial district.
After the saw mills, which were all rather small in scale, came the flour mills, built to process the grain from the rich interior farmlands of Wisconsin and Min- nesota. Captain Anderson was a partner in the first mill, the Anderson-Woolcot Mill, built in 1844 at the foot of McKinley Street at the river'', The mill changed hands several times, and was greatly enlarged over the years of its operation. Later known as the Eagle Mill, it came into the hands of John Kern who substan tially enlarged it, then moved it to the foot of Vliet Street. The German-born Kern, stepping in after New Englanders Anderson and Woolcot, continued expansion and, with his two sons, remained in the business through 1880. There are no buildings remaining of this operation. Another major mill was the Phoenix, founded by Cicero Comstock in 1848. This mill also changed hands and expanded several times. Located at the corner of Cherry and Commerce, it was one of Mil waukee's largest mills. Other mills in the North Third Street/Brewers Hill area included the Kilbourn Mill, established in 1850, and the Empire Mill, both of which were destroyed by fire in 1885. Milwaukee was the world’s largest wheat exporter in 1865.
A third major industry which got an early start in the area was brewing. The location was a logical choice for brewing activity due to the availability of abundant water, adequate transportation, and ready access to the agricultural products necessary. The Obermann Brewery was an early concern located at Cherry between Fifth and Sixth Streets. The last of its buildings, an Italianate styled building, stands today at the corner of West Cherry and North Fifth (MI 25-13). There may have been other small brewery operations in the neighbor hood in the early years.
The Obermann Brewery building is historically significant for its association with early years of the brewing industry in Milwaukee. The building was built by the J. Obermann & Company Brewery, circa 1866. Jacob Obermann and partner’Max Fueger brewed lager beer at the facility; the business was begun in 1854 by Obermann, who was first a shoemaker by trade. He was a native of Germany (born in 1819) and came to America in 1843, locating in Milwaukee. He practiced his shoemaker trade for five years, and in 1849 opened a store which he ran until commencing the brewing INDUSTRY (continued) business in 1854. Obermann’s two sons also became involved in the business; Philip, the eldest, was secretary-treasurer and general manager of the business (he also served the community as president of the School Board); and Gustav A. was the presi dent of the business. At the time of his death in 1887, Jacob Obermann had built the business into one of the leading breweries in the city. Jacob was one of the founders of the Mechanics Mutual Fire Insurance Company also, and held the office of treasurer for 28 years until his death.
By far the largest brewery, and by the turn of the century the largest single em ployer in the area, was the Schlitz Brewery. The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was founded in 1848 by August Krug. The Krug Brewery was a small beginning, first located on Chestnut Street between Third and Fourth Streets. With a capacity of 250 barrels a year, Krug supplied the needs of his neighbors. Krug operated it until his death in 1856. Joseph Schlitz, his bookkeeper, took charge of the busi ness in the interest of Mrs. Krug, whom he later married.
Schlitz is responsible for the businesses’ early growth; by 1865 sales amounted to 4,400 barrels. In 1870 and 1871, he relocated the facilities to the existing North Third Street and West Walnut Street site. As a result of the enlargement, 12,381 barrels were sold in 1871, and in 1873 the total rose to 49,623 barrels of beer. In 1874, a stock company was formed, and organized as the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The company was incorporated with Joseph Schlitz as president, August Uihlein as secretary, and Henry Uihlein as superintendent. However, Schlitz was killed the next year en route to Germany when the steamship "Schiller" was wrecked off the Scilly Islands.
Joseph Schlitz was born in Mayence, Germany in 1831; his father was a speculator in wine. Joseph went into bookkeeping and worked for a prominent business for four years before coming to Milwaukee in 1855. He assumed ownership of the Krug Brew ery in 1858. At the time of his death, Schlitz was not only president of the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company, but was also vice-president of the Second Ward Savings Bank, and secretary of the Brewers’ Fire Insurance Company of America (of which he was one of the founders). Schlitz was also an active member of the United States Brewers' Association, secretary of the Milwaukee Brewers' Association, a Mason and a member of numerous other societies.
By provisions of Schlitz’s will, the business continued under his name but was re organized under the Uihlein family, with Henry succeeding Schlitz as president in 1875. August remained secretary, while Alfred Uihlein became superintendent and Edward Uihlein was manager of the Chicago Department. In 1876 sales were 78,205 barrels. By 1884, with output at 345,000 barrels annually, the complex of brew- INDUSTRY (continued) ery buildings had expanded to seven acres; this included cooper shops, ice houses, bottling works, stables, grain sheds, malt houses, brewhouses, and offices. The Uihleins became a prominent and well-respected family in Milwaukee, and the brew ing business continued to expand. Beer was not only shipped across the United States, but to Canada, Mexico, Central America, and Brazil, By this time the firm employed 300 men. It also established a bottling department in 1877, operated as Voechting, Shape & Company. Sales in this form in 1880 were 20,000 gross of bot tles, individually corked by two men, driving at the rate of from 70 to 80 per minute.
The main brewery and general offices occupied the block bounded by Second and Third Streets and Walnut and Galena Streets. On the block bounded by the railroad and First Street and Walnut and Galena Streets was the bottling department, cooper shops, repair shops, ice houses, and railroad tracks. On Second Street was the malt house, 150 by 300 feet, one of the largest in Milwaukee. The company also had grain sheds and wagon yards nearby. One of the refrigerated beer storage buildings exist ing in 1886 was 100 by 140 feet, and had a capacity of 50,000 barrels of beer. Vats were located in cellars 25 feet underground.
Schlitz owned land north of the city on the Milwaukee River where their ice houses were located, In 1886, the company had 12 ice houses, and each season harvested over 100,000 tons of ice. Approximately half of this was used for the shipment of beer by rail, with over 6,000 pounds of ice put into every car. The remaining was used to refrigerate beer on the premises, where a stock of 120,000 barrels was con- stantly kept on hand, By this date the company employed 500 men and owned 125 horses.
The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was the recognized leader of the brewing industry for years. During its period of early growth (1873-1883) it employed the latest fa cilities and machinery for the manufacture of beer. Of significance was the large ice machine, run by a 150 horsepower engine. It was a Linde patent engine purchased in Switzerland in 1885, and was the first imported machine of its kind in America.
It is significant to note that from its founding in 1848 with an annual capacity of 250 barrels of beer, to its 1886 capacity of over 500,000 barrels annually, Schlitz sold more beer than any other American brewery.
In addition to the brewing of beer itself, Schlitz became involved in other related business ventures. One of these was Schlitz Park, a commercial pleasure park de veloped by Schlitz after purchasing seven acres at the north end of Seventh Street in 1879. The hillside site commanded an impressive view of the city; improvements INDUSTRY (continued) such as a concert pavilion seating 5,000 people, hotel, zoo and lookout tower were constructed. The park was illuminated with 350 multi-colored gas lamps and available for public use. (It later became Lapham Park when acquired by the city in 1909 and is currently part of Carver Park). The commercial pleasure park was a well-established German tradition which remained popular in German-settled communities through the early years of the twentieth century. They enabled the public a bit of recreation and diversion, as well as providing the owner an outlet for his product.
The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company has been known in the recent past by afficiena- dos of beer and tourists for its "Brown Bottle" hospitality room where brewery tours ended in a sampling of the suds. The brewery was closed in 1981.
The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company buildings represent a past epoch in the brewing industry which will never be repeated. It was an age of phenominal growth and ex pansion for the successful breweries, when many small closely held businesses suc cumbed to the competitive pressures. As in most industries, some breweries with just the right combination of quality product, public appeal, shrewd management, hard work, timing and luck, were able to capture more than their share of the market and consolidate their positions to become the giants in their field. The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was certainly one of these; Schlitz products are today marketed throughout the world.
The present properties of the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company consist of a complex of late nineteenth and early twentieth century industrial buildings located on five city blocks near the edge of the Milwaukee River. The buildings represent a range of functions within the larger brewery classification, such as offices, brewhouses, malt houses, bottling works, grain silos, and stables. They range from two to nine stories in height and create an intensively developed node along the now-sporadically built river valley. Almost every block within the district is densely built, the individual buildings separated only by narrow alleys and rail spurs.
There are 20 buildings, 12 of which are pivotal structures and 8 of which are con- tributing structures, The brewery buildings considered to be significant are the following:
Malthouse No. 4 (MI 34-23), West Walnut between North Second and North Third Stables (MI 47-13), 214-18 West Walnut INDUSTRY (continued)
Malthouse No. 1 (MI 58-1), North Third between West Cherry and West Galena Malthouse No. 2 (MI 58-2), North Third between West Cherry and West Galena Malthouse No. 3 (MI 58-3), North Third between West Cherry and West Galena Stock House (MI 34-36), North Third between West Cherry and West Galena General Offices (MI 34-33), North Third between West Cherry and West Galena Refrigerator Building (MI 34-34), North Third between West Galena and West Walnut Brewhouse (MI 34-32), 213 West Galena Refrigerator Building (MI 34-30), West Galena Staff Operations Office (MI 34-29), 1560 North Second Quonset Building (MI 34-4), 1311 North Cape Architecturally, the majority of the Schlitz buildings within the district are a mix of German Renaissance and Richardsonian Romanesque styles. These are of quite consistent stylistic expression, constructed of brick and stone masonry with some terra cotta and sheet metal decoration. They are masonry bearing wall buildings with heavy timber framing. The exterior walls are predominantly Milwaukee cream brick with varying degrees of rusticated lime stone used as a base, belt courses and arches, and faced limestone used as belt courses, arches and copings. While the Richardsonian Romanesque influence is strong, the brewery includes "an interesting amalgam of German Renaissance architectural details, including towers, turrets, and heavily rusticated arches."
The contributing structures are a variety of types and styles. Three are concrete grain silos, two are turn-of-the-century warehouse buildings, and three are middle twentieth-century International style buildings. All are an integral part of the brewery complex, if not visually, certainly functionally. Several of the buildings in the district are excellent examples of their respective styles. The Brewhouse at 213 West Galena Street is a significant Richardsonian Romanesque design; and the Malthouse on West Walnut between North Second and North Third Streets is a very well executed example of the Moderne style. The Refrigerator building at the north east corner of West Galena and North Third Streets is also a fine example of its style—primarily a German Renaissance influenced design. This style is a unique product of Milwaukee's past; the strong German heritage of its early settlers made a profound impact on the character of the architecture that was built. This fact is nowhere more visible than in the Schlitz Brewery buildings. The widespread use INDUSTRY (continued) of stepped parapets with decorative brickwork and capped pilasters on many Schlitz buildings can be seen on other Brewers' Hill structures (such as the Geiger Horseradish Factory, 325 West Vine Street, MI 34-21). These are very reminiscent of the gables characteristic of the seventeenth-century German Renaissance period (epitomized by the Rathhaus, Bremen, A.D. 1612). There is little doubt that this tradition had a direct influence on the architecture produced by the heavily German-origin businessmen and builders in the Brewers Hill area. Along with the expansion of brewing along the Milwaukee River came the various smaller-scale operations that were required to supply the breweries. These in cluded malt houses, barrell stave makers, coopers, ice companies, and small iron shops. The largest of these was the Charles Stolper Cooperage Company, which at one time occupied a large site along Fourth Street between Reservoir and Brown. The present St. Francis Parish Hall incorporates parts of one of the Stolper buildings. By 1854, the canal and river banks were crowded with flour mills, small industries, and lumber yards. In 1858, the LaCrosse and Milwaukee Rail road Line followed the river into the area, terminating at Highland Avenue. The railroad freight house was a familiar landmark for many years. Even before the Schlitz Brewery became a major presence in the district, the area represented a complex industrial concentration, especially along the river. There were continu ous changes as businesses came, expanded, or disappeared. Others were destroyed by fire. Buildings were rapidly made obsolete by changes in manufacturing and processing technology, and were demolished rather than reused.
The last major industry to be established, but the one that became the most im portant for the longest period, was tanning. At one time there were 12 tanning operations along the banks of the Milwaukee River between the dam and the Juneau Avenue bridge. Most of these were German-owned and were operated by managers and workers who lived close by. One of the largest tanning firms, A. F. Gallun and Sons, was founded by August Gallun about 1858. Born in Germany, Gallun came to Milwaukee in 1855. His initial company, the Empire Tannery, occupied a former paper mill on the east side of North Water Street. Gallun’s sons, Albert and Arthur, took over the business and expanded into the United States, European and South American markets. Shoe leather was the principal product. The company employed 750 men by 1910. Several later structures of the complex remain at 1863 North Water Street (MI 35-21).
A second large tanning operation was that established by Albert Trostel, a German immigrant who came to Milwaukee in 1852. Trostel worked in another tannery for four years, and in 1856 he set up his own tanning business in partnership with A. F. Gallun. During the partnership, which lasted 28 years, the two men acquired INDUSTRY (continued) the Star Tannery. The nature of their facility was changed several times through fires and expansions through the 1880s. The Star Tannery was on the east side of the river along Water Street. The only remnant is the masonry building now oc cupied by Northern Light Company at 1661 North Water Street (MI 35-30). Gallun and Trostel also acquired the Phoenix Tannery across the river. This building re mains, and is currently being considered for conversion to a correctional facility (MI 35-10). Trostel's partnership with Gallun was dissolved in 1885. Trostel ac quired the Star and Phoenix operations, Gallun the Empire. All three businesses were greatly expanded as the tanning industry reached its peak at the turn of the century. In 1888, Trostel's sons Albert 0. and Gustav A. J. were admitted to the firm and the name of the operation was changed to Albert Trostel and Sons. In 1895, they purchased the canal tannery of Pfister and Vogel Leather Company. The elder Trostel died in 1907, and the sons continued to operate and expand the busi ness, expanding extensively after a major fire at the company in 1909. Part of the Trostel plan remains at 1776 North Commerce (MI 35-8).
While few buildings from the heyday of tanning in Milwaukee remain, there are still some buildings in use by tanning companies in the river corridor, specifi cally the current Pfister and Vogel Tanning Plant at 1531 North Water Street on the east bank (MI 35-33). This operation occupies the former Zohrlaut Leather Company buildings.
As tanning became the major single industry at the base of the district, other firms entered the area to supply the tanneries and to utilize their products. Of particular note was the F. Mayer Boot and Shoe Company, established in 1880 in a two-story building at First and Walnut. Mayer had been associated with the district since 1852, when he settled there after coming from Germany in 1851. He established a retail store at 318 West Water Street, and was so successful that he decided to retire from retailing and start up a manufacturing business in 1880. The boot and shoe operation was a family business, run by Mayer and his three sons. When first established, the firm had an output of 150 pairs a day. The company facilities were expanded greatly in the period from 1892 to 1899. It was producing 9,000 pairs a day by 1910, and demand warranted the opening of a second plant in Seattle, Washington. The company produced shoes in the build ing until 1934. The large industrial/warehouse structure, located at 116 East Walnut Street, remains in place with a few alterations (MI 25-24). It has been used for a variety of commercial and industrial purposes in recent years.
Following the initial boom years when sawmills were common along the river, newer industries took over the water power canal. However, lumber continued to play a part in the development along the river, in the form of lumber and coal supply INDUSTRY (continued) companies. John Schroeder, a German immigrant who lived on Brewers Hill, estab lished a lumber yard at the foot of Walnut Street along the canal. He arrived in Milwaukee in 1846, and opened his yard in 1866 with the help of a partner. In 1881, Schroeder and his three sons incorporated the business, with the major fa cilities being a large lumber yard and a planing mill. This firm operated a saw mill in Ashland, Wisconsin, as well as a fleet of ships to transport lumber. The company owned several hundred thousand acres of timber from Canada to Florida. There were several other lumber and coal dealers along the river and the railroad. They continued to thrive until the Wisconsin forests were cleared in the 1880s.
A major change in the industrial district took place in the mid-1880s. With the conversion of industrial engines from water to steam power, the canal was no longer necessary. In fact, the land displaced by the canal was coveted to pro vide better access to the factories and mills along the river- Thus, in 1883- 1885, the canal was filled and converted to roadway. Today’s Commerce Street follows the route of the grandly-conceived water link to the Mississippi. COMMERCE
As the industrial district grew in size and importance, and the residential areas to the north, east and west grew accordingly to house the required work force, North Third Street developed as a major commercial artery. North Third Street had already assumed an important place in the 1840’s as the Green Bay Plank Road and was one of the major roads of the day. However, most of the present bulk of commercial buildings, or at least their wood-sheathed prede cessors, were erected during the boom years of the district from 1850 to 1900. With the exception of corner stores and taverns, all major shopping in the Brewers' Hill/ North Third Street neighborhoods was done on North Third Street. The street itself connected the neighborhood with the downtown. It was one of the first streets in the city outside of the central business district to be improved with paving. It was the major north-south road on the west side of the river; and of great importance to the predominantly German residents of the area, it connected directly with the center of German business on Juneau Avenue.
The earliest built-up area was at the south end of North Third Street near the river. The first commercial establishments were gradually dispersed by industrial development, however; and growth took place northward all the way to North Avenue by the 1870's. In the 1870's and 1880's, most of the original wood frame commercial structures were replaced by larger brick buildings. In the 1890's, small buildings were replaced by larger brick buildings. In the 1890's, small buildings were replaced by larger ones as the area continued to thrive. The corner of North Third Street and North Avenue was a vital, bustling shopping area into the 1960's, Businesses along North Third Street were those necessary to satisfy common daily needs. A complete range of goods and services were available, so there was little need for a nearby resident to venture out of the immediate area. There was even some light manufacturing on the street until the 1890's. For the first few decades shopkeepers lived above their stores; but as brick buildings replaced frame and businesses were enlarged, apartments in the remaining small buildings were converted to rental units. Success allowed the proprietors to move to substantial streets. Many of the commercial establishments were family businesses that remained in the same family for decades.
The North Third Street commercial area, taken as a district, is significant in the category of commerce for the reasons just discussed; i.e., its importance as a ma jor, close-in business area. However, few of its commercial enterprises can be considered significant when removed from the context of the district. Typical of the hundred or so businesses occupying contributing buildings would be that of John C. Deffner at 2034-36 North Third Street (MI 36-18). Deffner, a Bavarian native, was raised in Milwaukee. He established his harness-making horse furnish ing goods business in 1885 in a new two-story brick building detailed in the Italianate style. Deffner achieved a wide reputation as a reliable workman and COMMERCE (continued) businessman. He manufactured light and heavy duty harnesses to his customers' or ders. Deffner died in 1913. Deffner's business, which combined light manufacturing and sales, was typical of many of the small-scale operations fronting on North Third Street.
Another example of a typical but different type of business in the area is the Hausmann Dry Goods Store at 1748-50 North Third (MI 37-12). Hannah and Julius Hausmann built a three-story building at the corner of North Third and West Vine Streets in 1891. Featuring a two-story corner turret and bay windows, the build ing was constructed in the latest styles of the day, a combination of Richardson ian Romanesque and Neo-Classical Revival. The Hausmanns must have had a prosperous retail business, as they hired noted Milwaukee architect Henry C. Koch to design the building and later, in 1896, erected an addition, also by Koch.
A significant commercial building type in Milwaukee, the brewery-owned corner tav ern, is well represented in the study area. Although there are examples on North Third Street, - there are several others located throughout the area. Perhaps the best in terms of its design is the Schlitz Brewing Company Saloon (now Zak's Tavern) at 2249 North Humboldt Avenue. This three-story Richardsonian Romanesque brick structure with distinctive corner tower was built as a saloon with two- story residence above in 1890 by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The building, designed by well-known Milwaukee architect Charles Kirchoff, Jr., included a 34 foot by 120 foot bowling alley with a $9,000 construction cost. The building was occupied as a bar and residence by a succession of tenants beginning with Julius Schmechel in 1891. It continues in use as a corner bar/residence today.
Several small warehouses, more commercial than industrial in use and appearance, were once scattered throughout the area. Of those few that remain, the building known as the Walter Geiger Horseradish Factory (MI 34-21) at 325 West Vine Street is the most distinctive. The Geiger building is a two-story brick masonry warehouse building with both Romanesque and German Renaissance features. The distinctive German Renaissance gable treatment gives it an interesting Old World flavor. The building was constructed as a grocery warehouse circa 1894, and later was used in 1936 by Walter Geiger to manufacture horseradish and bottle honey. In more re cent years, it went through a succession of uses including junk shop, ornamental plaster studio, flax seed warehouse, and store equipment company. Almost all of the establishments along North Third Street were small, with many seeking only to serve the neighborhood within a few blocks of the store. The major exceptions, with significance extending beyond the boundaries of the immediate area, were the Schuster Department Store (later Gimbel's) and the Home Savings Bank, both on North Third at Garfield on opposite corners. Both these businesses erected hand COMMERCE (continued) some buildings which were replaced with larger structures or expanded as success al lowed.
The Edward Schuster & Company Department Store, w’hose main downtown store was located in the building at 2153 North Third Street, grew to be one of Milwaukee's three largest retail department stores, serving the entire metropolitan area. In 1961, Schuster merged with Gimbel Brothers, Inc., to become the largest in Wisconsin, with stores in several major cities across the country.
Edward Schuster and Albert Friedmann opened a store together in 1884. By 1889, the firm's business had expanded and Schuster built a building at the corner of North Third and West Brown Streets, two blocks south of the existing building. Fire destroyed that building in 1893; it was replaced by a larger facility on the same site. In 1895 Schuster opened its first branch store, at the corner of North Twelfth and Walnut Streets.
Schuster's was founded by Edward Schuster, who was born in Driburg, Germany in 1831. He came to the United States in 1854, engaging in various businesses in New York state. Wanderlust led him to South Africa and then to Australia, where he married and went into business. However, in 1871 he and his family returned to Germany and set up a business in Hamburg-Altona. He remained there 12 years, but in 1883 re turned to the United States, settling in Milwaukee. He initially went into busi ness with Jacob Poss, but in 1884 formed a business with 19-year-old Albert T. Friedmann, which later grew to become Schuster's Department Store. Schuster died 20 years later in 1904.
Albert T. Friedmann was born in 1865 in Vienna, Austria, coming to the United States in 1883. He began business with Schuster as the junior partner, becoming president after Schuster died. He died in 1933; his sons, Max E. and Ralph T., became re spectively president and vice-president.
Schuster’s became affiliated with the Cavendish Trading Company in 1931. This was an organization of retailers who shared combined buying facilities but remained in dependent entities. By 1933, the store had a fleet of 72 delivery trucks and offered customer services including free parking, elevators, and an exclusive "charge-plate" credit system. In 1946, shares of common stock numbering 162,600 were offered to the public to raise funds for a $5,500,000 improvement and expansion program. This included expansion of the main store by purchase of two adjacent lots with buildings immediately to the south. In 1951, these were remodeled as offices. Sales for the year ending January 31, 1948 were the largest in the company's history, $39,055,068. COMMERCE (continued)
By 1952, Schuster’s saw its future in the suburbs; with sales approaching $40 mil lion, it became the anchor store and developer for the $15 million, 50 store, Capitol Court Shopping Center at Sixtieth and Capitol Drive. Work on this, the fourth store, was started in September 1953. A fifth store was added at the Wild wood Shopping Center in 1956, and the sixth store at the Packard Plaza in 1959. The same year saw the seventh store built in Madison, the first outside the Milwaukee area. A major change occurred in 1961, with the merger of Schuster's with Gimbel Brothers, Inc. Schuster's was acquired by Gimbel's through a $16 million stock exchange, initiated by the latter. Gimbel's closed the store in the mid-1970 s.
The existing building at 2153 North Third (MI 38-35) is a four-story steel frame structure sheathed in brick and terra cotta masonry. It is a Chicago Commercial style building, generally devoid of ornamentation except for the Neo-Classic Revival characteristics at the cornice and in the frieze band just below. The three upper floors are predominantly glazing. Architects for the project were Charles Kirchoff and Thomas L. Rose, a Milwaukee architectural firm which also designed the Second Ward Savings Bank at 910 North Third (now the Milwaukee County Historical Center). The construction cost $140,000. Only six years later, in 1913, a major addition was made, expanding to the west and more than doubling the floor space of the struc ture. This addition, also executed in the Chicago style, involved $200,000 worth of counstruction, and was designed by architects Brust, Phillips 4 Heimerl. The next year, in 1914, a second branch store was opened on Sixth Avenue at Mitchell. Again, in 1918, the main store was enlarged by the addition of a three-story por tion; this involved approval to build over the alley. It was a $50,000 addition designed by architects Brust 4 Brust. A $15,000 fourth-story was added to this in 1942, also designed by Brust & Brust.
The Home Savings Bank was founded in 1910 to serve the financial needs of the near north side. Its founder, Faustin Prinz, a native of Austria, made his fortune by inventing and manufacturing milling equipment. Prinz lived in the neighborhood, residing in a house built in 1894 at 2052 North First Street, designed by Henry Messmer. Prinz sought to personalize banking by making the Home Savings Bank a neighborhood bank, particularly emphasizing home mortgage lending in the North Third Street area. The first bank office building was constructed in 1910 at 2200 North Third (at the northeast corner of West Garfield). That building was replaced by the present Moderne structure in 1930. The large stone building, designed by Charles Kirchoff and Thomas L. Rose, who also designed Schuster's Department Store across the corner, was and is the tallest building in the area, its height emphasized by the austere, vertically-oriented Moderne/Art Deco detailing. The lower two floors housed the bank operations and offices while the remaining space was rented primarily by professional offices and organizations. The Home COMMERCE (continued)
Savings Bank grew to hold assets greater than most other banks outside the downtown business district. Prinz served as president until his death in 1924. The bank continued to play a major role in the community until 1970, when it merged with the Midland National Bank. Midland moved the North Third Street operations downtown soon thereafter. The upper floors were in use until 1981, when the building was completely vacated. It remains vacant at present, though it appears to be in good condition.
/ GOVERNMENT SERVICES
The provision of municipal services on the Brewers Hill/North Third Street area was directly tied to the development of the city as a whole, at least after the incor poration of Milwaukee in 1846. Thus, the history of city services in the area is similar to that of other neighborhoods and districts. Prior to incorporation, the few improvements demanded were provided by Kilbourn and other developers. Kil- bourn himself graded streets and roads and leveled hills and filled valleys, all to enable him to sell his property. The major streets were plank roads which were built and maintained by private entrepreneurs. There was no sewer, water or trash service, and there was no public transportation.
Kilbourn filed his plat for much of the Brewers Hill area in 1835. By 1837, he had spent $13,000 of his own money on roads and streets in the area, In addition, he and others moved tremendous amounts of earth for cutting and filling, especially during the 1840s as development of the district increased. Kilbourn intended to make his development the center of the rapidly-growing city. To reflect his confidence, he provided for a courthouse square within the area, on land bounded by Cherry, Galena, North Third, and North Fourth Streets. The site ultimately selected for the courthouse was in Juneau's development, however, and the northside courthouse square became the site of the area's first public school.
In 1846, the City of Milwaukee was incorporated, and the three early villages (Kilbourntown, Juneautown, and Walker’s Point) were united in an uneasy geographi cal truce. The city was divided into wards, with Kilbourntown and Sherman’s ad dition in the Second Ward. Wards were political subdivisions which facilitated representation and services. They functioned semi-autonomously in the provision of care and maintenance of public spaces and facilities. There was constant con flict between wards as they struggled to secure the most city funds for mainte nance of existing facilities and for the construction of new improvements. In 1856, a City Charter was passed, representing an effort by the fledgling city to deal with necessary services. Demands were still simple at the time, however, and most responsibility was passed on to the wards. Ward boundaries were re drawn that same year, and the Brewers Hill/North Third Street area was divided, the area south of Vliet remaining in the Second Ward and the area to the north in the Sixth Ward. The competition between wards for city funds continued and in fact increased as the city expanded. Inequities based on political power were a fact of life. An example of this can be seen in city records from 1856-57 which show that the Sixth Ward had the most construction activity in terms of buildings completed or under construction, but had the second to lowest alloca tion of city funds (out of nine wards). Part of the reason for this may have been that other wards consisted of newer areas that demanded improvements that had already been made in the Sixth Ward. GOVERNMENT SERVICES (continued)
Even after incorporation, however, the demands for municipal services remained sub dued for the most part. But with the dramatic growth of the city from 1850 on, pressure for an expanded municipal role increased. Private efforts by developers, entrepreneurs and citizens to provide services became increasingly inadequate, par ticularly in the areas of water and sewer systems. Wells were becoming polluted as the city became more crowded; primitive sewer systems failed to accommodate the need. Public concern over health and safety grew to be a potent political force. Although many city services had their beginnings prior to the passage of the City Charter in 1874, it was the expanded one that was the watershed in the provision of city services.
The Charter of 1874 established the city's Board of Public Works which had author ity over water, streets, sewers, bridges, sidewalks, and public buildings. It was with this impetus that major municipal improvements began in earnest, though in most of these areas some groundwork had already been laid. The period from 1860 to 1880 saw substantial progress in nearly all areas of municipal services in the North Third Street area and city-wide.
The municipal water system was built in the 1870s, with much of the work completed prior to the passage of the new charter. Kilbourn Reservoir played a major role in the system. The reservoir was built in 1871-72 and filled in the latter year. Water was pumped from Lake Michigan through newly-installed mains to the reservoir, where it was stored and distributed by gravity, pumps and mains throughout the north side west of the river.
Although a city fire department was established in 1871 to replace the volunteer companies that had served through the early years, the department was considered substandard until the 1890s. Fire stations were distributed on a ward basis. As ward population grew, more stations were added based on traditional means of evaluation of need. There is one firehouse in the study area, Engine Company No. 21 at 2050 North Palmer Street (MI 21-25). The two-story brick structure built in the Neo-Classical style in 1894, was the only city government building (except for public schools) located in the study area. As in many other parts of the city, the fire house assumed an important role as a symbol of municipal government in the neighborhood.
The municipal park system came into being during the writing of the 1874 charter. Demand for public parks grew in the 1850s and 1860s as the city became more crowded and the need for recreation increased. The first four parks in the city (other than private, for-profit parks) were all operated under the ward system. The first true city park, Kilbourn Park and Reservoir, was a byproduct of the creation of the municipal water system. The land for the reservoir was acquired GOVERNMENT SERVICES (continued) in 1868, and the reservoir was completed and operational in 1872. The land surround ing the reservoir was developed as a city park throughout the 1870s, with various improvements installed and additional land purchased. There has been little change in the park over the years, as it remains primarily as a passive recreation facil ity.
Street paving was considered a primary municipal function then as now. After the passage of the 1874 charter, street maintenance became a centralized responsibility of the city. Initial grading was followed by paving if the street was a major thoroughfare. Periodic sprinkling with horse-drawn wagon tankers kept down the dust. Paving was accomplished with gravel, cedar blocks, limestone blocks or treated wood blocks. There was no consistency of paving materials; different stretches paved at different times were paved with the material in favor or avil- able at the moment.
Citizens usually had to take the initiative to get a street improved. In May 1874, residents and merchants along North Third Street petitioned the city for the paving of the street north of Walnut. A two-foot cut for grading had left the road sur face in dangerous condition, resulting in capsized wagons and injured drivers and teams. The petition was granted, and in August 1874 it was announced that North Third Street would be the first street in the city to be paved with macadamized stone. The paving was to be installed between Walnut and Brown. The paving process consisted of the application of a bottom layer of stone between 9 and 15 inches thick, with a layer of large wooden blocks 7 inches thick, then a layer of 2-inch diameter broken stone, and then a later of 1-1/2-inch diameter stone, and finally a layer of gravel. The whole composition was then to be rolled several times and watered to bind the layers together. The paving process was known as the Telford System, and the cost at the time was $1.25 per square yard. Another paving system, the Thilmany Process, was first used on the stretch of North Third between Cherry and Walnut. Asphalt paving was not introduced in the city until 1884.
Along with improved streets came the need for street illumination. By 1852, gas pipes were being laid to supply street lamps, usually installed by private com panies who used a variety of systems and fixtures. In the 1860s and 1870s, more and more uniformity brought about standardization of fixture type, location, and burning time. Electricity as a source of light was tried on an experimental basis as early as 1880, but it was not until 1888 that electric lights were con sidered proven and were installed on a large scale. Electric street railways and electric lighting were consolidated under one ownership, first by the Wis consin Electrical Power Company and then in the 1890s by the Milwaukee Street Railway Company, and its successors, municipally-chartered corporations. These GOVERNMENT SERVICES (continued) developments affected the city as a whole, with no sig nificant applications or in novations in the study area.
Transportation became a city-provided service as streetcars came into widespread use. Public transportation was initially handled by private companies and de veloped into a municipal function as city government expanded. Even when in private hands, however, the transportation companies were regulated by the city. In 1859 the State Assembly passed a bill allowing the construction of street railways. The matter was hotly debated in Milwaukee, but business and booster interests prevailed, and construction on the first line along East Water Street began in 1860. A number of companies were formed to build routes throughout the city. In 1867 the horse cars carried 900,000 passengers; and by 1872, that fig ure had grown to over 1,800,000. In November 1861, property owners met to dis cuss a s treet railway along North Third Street. The North Third Street line was finally built in 1869, connecting with east-west routes along Walnut. The North Third Street line was considered a rough route due to the steep north bound grade which required four horses per car to surmount. Horse and steam cars were used until 1890, when the first electric car was placed in operation. Lines were built to popular spots such as the reservoir and concert grounds, so that the streetcars assumed an important place in the recreation of Milwaukee's citizens as well as in the pursuit of employment and life's needs.
As street railways became electrified, capital required to build and operate the systems increased to the point that public utilities were created to consolidate and replace the several private companies. Thus, the Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company evolved from private firms and predecessor public companies to become the public electric and transportation entity for the city and county of Milwaukee. EDUCATION
Schools were established in the Brewers Hill area as soon as it was settled. Classes were held wherever there was room and often shifted from location to location. Lessons were taught on the west side for the first time at 371 North Third Street (old street number). The teacher was Edward West who claimed that his class was the first public school convened in the territory of Wisconsin un der the Michigan public school system law. Other sources cite East Water Street as the location of the first school; but regardless of such details, once es tablished, schools and public education became a necessary part of Milwaukee life.
The first school house built on the west side stood near Cherry Street on the west side of Fourth Street. The one-story frame structure was built in 1836. These early schools were based on the Michigan school laws governing establishment and administration of public schools. The law was formulated in 1827 and provided t hat every town having over 50 families should support a common school by means of levied taxes. The law was modified a number of times before the adoption of the Milwaukee city charter in 1846. Fewer families were required in the city's legislation, the number being reduced to 10. Commissioners were to be elected whose duty it would be to lease school lands and .use the proceeds for teachers' salaries and to call meetings. Directors, also to be elected, were to locate school houses, hire teachers and levy taxes for the support of the school. In spectors were a third elected group whose job it was to inspect the schools and examine the teachers. These positions were subject to change and modification through the years before 1846, appointment sometimes substituting for election. No record of taxes levied for school purposes exists prior to 1842. Leasing of school lands would have been an inadequate source of revenue so apparently sub scription was the method used to raise money.
Primitive conditions prevailed from the 1830s to the mid-1840s. In 1845 the citi- zens of Milwaukee were submerged in the problems of organizing a strong municipal government. Development of a good school system was among their concerns. In that year, there were 1,781 school-age children (ages 5 to 16) in 13 schools (4 public, 9 private). When Milwaukee became incorporated in 1846, the Common Coun cil appointed the first Board of School Commissioners with one commissioner serv ing from each ward. The board administered directly through principals, with no superintendent for 13 years thereafter. As more schools were required, the board generally rented space for classrooms. By the 1847-48 sch'ool year, eight public schools were in operation with a total registration of 865 pupils. In 1852, five brick school structures were built, capable of housing 350 pupils and costing about $3,000. Among these new buildings was the Sixth Ward School located on Fourth Street between Cherry and Galena, on the site Kilbourn had originally designated Courthouse Square. EDUCATION (continued)
The 1850s marked a decade of consolidation and standardization of textbooks. Ger man language entered the curriculum in 1857 as a result of there being 2,577 chil dren of German origin out of a school poplation of 5,914 students. Two high schools were established in that year, but the financial panic at the end of the decade created funding problems and the two secondary schools were closed. The first school superintendent, Rufus King, was elected by the Board as a means of bringing order to the system in the midst of the financial crisis. After the eco nomic problems were resolved, the schools continued to grow through the 1860s and 1870s. A graded plan was introduced to replace the departmental system used pre viously. During this decade, school district boundaries were redrawn to conform to ward boundaries.
Of significance to families in Brewers Hill was the superintendency of William A. Anderson, who took office in 1883 and served until 1892. Anderson was a progres sive when it came to curriculum revision. He favored the teaching of German since a large percentage of the population was bilingual. Supplementary readings were added in the grades, public reading was encouraged and dramatic presentations were seen as a way to improve speaking skills. Experimental physics was introduced, for which Anderson wrote the text. Meetings to discuss new methods and courses were held by teams of teachers and administrators. Anderson made a cooking class available to girls above the fourth grade.
Anderson was born in Rugby, England in 1845. His family moved to Racine County, Wisconsin and farmed there. From 1862 to 1865, Anderson served in the Union Army. He worked as a machinist for the Case Co. from 1865 to 1868. In the fall of that year he enrolled at Beloit College and then transferred to the Whitewater State Normal School in 1869. Upon graduation in 1870 he was appointed to a teaching position in Waukesha. He was made a principal three years later, and moved to Milwaukee in 1875 to be principal of the Fifth District School. In 1883, he was elected Superintendent of the Milwaukee School System. When he failed to be re elected in 1892, he took charge of preparing and installing Wisconsin's educa tional exhibit at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. He continued in educational activities until his death in 1903.
Anderson recognized the immediate need for more classrooms and teachers as soon as he took office. During his administration, 26 schools were built or annexed, including the Garfield Avenue School and the Golda Meir (Sixth District) School, both in the study area.
The Garfield Avenue School, located at 2215 North Fourth Street, was completed in 1889. Plans and specifications were solicited in 1887. Four architectural EDUCATION (continued) firms submitted documents. All four included cost estimates of more than the $45,000 the board had allocated. Henry C. Koch received the commission for the building to be constructed for $48,000. The Board of Public Works opened bids for the new school, to contain 15 rooms, in September ol 1887, but since all the bids were too high, no contracts were let. The contract was re advertised, and apparently the second time around produced a satisfactory bid, for the building was constructed and the first graduation ceremony was held in June 1890. The Garfield Avenue School was also known as the Sixth District School No. 2, and, after 1936, as the Girl's Junior Trade School.
Another school was sought by Sixth Ward residents, one to replace the Humboldt School which was the second school to be built in the area. It had been built in 1872 and replaced the first Sixth District School on the old Courthouse Square site. At first, the local aiderman indicated that money had already been appropriated for a school (the Garfield Avenue building) and that Common Council would pay little attention to the request for another school. However, another school was indeed built, called the Fourth Street School (more recently renamed the Golda Meir School). Again, four architects were invited to submit plans and specifications. The building committee passed over the highly-regarded Edward T. Mix to once again select Henry C. Koch as the architect for the school. The building was renamed the Golda Meir School in honor of the late Prime Minister of Israel who attended the school from 1906 to 1912. Her presence there reflected the growing number of Jewish residents in the area after the turn of the century. Both the Garfield Avenue and Golda Meir Schools remain as prominent landmarks in the community. In addition, a relatively new school, the Palmer Street School, serves the area.
As is usually the case in an ethnically-concentrated neighborhood, private church- related schools played a major role in meeting the educational needs of the commu nity. The earliest was the Bohemian Catholic School, which was a part of the St. Johannes Nepomuk Church complex adjacent to the Sixth District School site. The Bohemian Catholic School was a 2-1/2 story brick building on Court Street between North Third and North Fourth Streets, It is represented on turn-of-the-century tax maps but is no longer standing.
The preeminent church in the area, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, erected its first school, a wood frame building accommodating 400 students, in 1871 on the church grounds just to the north of the church. The second building, which was used to augment the first, was actually the original church building that was moved to allow the construction of the present sanctuary in 1877. A third educational structure was built in 1889. It was a brick building which replaced EDUCATION (continued) the old church and had classroom space for 475 students. A fourth school facility was an addition to the 1889 building containing four classrooms, It was dedi- cated in 1899. None of the St. Francis school buildings remains standing today.
A third private school was that established by the St. Marcus Evangelical Lutheran Church, a German-speaking church at the corner of Garfield and Palmer Streets, after using the school of a former church on the site, St. John's Church, as their meeting place for several years. The congregation hired Henry Messmer to design the St. Marcus School, a separate school building, which was constructed in 1894 at a cost of $11,000.
All three of these schools were originally constructed to serve the needs of the ethnic population in the neighborhood. St. Francis and St. Marcus met the needs of German-speaking residents, while the Bohemian School catered to Catholic Czechs. St. Marcus is the only that remains standing, and it appears to continue in use as a school building. RELIGION
The churches of the Brewers Hill/North Third Street area reflect the historic ethnic character of the community when it was most ptosperous. There were four ethnic con centrations that occupied the area: the original Yankee settlers, the Germans, the Jews, and the Blacks. There are no remnants of the original New England family re ligions, which most likely would have been Episcopal or Presbyterian. In fact, only one reference, to an Episcopal church that was taken over by a German Lutheran sect, was found in 1880 histories. Most of the churches that remain in the area to day relate to the period of time when the Germans were the dominant ethnic group. There is little to remind us of the decades when the Jewish population was predominant; and the Blacks who are today's majority in the area utilize the German-era churches and also create new congregations that often are housed in other building types such as commercial storefronts.
St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church
The St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church at 1927 North Fourth Street (MI 55-7,8) was the largest and most fully-developed religious institution in the Brewers Hill area, For its first 100 years it served the needs of a predominantly German congregation.
St. Francis, born in the Italian hill town of Assisi in 1182, founded three religi- OUS orders during his lifetime. One of these was the Friars Minor, which in the course of many centuries split into several organizations. The Capuchins were one of these factions, achieving the status of a separate order in 1535. Since then, the Capuchin Order has spread all over the world through missionaries. The order is a favorite among lower classes because of its professed and practiced voluntary pov erty. The Capuchin Order was introduced to the United States by two Swiss priests who immigrated to this country for that purpose. The priests, P. Francis Haas and P. Bonaventura Trey, arrived on these shores in 1851. They chose Wisconsin, in particular a hilltop site in Fond du Lac County, in which to build the first monas tery. The original structure burned in 1868, but it was soon rebuilt and was the "Mother-house" at least through 1881.
The monastery on Mt. Calvary provided a house for studies and training of candidates for the priesthood in the developing Midwest. However, the fathers soon tired of sending candidates for ordination from Mt. Calvary to Milwaukee. They resolved to establish a monastery in Milwaukee to eliminate this inconvenience (there was, at first, no plan to build a church). Rome issued its permission in August 1861; how ever, no further action was taken until the fire of 1868 referred to below. The fire proved to be the needed spur to action for construction of a monastery in Mil waukee. A future parishioner, John F. Baasen, already on his way toward being a prominent Milwaukee businessman, purchased a property on which the monastery was to RELIGION (continued) be built. (The Baasen House at 1702 North Fourth is described elsewhere in this nomination.) This site, consisting of two lots at the corner of Walnut and Ninth, was tied up in litigation of an estate and a controversy of ownership; thus, the Capuchins decided to relinquish their claim to it and looked elsewhere.
In 1865, the Order purchased a full block bounded by West Brown, West Reservoir, North Fourth, and North Fifth Streets. A concession granted by the city al lowed them to maintain the full block without a north-south alley through its center. The southern part of the property was a hill of gravel on which stood the ruins of an old house (the hill is still there today). At the northern end of the lot where the present church is, was deep swamp. The streets in the area were not graded at the time of acquisition. In August 1869, the cornerstone of the choir and convent was laid. This represented the west wing of the present complex. In 1877, the south wing was added to serve as a house of studies for clerics of the Order. The east wing which closed the circle to form a quadrangle was not completed until 1892 (after the main church was built to form the north wall). The courtyard formed by the three monastery buildings and the church was described in one reference source as " . . . neatly laid out as a floral garden, and serves during the Summer months as a bright bit of coloring, in pleasing con trast to the rather dull surroundings. This institution, which is preliminary to the church, not accessory, brings the visitor, in imagination, back to the middle ages" (History of Milwaukee 1881, pp. 911-912).
In 1881 the monastery had 32 menbers: 9 priests, 17 clerics, and 6 lay brothers, all of whom were required to "teach or study, pray or work" (History of Milwaukee 1881, p. 912). The monastery contained offices, rooms for instruction, meeting rooms, and classrooms. As space was created for these uses, the choir was expanded and improved, with a vaulted ceiling and larger windows installed. Improvements included the painting of the Immaculate Virgin on the front wall of the choir, executed by noted European artist William Lamprecht.
Soon after the cornerstone of the monastery was laid, a congregation was formed, consisting of about 60 families after the first year. The Catholics in the area earnestly desired to organize a parish. Three leading Catholics in the vicinity, Mr. Baasen, Mr. Pauly, and Mr. Borman, petitioned the church for a new parish to be in the charge of the Capuchin fathers. Bishop Henni authorized the fathers to organize a parish under the patronage of St. Francis of Assisi. Prior to the founding of the St. Francis Parish, there were only seven Catholic churches in the Milwaukee area. The original parish boundaries were Vliet on the south, Seventh Street on the west, and the Milwaukee River on the east. As North Ave nue was the edge of development to the north at the time, there was no northern limit. RELIGION (continued)
The first church on the site was a wood frame structure begun in early June and completed in late July 1870. The church was located in front of the monastery choir facing Fourth Street, This building soon proved inadequate to house the growing parish; thus, it was relocated elsewhere on the block and work on a new, larger and more permanent church was begun on the same site. Architect William Shickel of New York City was chosen to prepare the plans; and in the spring of 1876, work began on the new building. Many tradesmen and craftsmen worked on the large church, including Al Schmidt, stonework; M. Kraatz Brothers, masonry; John Fellenz, carpentry; Mittermaier of Brooklyn, stained glass; Erhart Briel- maier, alters and pulput; Muer of New York, interior decoration; and William Lamprecht, then of New York, who painted the mural "Triumph of Christianity" over the sanctuary arch. Many of the names of both local and remote craftsmen reflect the German ethnic flavor of the parish. The structure was completed for $42,000, while furnishings and decorations amount to $80,000.
The church building was continuously improved as the parishioners prospered. A new organ was installed in 1885, while bells for the tower were purchased in the same year. The organ was built by William Schuelke of Milwaukee. In April 1893, the church was damaged by fire set by an arsonist (who was never caught). Most damage was due to smoke and heat. Walls and decorations were the main victims. The fire was a mixed blessing, as it allowed a long-discussed and desired plan for the painting of murals on the walls to be implemented. When the church was juilt, the walls of the center nave above the clerestory had not been lathed. Atmospheric absorption of pollutants resulted in the formation of chemicals which discolored walls and damaged paint. This situation was remedied after the fire. The murals, depicting the life of St. Francis, were executed by William Lamprecht. Interior repairs and improvements resulting from the fire cost $10,000.
In 1900 a stone entry vestibule was added at the front (Fourth Street) elevation, and a new tile floor was installed over the old wooden one. The vestibule cost $4,500, half of which was paid by the parishioners. In the fall of 1916, a major improvement program was begun. Joseph Herrmann of Milwaukee re-decorated the in terior. The murals were restored and made to harmonize with the new interior decoration. The original stained glass windows were replaced by new ones which depicted the saints and the founders of various Catholic orders. The old floor beneath the pews, which had not been covered in 1900, was replaced. All of the interior furnishings were renovated and painted, and new indirect electric light ing replaced outdated gas fixtures. In 1971, a boy’s sacristy was built to the right of the sanctuary. All of this work was paid for by private donations.
Other buildings on the complex site included several outbuildings including a greenhouse (now gone) and a series of four schools. The first school, con- RELIGION (continued) structed in 1871, was a frame building which accommodated 400 children, It was lo- cated to the north of the church and was administered by Notre Dame sisters, The second school was the original church that was moved to allow construction of the present sanctuary. It was moved in 1877 and became the parish hall and extra school space. The third school building replaced the former frame church. It was dedicated in 1889, was built of brick at a cost of $28,000, and could accommodate 475 students. An addition was built in 1908, containing restrooms, club and meet ing rooms, and auditorium. The fourth school structure was to the rear of the 1889 building and contained four classrooms. It was dedicated in 1899. None of the school buildings remains today. A convent was constructed close by at 327 East Brown Street in 1909. It is a two-story brick structure designed in the Colonial Revival style (MI 55-9).
St. Johannes de Nepomuc Church
Several years prior to the founding of St. Francis, Czechoslovakians in Milwaukee set in motion the founding of a Catholic church to satisfy their religious re quirements. A sizable migration came as the consequence of the Austrian revolu tion of 1848, most settling in the old Second, or German, Ward. In 1870 Bohem ians totaled two percent of the Milwaukee population. Interest in creating a Czechoslovakian parish dated to 1860, where Catholic Czechs formed a society to raise money to bring a priest who could hear confessions in the Czech language on an annual basis. In 1865 a permanent parish was founded. St. Johannes was organized by the Reverend Martin Kundig, who was the first priest and vicar general. He was succeeded by Reverend John Gardner, who was pastor until 1875. Reverend Leo J. Suchy followed, and was responsible for building a new school (now demolished). Reverend Suchy was chaplain of the Bohemian Catholic Society for benevolent purposes in the United States, and also Apostolic Missionary to the U.S. from the Franciscan Order, being the only Bohemian priest in the diocese. Reverend Suchy was born in Horsiw Tyn, Bohemia, and was educated in Prague. He moved to Milwaukee in 1875. Connected with the church were several benevolent so cieties comprised of parish members, including St. Johannes von Nepomuk; St. Joseph’s Men’s Society; St. Wenceslaus; Young Ladies Society; St. Alois; the Catholic Beseda; and St. Cecelia.
The St. John de Nepomuc Society Rectory, constructed in 1859, is the single re- maining building of several others constructed by the Society on Comstock Hill. Directly south of the Rectory, also known as the Priests’ Residence, was the St. Johannes Nepomuk Church, built in 1867 and demolished in 1956. On the other side of the same block was the Bohemian Catholic School, also a part of the complex. The rectory was used by the St. Johannes de Nepomuk parish until 1907. Various RELIGION (continued) other congregations utilized the building over the years including the First Hun garian Reformed Church in 1928-35; First Pentecostal Assembly of the World in 1939-40; David Spiritual Temple of Christ in 1942; and Church of the Living God in 1944-45. It was during the Hungarian Reformed Church occupancy in 1936 that the original curved stairs were removed.
St. Marcus (Evangelical Lutheran) Church
The St. Marcus Church congregation was organized by a group of Germans in 1875. After several informal meetings, they elected officers and held their first ser vice on July 4 of that year. Soon thereafter, the congregation purchased the school building at the corner of Garfield and Palmer from St. John's Church for their use. Joining the Wisconsin Synod of the Lutheran Church was a stipulation of purchase. The congregation resolved to adopt the name "German Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of St. Mark." A teacher named J. B. Denninger was hired to organize a school, but he left after a short tenure. An organ was purchased and a choir was organized in 1875. Late in the year, a pastor, the Reverend Westenberger of Prairie du Chien, was hired, and he directed the making of neces sary changes in the school building to convert it to a sanctuary. It January 1876, the first service in their own church was held. The congregation and its ministers and teachers organized a Sunday school and Ladies Society, among other groups. In 1880 there were 85 pupils in the church school, and the congregation consisted- of 5 7 families and a number of individuals. School activities grew to the point that a separate school building was required.
The St. Marcus School, at 2215 North Palmer (MI 23-4) was erected in 1894, designed by Henry Messmer. The congregation flourished and outgrew its converted sanctuary. Thus, in 1913, a totally new church, built of brick and stone in the twentieth century Gothic style and designed by architects Julius Leiser and Charles Holst, was erected on the site of the original St. John's School, The congregation met in the St. Marcus School while the new church was being constructed.
Christ Church
The first service of this church, which is now known as St. Paul Church of the First Born at 1727 North Fourth Street (MI 21-5), was held in 1857. Eleven members of "the mission," as it was called, were present at the first meeting. From 1857 to 1879, the mission remained small and relatively unorganized. The first missionary in charge was the Reverend J. B. M. Pedlupe, who was followed by the Reverend F. Von Schmidt, serving from 1862 to 1864. During Mr. Pedlupe’s tenure, a church building was constructed at the corner of Fifth and Walnut. The mission remained RELIGION (continued) there during the service of the Reverend H. B. Burgess from 1864 to 1872, the church moved to a site on Fourth Street between Walnut and Vine. Several reverends came and went during the early 1870's until, in 1873, the Reverend E. R. Ward, who served at least through 1881. The Reverend Ward saw the mission through some financial hard times; and in September 1879, the mission had succeeded to the point that it was promoted to parish status, with the Reverend Ward as rector. The Reverend Ward was born in India in 1841. He was educated at Oxford, and was involved in a wide variety of local and national church and education affairs. The constitution of the parish was considered peculiar, in that it prohibited the parish from incurring debt, and it provided that in the event of the dissolution of the parish, its property would revert to the Bishop to be held by him for the benefit of the Diocese, The Church was to derive its support from voluntary contributions alone. The ethnic nature of Christ Church is not addressed in the sources consulted. How ever, its early founding date, original location near the original Kilbourntown settlement, and the names of its missionaries indicate it was an English-speaking church, possibly catering to early Yankee and English residents. Even as late as 1881, the officers of the church, with names like Barton, Alcott, Maurice, and Kim ball, seem to have been of a heritage other than German or Eastern European.
Today's St. Paul Church of the First Born was erected in 1904 and may incorporate parts of the former Christ Church.
Second German Methodist-Episcopal Church
The Second German Methodist-Episcopal Church, now located at 140 West Garfield (MI 48-12), came into being as members of the First German Methodist-Episcopal Church moved northward from the early center of German settlement at Juneau Avenue. A site on North Third Street between Brown and Lloyd was secured, and a fundraising drive headed by the Reverend Schuler, pastor of the First Church at the time, raised money ($8,000) to build a new brick church. The church was dedicated in 1865. The Reverend Richard Fiekenscher was the first pastor, serving until 1868. During his stay, all church indebtedness was eliminated. In 1871, the Reverend Henry Wegner was pastor, presiding for three years. Church membership grew by 50 members during the Reverend Wegner's tenure. By 1880, when the Reverend Frederick Rindler was pastor, church membership was about 300. Reverend Rindler was born in Germany in 1840, and came to America in 1853. Educated in the United States, he served in several pastoral appoint ments in Wisconsin and Illinois.
The original 1865 church at the corner of Lloyd and North Third Streets was replaced by the present building on North Second Street and West Garfield RELIGION (continued) Avenue. It was constructed by Riesen Brothers, with the cornerstone being set in December 1887; the ceremony was conducted both in English and German. The dedication occurred in July 1888. Statements of cost for the church vary between $15,000 and $24,500, probably depending on whether furnishings were included. At that time, the pastor was the Reverend E. J. Funk, who led a congregation of 275 members. Zion's Church, Evangelical Association
One of the earliest churches in Milwaukee was the Zion's Church, Missionaries were sent to the city from the Ohio Conference of this denomination in 1840. The Rever- end John Lutz was the first to reside in Milwaukee, He was followed by several others, but it was not until 1846 that a society was formed under the leadership of Reverend J. G. Miller, with 33 initial members, In 1847, the society began con- struction of its first church, built of brick and located at the corner of Fourth and Kilbourn at a cost of $3,500. This building served the congregation until 1869, when it was sold. The same year, the group occupied a new church built at the corner of Fifth and Walnut at a cost of $14,500. In 1880, the church had a membership of 285, with a Sunday school of 300 members. The church building suf fered a major fire in 1881, but was promptly repaired and re-occupied. The Zion's Church, Evangelical Association served the needs of the German-speaking population. The 1880 church building no longer stands, and there is no Zion's Church in the study area today.
German Evangelical Trinity Church
The German Evangelical Trinity Church was originally organized as a Moravian or "Brethren's" Church. This denomination was dissolved in 1864 and the church re organized as an independent Lutheran Church under pastor Reverend William Geyer. In 1865, the congregation of 40 members incorporated as the German Evangelical Trinity Church. The original church building, located at the corner of North Sixth and Vine Streets, was quickly outgrown, and, in 1870, a new brick sanctu ary, featuring a 140 foot tower, was constructed on the same site. The pastor through 1881 continued to be the Reverend Geyer, a native of Germany who came to America in 1854. He served as pastor to German congregations in New England prior to moving to Milwaukee in 1861. The Reverend Geyer was ordained in the Moravian faith, but oversaw the withdrawal of his Milwaukee congregation from the Moravian Church to the Lutheran denomination. When he first came to Milwaukee, Reverend Geyer's congregation met in a small, unused Episcopal church on the corner site which was demolished in order to build the 1870 church. The Episcopal church represented a link to the New England heritage of early settlers in the area. RELIGION (continued)
Today, the Black residents of the area carry on the tradition of creating new and spin-off churches, often converting non-church buildings for use as temporary or permanent sanctuaries. While several of the turn-of-the-century churches described above continue in use today, many "store-front" churches can be found throughout the neighborhood, but primarily along or near the North Third Street corridor. Most belong to congregations of the Baptist or African Methodist Episcopal denomi nations. Some of these churches will be short-lived and will be replaced by other sects or new uses; others will endure and perhaps build a new church or take over one of the large, older existing buildings. In any event, there are no significant churches in the study area that do not directly relate to the prime growth period of 1860 to 1930. PARKS, PLANNING, AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
The early planning of the Brewers Hill/North Third Street area was based on the geo graphic features of the land available to Kilbourn. The Milwaukee River formed the natural boundary to the south and east. In addition, the river bluff, the high ground above and the swampy land below determined the original settlement, as build able land was in short supply. As ridges were cut and hollows and swamp filled, more flexibility in settlement was obtained.
Kilbourn laid out his development in the grid fashion used throughout the Midwest. Although topography influenced the location of the oldest dwellings and businesses, it did not get in the way of the right-angle grid street layout. Only those streets that followed the river bank varied from the grid. In this respect, the study area was no different from Juneautown or Walker’s Point; and, indeed, there was nothing unusual or significant about the planning of the area.
The area known as Kilbourntown was platted in 1835. A map prepared by Increase Lapham in 1836 outlined the original boundaries of Kilbourn's plat as Sixth Street to the west, the river to the east, midblock between Walnut and Vine Streets to the north, and south of present West Wisconsin Avenue to the south. As a part of the original plat, Kilbourn set aside land on Block 24 for a courthouse, complete with an open space in front to the east, facing North Third Street. The courthouse block was bounded by Galena, Fourth, Third and Court Streets. Milwaukee’s first courthouse ended up in Juneau’s area so the Kilbourntown site became the location of the first public school in the area.
Streets were generously proportioned from the start. East-west streets were 80 feet wide. North-south streets from (and including) North Third Street west were 70 feet wide, while those east of North Third were 30 feet wide. Alleys were laid out at 20 feet in width, Most building lots measured 50 feet wide by 150 feet deep. Lots located on an island in the river (long since absorbed by the banks) were 40 feet by 120 feet. Lots on the west river bank were irregular in shape and were longer and narrower than those in the grid.
Sherman’s Addition, platted in 1848, completed the subdivision of the study area northward to North Avenue, from Hubbard Street on the west to North Sixth Street on the west. The land east of Hubbard and along the river was still in large, un platted tracts owned by a number of individuals. This unplatted area would later become Buffum, Holton and Booth Streets and Kilbourn Park. In the 1850s, specu lators divided these tracts along the river bluffs according to the square block pattern established by Kilbourn. After the Civil War, developers platted long, narrow blocks which would become characteristic of Milwaukee. PARKS, PLANNING, AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE (continued)
Beyond the early platting of the area, there are no significant planning trends or factors evident. In the areas of parks and landscape architecture, there is only one site of significance, the Kilbourn Park and Reservoir. The Brewers Hill/North Third Street area was so built up so early that there was little land available for use as park or open space. Industry had early on monopolized the river banks be low the canal dam; and elsewhere the booming need for housing caused every avail able homesite to be platted and sold.
Kilbourn Park today represents the only close-by recreational facility for the neighborhood. Kilbourn donated the land to the city in 1868; thus, it became the first publicly-owned park in the city, though it was not developed until later. The park had its beginnings when the city constructed a reservoir north of the river between Booth and Bremen Streets. The 5,000,000 gallon reservoir held water pumped from Lake Michigan. The reservoir was a key element in the municipal water system, designed in 1871 and implemented in 1872. In 1872 the reservoir was com pleted and filled; and in the same year, the city formulated plans to beautify the grounds around it. A landscape architect named Brotherhood, who also designed Courthouse Square and apparently lived in the North Third Street area, prepared the plans. The park area was expanded several times, and now consists of 30 acres of land, and commands fine views of the city and river from the bluff at its southern end.
Prior to the creation of Kilbourn Park and to the complete industrialization of the Milwaukee River valley adjacent to the district, the Milwaukee River itself was a recreational resource of considerable importance to the neighborhoods nearby and to the city. According to "On the Milwaukee River," an essay written by L. W. Herzonin contained in the Historical Messenger (1953), the river at one time:
. . . saw many activities and events such as water carnivals, Venetian nights, regattas, water polo games, swimming con tests and the like. The most colorful beyond question were the Venetian nights, and here the canoes, because of their numerical superiority, played the most important role. Decorated barges towed by steamboats were a colorful con tribution, but it was the long lines of graceful canoes, each decorated and carrying Japanese lanterns or other lights, and tied together so that they could be towed up and down the river, gave the night its magic spell.
Most of the recreational use of the river was confined to the area behind, or north of, the North Avenue bridge, in the back-waters created by the Rock River Canal dam. PARKS, PLANNING, AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE (continued)
Although this area is just outside of the study area at its northeast corner, there is little doubt that the residents of the district utilized the pastoral beauty and recreational possibilities of the river at this point. According to a writer in Milwaukee's Great Industries, River Park, which was comprised of 24 acres of land along the banks of the river above the dam, was:
. . . picturesque, nestled in the valley and completely sheltered from the storms that occasionally sweep over the big lake. The Milwaukee River above the dam is a miniature Hudson, with over hanging bluffs on either side ....
The bluffs rose 60 feet above the river, and were heavily wooded and dotted with springs. That such a pristine scene could exist not more than a few hundred feet from the teeming mile-long industrial district below the dam seems far-fetched; yet steamboats of the O'Connor Boat Line operated from a dock on the east bank of the river just north of North Avenue bridge, carrying 50 to 75 passengers apiece on 40-minute boat rides which one writer compared to a leisurely barge ride along the Rhine. Canoes, water bicycles, row boats and steamboats were all available along the river. The Cream City Rowing Club and other boat clubs sponsored row ing competitions. Several swimming schools and competitive swim clubs crowded the banks behind the dam. There was good fishing, and the river was a place of seclu sion into the 1870s. ETHNIC AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS
The history of ethnic groups in Milwaukee is one of clearly established patterns of immigration. Many influxes of ethnic groups can be tied to events in European his tory, such as wars, revolutions, religious persecutions, and economic disasters. The earliest arrivals after the initial Indian/French exploration period were New Englanders, some of whom had been in America only a short time after leaving the British Isles. Shortly thereafter, German-speaking immigrants began to arrive in ever increasing numbers. The following sections will address, first, the general ethnic trends in early Milwaukee, and then specific nationalistic patterns in the study area.
Ethnicity in Milwaukee, 1840-1930
German, British, and Irish immigrants were the largest groups coming into the city until 1880. The number of Germans settling in Milwaukee remained at a high level from the 1840s through 1880. Germans came to be thoroughly absorbed in the economy and society of the city. There were many economic classes, from laborer to brewery owner. Many religions were represented. German was spoken freely in the streets, and German newspapers had wider circulation than English language papers. German social institutions, such as the Milwaukee Turner Society, played an important part in the city’s educational, musical, intellectual, and athletic programs. In the decade from 1840 to 1850, many German-Jewish immigrants arrived. In spite of differing religions, they were quickly absorbed into the German community because of similarity of language and customs.
Irish immigrants represented 14 percent of the population by 1850, while Czechs, Dutch, Austrians, Norwegians, and Blacks also settled in the city. A free Black community existed in Milwaukee prior to the Civil War. By 1860, there were 122 Blacks in the city including many prosperous businessmen.
Exclusive residential neighborhoods developed by the 1850s, based on patterns of segregation by ethnicity and income. Kilbourn’s original platted area was over whelmingly German by 1860. Within this area, however, all economic strata were represented. Somewhat singularly, the German neighborhoods tended to develop as communities within the city; i.e., they had their own industries, commercial cen ters, and all classes of housing.
After 1870, Polish immigrants replaced Germans as the largest group of new arrivals to Milwaukee. By 1906, there were 70,000 Poles in the city, about 20 percent of the population, second only to Germans. The Poles aspired to own their own new homes; thus, they located on the fringes of the city where inexpensive land was available. The next major group to arrive was Italian, mostly from Sicily. By 1910, Milwaukee was the most foreign city in the nation. Three-fourths of the ETHNIC AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS (continued) population of the city was foreign-born or first generation American bom of for eign parents.
From 1880 to 1930, the industrial work force grew in tandem with the growth of heavy manufacturing. From 1899 to 1909, manufacturing sector employment grew by 50 percent. While the city's population remained heavily German, more immigrants arriving were from eastern and southern Europe. Poles comprised almost 20 percent of the population by 1910. From 1910 onward, Czechs, Slavs, Hungarians, Russians, Jews from Eastern Europe and Russia, Italians, Greeks, Blacks, and Hispanics formed the bulk of new immigrants. These groups were dispersed throughout the city, although the usual tendency to cluster within their own ethnic enclaves re sulted in pockets of single ethnic groups. Eastern European and Russian Jews and Blacks were the first to be purposely or incidentally segregated. These groups were concentrated on the west side of North Third Street.
Ethnic Patterns: North Third Street/Brewers Hill Area
Industry was the base for the Brewers Hill/North Third Street area’s development; and commercial needs were satisfied by the growth of the commercial strip along North Third. The great majority of the land area of the district, though, was used for the construction of houses. Initially, when there was little industry along the river, the first settlers chose the area around Cherry, Vliet, Galena, and McKinley for its high ground and central location. The first group of set tlers, mostly Yankees from the east and northeast, consisted of 12 individuals who were tradesmen or merchants. They erected frame or log houses. The first frame house in Milwaukee was built by William Merrill in 1836 on ground north of Cherry Street. Merrill was a merchant and real estate developer born in Maine who moved to New York, then to Cleveland, and finally to Milwaukee.
Although Yankees were the first to settle in Kilboumtown, they were soon outnum bered by German immigrants, and it was the Germans who had the most impact on Brewers Hill/North Third Street. They settled in two additional enclaves in the city; but it was Brewers Hill that became known as German Town. The area had the attractions of jobs and vacant land. The Rock River Canal spurred development as opportunities for industrial development became apparent. Kilbourn and Juneau were actively competing for settlers in 1839, a period of depression in the city. Kilbourn gave a German settler some property in the center of his plat. Word spread, and soon other Germans moved into the area. They were drawn by the de sire to be among those of similar language and customs and the promise of jobs within easy walking distance of homes. By 1850, Germans were the dominant group in the area. ETHNIC AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS (continued)
Political revolution and economic troubles in Germany led to a mass migration in the 1860's and 1870's. The reputation of Milwaukee as a hospitable city for Germans brought many immigrants through the 1880's. The result was a distinct German-speaking community that was a city in itself. German customs, language, new’spapers and institutions were important forces in Milwaukee well into the twentieth century. It should be emphasized that the creation of these communities and their continuation was a matter of choice, for as a group the Germans were quite prosperous and could have lived wherever they chose in the city. They were not forced into a ghetto, as some later immigrant groups were.
The industries established in the area as described previously speak to the importance of German influence. Brewing, in particular, and tanning to a lesser extent, were businesses in which the Germans had considerable skill and experience. Thus, the buildings of many of the tanneries and of the Schlitz and Obermann breweries represent the ethnic values of the district as well as industry and commerce. Additional structures attributable to the ethnic character of the area are churches and social organizations developed by the Germans. The St. Johannes Von Nepomuk rectory at Court and Fourth Streets (MI 58-29), the St. Francis Roman Catholic Church complex at 1927 North Fourth Street (MI 55-7,8,9), St. Marcus Church and school at 2215 North Palmer Street (MI 23-4,5), and the Second German Episcopal Church at 140 West Garfield Avenue (MI 48-12) are examples of religious structures built to serve the spiritual needs of the German-speaking residents of the area. There were several more German and Polish churches in the area in 1860-1890, but these have all been demolished.
As might be expected, many German organizations and associations came into being as the German population increased. Many of these organizations established facilities in the downtown area. Most important among them was the Turner Society, which ad vocated the concept of training the mind and the body with equal emphasis. The Turner Societies (there were several branches of the main group) provided programs in physical training, music, literature, drama, and principles of freedom. The latter was an outgrowth of the fact that the Turner Societies drew many of their members from "free thinker" exiles of the German Revolution in 1848. The Turner Society in Milwaukee was established in 1853, and occupied several buildings over its many years. The present Turner Hall, a National Register-listed structure at 1034 North Fourth Street, not far from the Brewers' Hill area, was built in 1882-83, designed by Henry C. Koch. This building is still in use by the Turner Society. ETHNIC AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS (continued)
As mentioned previously, there were several Turner halls throughout the city during the Society's peak years. One of these was the Trun Vorwaets Hall, located at the northeast corner of North Third Street and Reservoir in the heart of the North Third Street -commercial corridor. There it served as a focal point of the German community in the Brewers Hill area. As the ethnic composition of the neighborhood changed, the need for the facility decreased; and after several more recent uses came and went, the building was demolished.
Only one significant structure associated with the German ethnic group in the area remains today: the German Branch of the Milwaukee YMCA. Originally built as a residence by prominent German businessman John F. Baasen in 1874, the building was a local YMCA serving the German community from 1888 to 1893. A single-story ad dition which housed a gymnasium was built in 1889. This building continued to have strong ethnic association after the YMCA moved to other quarters when it became the home of Mt. Sinai Hospital from 1905 to 1912. Mt. Sinai was organized by prosperous Jews to serve the needs of the poor Russian and Eastern European Jewish immigrants who were beginning to settle in large numbers in the area. A 1907 alteration raised the roof structure and added a third floor to the building. In 1919 the building became the Wisconsin House Hotel. After several years of use for a vari ety of retail establishments, it was converted to a tavern in 1933. It continues in that role today.
The German population had to go out of the neighborhood for major cultural events. Fortunately, facilities for such events were not far away. The German-English Academy, located at 1020 North Broadway (a National Register-listed property) in the downtown area made available a number of educational and cultural programs. The Pabst Theater (also listed on the National Register) and its precedessor on the site, the Nunnemacher Grand Opera, were the centers of German theatrical life in Milwaukee.
The second ethnic group of major importance in the district is the Jewish community. Jews were among the earliest traders in Milwaukee, going back to 1804 when Jacob Frank, an English Jew, traded with the Milwaukee Indians. By 1844, there were sev eral Jews in the city, and by 1850, there were at least 70 Jewish families. In 1855, most of Milwaukee's Jews lived in German Town. Most of the Jewish immigrants were from Germany, and they were easily assimilated into the neighborhood. There was some prejudice, but generally similarities of language and custom outweighed differences in religion. Jewish residents were considered industrious and were heavily involved in neighborhood politics and other activities. Most of the Jew ish residents worked in mercantile establishments; very few were involved in in dustry.
German anti-Semitism did not take root in Milwaukee until the 1880s and 1890s when the German Jewish influx was replaced by a flood of Jews from Eastern Europe and Russia. Differences in language and habits resulted in a gulf of substantial pro portions developing between the established German residents and the newcomers.
The established German Jews founded relief agencies to attempt to deal with the new masses. There were few jobs available to the Eastern European and Russian Jews, and few houses. Some relief agencies encouraged sponsoring ETHNIC AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS (continued) groups to reduce the number of these later immigrants being sent to Milwaukee.
By 1895, there were 2,500-3,000 Russian Jews in the city, mostly in the Second and Sixth Wards (Brewers Hill was initially the Second Ward, but in 1856 it became the Sixth Ward) from North Third Street west. Polish and Rumanian Jews also settled in this area. A Jewish ghetto was created by the tight housing situation and the low status of the newcomers, bounded by North Third, Galena, Juneau, and Sixth Streets. By 1905, this was considered a problem area. The ghetto encompassed the area bounded by Third, 13th, Vliet, and North Avenue. The housing stock, 80 per cent of which was wood frame and built prior to 1890, was labeled substandard. Most properties were rental, with few owner-occupants. The more established Ger mans and Jews moved elsewhere, and the ghetto expanded to the north and west to fill the gaps. Long-time residents were alarmed at the changing nature of their neighborhoods, as German church congregations dwindled and ethnic businesses and services followed the more prosperous who left. By the 1920s, immigrants who had the ability and the money moved out to live better elsewhere in the city. Greeks ■and Italians- took their place. It wasn't until after World War II, however, that the Sixth Ward ceased to be the center of Milwaukee's Jewish population.
The Brewers' Hill/North Third Street area is today predominantly occupied by Blacks. The first recorded Blacks to arrive in the area were two households established by 1860 at the northwest corner of Fifth and Vliet. It was hard for Blacks to find work in the ethnic-dominated industries of the area; thus, the Black population remained small. Those who did reside in the area were by and large success ful, with many being self-employed businessmen. Blacks moved into the area in large numbers as Eastern European and Russian Jews left in the 1920s and 1930s. Changes in European immigrantion laws in the 1920s restricted the flow of new comers from traditional sources of labor. However, industry was expanding tre mendously at that time. The demand for laborers was met by Blacks, who became the dominant ethnic group in the area by World War II. Since then, the Black community has grown in numbers and strength.
Social Organizations
Most social activities in the study area revolved around ethnic and religious organizations. Church sanctuaries, meeting halls and schools provided space for a wide variety of social activities. In addition, ethnic organizations such-as the Turner Society, located in the area and elsewhere, satisfied social needs. Many churches spawned benevolent societies, such as those mentioned in the "Religion" section associated with the St. Johannes Von Nepomuk Catholic Church and with St. Francis. Some of these had their own buildings, but none remain today. ETHNIC AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS (continued)
Only one social association which cannot be directly tied to ethnic and religious groups and that still exists today was located. The Henry L. Palmer Lodge #301 of the Masonic Order, also known as the Masonic Temple, was built in 1913 at 2640 North First Street. The building was designed by architect Frank Howend, and cost $30,000 to construct. The building was used by the Masons until 1959, when it was purchased by the United Auto Workers Local #75. The U.A.W. remained in the facil ity for 11 years, until 1971 when the building became the Love Tabernacle.
As a form of social organization, the corner taverns had considerable impact Ex- amples of this building type are noted in the "Commerce" section. The importance of the brewing industry to the neighborhood economy and to the ethnic groups who inhabited the area, in terms of both employment and product, cannot be overlooked. Many of these taverns had recreational facilities as well as bars. Bowling al leys, pool tables, and other games could be found. Although not a strictly or ganized form, the neighborhood saloons played a vital role in the social life of the area. TRANSPORTATION Milwaukee's location on Lake Michigan at the confluence of the Milwaukee and Menomo nee Rivers is testimony to the importance of water transport to the city. From its earliest settlement to the present, the city has depended on shipping by river and lake. The original settlements in all three early villages clustered beside the river banks. In Kilbourntown, early industry and commerce utilized water transpor tation both to gain access to raw materials and to ship out finished products. The Milwaukee River was navigable for the entire length of the industrial corridor within the district, thus allowing direct access to bulk shipping means for indus tries located on the banks.
Kilbourn and others sought to expand the role of water transport beyond access to Lake Michigan via the Milwaukee River. In an attempt to boost the potential for industrial development on his lands, Kilbourn and some other local entrepreneurs examined the countryside between the Rock River, some 50 or so miles to the south west, and the Milwaukee River for the purpose of constructing a canal to connect Lake Michigan with the Mississippi River. Kilbourn promoted the idea for two years and in 1838, a company was formed. The initial venture was capitalized at $100,000, with authorization to raise up to $1,000,000. The cost of construction was esti mated at $800,000. Captain John Anderson, an early industrialist of the area, con tracted to build the first segment of the canal. In 1842, he completed a dam near where North Avenue crosses the river. The dam, just above Kilbourntown, was 430 feet long and 18 feet high, and created a waterway of 400 feet. By 1842, Anderson had constructed about one mile of canal from the dam south to a terminus just above Juneau Avenue. Water for power was provided at the rate of $75 per year for 100 cubic feet per minute. The company applied for and received 166,000 acres of gov ernment land to be sold to pay for canal construction; but a number of events and trends conspired to stop the project, including growing competition from railroads. The canal never progressed beyond the dam and the one-mile segment along Kilbourn town.
Although the canal never served as a ship channel, it did contribute greatly to the industrial development of the Milwaukee River basin. The availability of water power was a boon to early industrialists. The river itself was navigable to the dam. Thus, the sites along the river, particularly those between the canal and the river below the bluffs on the west side, became prime property. By 1848, there were 25 mills and factories along the waterway, and the area was well established as the city’s first major industrial district.
A major change in the industrial district took place in the mid-1880s. With the conversion of industrial engines from water to steam power, the canal was no longer necessary. In fact, the land displaced by the canal was coveted to provide better TRANSPORTATION (continued) access to the factories and mills along the river. Thus, in 1883-1885, the canal was filled and converted to roadway. Today's Commerce Street follows the route of the grandly-conceived water link to the Mississippi. Aside from the dam on the river between North Avenue and Humboldt, no vestiges of-the canal remain within the study area boundaries.
As the city and the surrounding regions developed, a network of roads was created to reach from the lake shore to the interior. In the 1840s, many roads extended from the villages that would later become Milwaukee to interior lands. Most of the roads followed established Indian trails to connect with western settlements. The roads, probably more closely resembling paths, were barely passable at first. Kilbourn and other early developers spent their own money to improve roads and streets in an effort to make the settlements more attractive to settlers and in dustries. During this period, some of the more important roads were planked. Many of these thoroughfares converged in the North Third Street area. The Green Bay Plank Road became North Third Street. The Fond du Lac Plank Road entered the village at Vine Street. The Lisbon Plank Road was a western extension of Cherry, while the Wauwatosa Plank Road was the western extension of Vliet. Chestnut be came the Watertown Plank Road as it left the city, and the North Fond du Lac Road began at Walnut Street. These roads were an important part of the mid-nineteenth century transportation system and played a major role in the settlement and de velopment of the interior lands of Wisconsin and Minnesota. They, in turn, brought a great deal of commercial activity to North Third Street, creating a de mand for outfitting operations and those enterprises which served the needs of travelers and their horses and vehicles. In addition, they served as the primary means of transporting the agricultural raw materials that fueled Milwaukee's growth as a center of food and animal processing through the 1850s.
The plank roads were eclipsed in importance by the railroads beginning in 1851, when the first railroad service began connecting Milwaukee with Waukesha. Four years later, a rail link with Chicago was established. By 1858 the Brewers Hill area and the Milwaukee River district were served by the LaCrosse and Milwaukee Railroad which followed the west river bank from below the old canal dam to its terminus at today's Highland Avenue. A major locomotive service facility was located on a large site at the corner of Humboldt and North Avenue, while yards and depots were to be found along the river at Cherry Street. No railroad-related structures re main in the district today.
The railroad serviced only the west (and north) bank of the river; thus, the indus- tries located on that bank gained a decided advantage in shipping and receiving TRANSPORTATION (continued)
ease. Consequently, for many years the larger industries that were more dependent on outside sources or markets located on the west bank. Continued availability of water-borne transport via the Great Lakes tempered this somewhat; but the railroad soon put an end to the hope of finishing the canal to the interior and the Missis sippi, thus making a rail connection essential to ship to or receive from the farm lands to the west. Smaller volume shippers had less convenient but equally neces sary access to rail transportation through the freight station and team tracks at the Cherry Street terminal facilities.
The more localized transportation systems, the city street system and the public transit system, are discussed in the section of this report entitled "Government Services."
« Zi
Tfu. Ai-.' r ■,-/ c'r tec tor al -& Lu 4-ri Milwaukee's Brewer^ Hill i s di ver se, r- an g 1 n g t r om 1 ar- ge i n du s. t r i a 1 c cm pl exes to residences that ref 1 ec t the major st yles’ i 11 c trends, o-f the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Li he mos t other Wisconsin c omm uni ties-. the structures- r e+1ec t the avai1 able resour c es i n c on s-1 r u c t i on m a t e r i al s- ; wood t r ames- ano c r e am c i t v brie k are two popular c h o i c e s, however both red brick an c var i e 11 es- stone were also used. Des-i on servi c es wer e, ■for the most part. provided by local architects- and builders such as- Henry Messmer. But 1 n certain cases more nationally known designers produced plans in the area: on e example being W i11 i am
Sch i ckel ■' s work on the Saint Francis church.
Archi tec tural1y t hi e a r e a can be seen d i vi ded i n ■four areas;
I n d u s- trial s-1 r u c t u r e s : brewer i es and tanneries, Early Residences:
t hi e V i n e/ R e s e r v o i r Hi stori c District; Later Residences: the North
First Street Historic D i s t r i c t ; and Commercial Bui 1 dings-: the North
Third Street Hi st ori c District.
ARCHITECTURAL STYLES
Arch i tec tural s t y 1 e i s- used to deliniate structures to a 1 1 ow
bet1 er anal iza t ion o-f their richness-. The Ox-ford English Di c t i on ary
de-f i n es s t y 1 e as a d e -f i n i t e type o-f architecture, di stingushed by
s-oec: cn ar ac ter i st i cs o-f structure and ornament. The buildings
o t M i 1 w a u Hee's B r ew e r s ■" Hill c a n De c 1 a. s s i t i e d into several distinct
’ ypes-. One can De 1ter distinguish the more remarkable buildings b1.’
d 1 ac i n g t n err; : Cl r o s tyl e catagories. These remarkable buildings- c an
oe referred to a s " Di o t a 1 " . Fi vot s- ref 1 ec t the highest orders
Ot s-1 y 1 e . Noted Architect William Caudill h as writ t en i n h i s Door-
"Architec ture and You 11 t h a t real hist or- i c a 1 s t y 1 e s are mean i n o-f u 1 b
symbol= of the hi story of humanity, symbols of power, symbols of i ngen uity. and symbols of greatness. i he great buildings of an c i en t
Egyp t , G r e e c e . and Rome speak 1oud and cl ear abou t the people of t h a t time: h OW they thought, their values. style of living and what they did t o a av an c e h um a. n I; inc. So too do the homes, c omm er c i a 1 , ana i n du s t r i a 1 b u i1 dings of Brewer"s hill speak of the history and people of n i neteen th c en t u r y Wi sc on sin. The architecture is rich i n form and detail. I t i nc1udes examp1es of styles ranging from the early days- of settlement i n the 1836's t o many fine twent i e t h century styles. The descriptions below attempt to give a brief h ist or i cal s u mm a r y of each style and to relate typical features of the most c ommo n s t yles. The buildings of ■ Brewers'’ Hi 1 1 c o n t a i n a number of outstanding and significant examples from each of the major styles of the period (1836 to 1940). They also contain many
interesting examples, where the typical features of several styles were used on a single structure.
CLASSIC REVIVAL 1846 to 1886
Many times spoken of as the Greek Revial or the R om a n Rev i va1 ,
thi s style became popular on the East Coast soon af t er t h e Am eric a n
Revo1u t i on . As the new nation began to search for i ts i dent i t y, a
st rana r : to the democracy of ancient Greece and Rome developed.
i h on; a. s Jeffers o n studied c 1 a s s i c ar chi t ec t u r e whi 1e i n Europe and
f a t n e r e d i t s i n troduct i on into major American bui1 di nos wi th the
oesion o- the state capita1 building at Ri cnmond. U i r o i n i a i n me
1786' s . Other notable American architects followed suit. a n d manv
national examples of the Classic Revival c an be found t h r ou gh ou t the
Eastern half of the country. T w o n o t ew o r t h y s p e c i m e n s are t n e U . S . i r e a s u r b u i 1 d i ri g i n W a s- h i n g t o n D. C. by Robert Mills and the Second
Na t i on a 1 Sank of ! :.e United States by William Strickland i n
Phi 1 ade1 ph ia. Thi = taste i n a r c h i t e c t u r e soon spread throughout the nation with co1umned-oorched homes stretching from Mai ne to
Mi sc onei n .
i he major prototype buildings of the early Classic Rev i va1 period were constructed ot stone to emulate their ancient counterpar ts. As the tash ion became more broadbased and widespread its- construction materials became whatever t h e locality provided: brick and wood were the most popular ma ter i a 1s i n the Milwaukee area. The ornament ot these buildings- was based on classical Greek elements. Columns, pilasters, capitals and dentils were termed in wood faithful to their ancient Greek counterparts. The massing ot these structures was usually rectangular with a low triangular gabled pedimental root. The short or pedimental end ot the building most often taced the street. Many
C1 a s s- i c Revive 1 bui 1 di ngs- had smal 1 one-story wings attached to e i t h e r o r both sides. This- c on t i gu r a t i on has become known as- the
"hen and chicks" type. Often one or more porches with columns were constructed across the front and/or at the wings. Wi n d ow s and d o or s were bo1d1y defined and strongly vertical . The doors- tended to be paneled with s i x or fewer sections. The windows were long and doubie ti u n g w i t h combinations, of four and six p a. n e s . Sh u 11 er s , man •■■■• times painted dark green, flanl-ed each opening. The most popuiar tvpe Ot ex terior c ov e r i ri g w a s w o o d c 1 a. p b o a r d , ship1ap or board and batten siding , painted whi t e or a. light pastel y e 1 1 ow or g r a y . W h i 1 e s i m p 1 e c om p a r e d t o 1 a t er n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y s- t y 1 e s .
the Classic R e v i v a. I structure was- nonetheless c o v e r e d w i t h rri a n y ces:one and mat Its of fine quality workmanship. An themi on 1 eaf desi on s- and egg and dart moldings were popular as w a s the "Greek
Key" design in u pper ■=• t or y w i n dow gr i 1 Is. E n t r y d o o r s- w ere s- u r r o u n d e d by side and tranz-om 1 i oh ts (wi ndows) . Facade windows were of t en topped with heavy moldings called ear s or crossettes. The cornice or f r i e: e was traditionally wide and in man y cases contained den t i1 mo Idin gs. But the most notable feature of the design is the wide r e t u r n cornice on the gable end. This. e1 emen t, along with columns used as pi 1 asters or s t andi ng al one in porches. desc r i be the halImark of the style. 1818 N. Pal men street (Mi 21-37) c on tain s a
transom and si del it en tryway, return cornice and circular w i n dow i n
t h e street facing gable. This structure wou1d be considered ornate compared wi th 1836 N. Palmer St.(Mi 21-34) and 1749 N. 5th Street
(Mi 24-21) which are extremely plain and devoid of details, excepting their telltale wide return cornices.
ITALIANaTE 1840 to 1880
Dur i no the late 1830 ■’ s , Americans- became increasingly en tranced
by a r om a n t i c m ovem ent that migrated from Europe. This movement
featured a f asc i mati on w i t bi the exotic. the Middle Ages, and the
untamed wilderness. The fuel f or this movement was suppl i ed, i n
part, bv the gothic n C' -'e i s- of Sir Walter Scott. The f i r s t Amer i can
c h am r : o n of the picturesque styles in architecture was Andrew
Jackson Downi ng, whose books- on residences helped spread the gospel
Or r cmarr i c s t y 1 e s . Downing was one of the first wri t ers who called
t er d e s i o nine h om e s n o t J u s t tor the weal thy. bu t for the common m a n
as wel 1 .
I n Down i n gs book s on country houses- there were many references- »» f> 'I * o ■he I t a ;i an v ilia s t y 1 e , a 1 s o termed the the Tuscan or General dr a. nt stv «e. i he -former because Ot its 1 i | Civil War. This mode o-f dwelling became extremely popular in Wi scons i n ourjno the 18 6 G s a n d 18 7 & -■ s . The ■=• t y 1 e i s char ac teriied by = s o u a r e two-story c ent ra 1 sec t i on w i t h a variety o-f squares or rec tangu1 ar addi t ions arranoed asymetrical 1y about i t . A square tower was occasionally part o-f the compos-iti on. a 1 t h o u g h m a n y o f the homes were simple cubes. The roof was usually -flat or ver y 1 OW pitched and could con tain a belveder e or v i ew i ng r oom . The eaves were ex tended over the wal1s and were supported by large brackets o-f uniquely ornate desi gns. Hin dows I...i er- e 1 o n o and slender with rounded tops; many also were adorned wi th 1 i n t e 1 s or hoods encompassing flower or 1 ea-f desi gns . The -first w ide u sage o-f bay windows occurred in the I taiiana te s t y 1 e ; they wer e sma 1 1 and decorated with brackets si mi 1 ar t o those under the eaves. Porches carried square pillars and were t u c k e d into n i c he s in trie as ymme t r i c a1 des ign. Balconies set atop porches or over 1 aroe brackets were c ommon. The main building materials o-f the style were br i c k and stone but many -fine ex amp 1es are •finished in wood c1apboard. lhe majority o-f Brewer's- Hill homes in t h e It a 1 i an ate mode a.-e o-f t n e cube variety constructed in b r i c k . 1826 N. 2nd Street 50-4) a n d 1823 H. Palmer Street (Mi 2 3-SCO are two o-f tne best ex amp 1 es. Both ar e three bays wide ano cont a i fi 1 a ng. n ar r ow w i Ft dows-. F. j S arched lintels. o u oins. a bracketed prick bay- window an o a doub:e ■front door. ihe house on 2nd has bracketed gables lintels o'- - er rec tanou1 ar t o u r ov e r ■four windows. The c Ci r n i c e i s- wi de a fi d tne -front -facade c on t a i n s a si i gh11 y pitched gable. Tne vi11 a r s- t y ■ e , w i t bi a ranib&iiriQ floor plans is represented by 2G4R-5G N. Hubbard. i h i s- building so ort s a. large mansarded tower and two story bay window. p 1 u s G C' thia s- t y 1 e pointed w i n d o w s-. QUEEN ANNE 1E7C- to 1 ? 11? i h i s style also has- European or i gi ns . Steming ■from the work' of British architect Richard Norman Shaw in the 1860z s. this manner grew to popularity in America i n the last quarter of the Nineteenth C e n t u r y . In Enol and the buildings of the Queen Anne style were supposed to represent a hist or- i c a 1 r evi v a 1 of the pre-Georgian buildings- from the days of Queens Ann and Elizabeth. In America, at that t i m e , the style was cal led "Brick-a-Brack" or "Tossed Salad" because of the richness and variety of i ts decorat i on. Almost no type of building material or pattern was 1ef t untried. Wood, stone, bricl- , and terra-cotta were mixed into wild shapes and designs to create the most visually interesting homes of t h e c e n t u r- y . The taste is characterized by a variety of forms and shapes including, high pitched gables, towers and turrets. Windows were large, and many contained stained glass. Roofs were of metal or si ate wi th ornate ridge boards, chimneys were mammoth and comple . Siding included not only clapboard but fish scale shine-les and other- m a c hire cut woso oes j gns-. M a. n y of the houses carried large w r a p - a r o u n d p o r- c h e s- wi th turned costs and r a i 1 i n g s-. i he painting of these sometimes colossa 1 hcme s- w as m u 1 t i - s- h a d e d w i t ri a s rri a n y as- five different colors. The c i t y i s r i c h in design excellence in the Queen Anne manner. There c are many houses t h a t c an exci te the eye with textural del i gh t and oetail . 2661-03 I J. 2nd , the Gunter- Borttger r es i denc e (Mi 55-3 1) i s an excellent example o-f the towered variety with recessed ba. 1con i es and Adamesque roping details on the porch and third story wn i dow tri ms. It was built i n 1895 by Peter Cl os and Bros. an d designed by John Menge 2463 N. 1st (M i 29-28) 1 i k ew i s e has a tower- , c o ri s t r u c t e d o -f b r i c k and shingles that has a series o-f circle w i n d ows on its third •f 1 oor , The body o-f the house contains a second ■f 1 oor s1eepi n g oorc h and large halt circle stained glass windows. Directly to i ts- rear 1 s- a rare carriage barn with three arched en t r yways (Mi 29-27) . T h e r e ar e an unusually large number o-f brie k Queen Annes in t h e N o r t h 1st Street Historic district. 2365 N. 1st. ano Henry Messmer design, built i n 1891 , (Mi 29-36) has two large 3/4 circle windows while 2357 N. 1st (Mi 29-37) ( 1893) has a c h am t e r e d p av i 1 i o n on the north tacade and an ornate entry porch. 1843 N. Palmer (Mi 23-25) sports ornate brickwork with string courses. corbels. slate root and ridge cresting. I t w a s cons true ted i n 1881 by Charles A. Sombert, arch i tec t. M a n v tine w o o d e ri Queen Anne buildings were also constructed late in the century. The Charles Stolper house, 2463 N. 2nd (Mi 28-0) constructed in 1880 has a two story bay, gable bargeboard, and heavily bracketed window treatments. The 011 o Frey residence, 2228 N. 1st (Mi 22-28) designed by Marshall & Ryder i n 1 896 ■features a corner t ow e r a. n d u p p e r stories c ov e r e d i n s h i n g 1 e s. A pal 1adi an wi ndwo o n - ne thiro ■floor- and a clustered column porch ar- e •fore r u n n e r- moti-s o-f the Colonial Revival s t y 1 e that came ’ o orominance in the 1 a st decade ot t h e c e n t u r y . 1840 N. 5th (Mi 24-8) ( 1892) i s the best preserved o-f the woooen type o-f Queen Annes. j t was the home o-f its designed, Charles St eh ling. Its porch i s 7 a live wi th turnec posts and mi 11 work. COLONIAL REMI UAL 1886 to 1826 Emerging ■From the centennial cel ebrat i on of 1876, a per iod of sent imentai remember ances- brgan , linked to America's colonial past . A si tu tat i on si mi 1 ar to a -Fad developed in which an en tire culture revived around the i deas, lifestyles and buildings of the by C.A. Gomoert, a r c h i t e c t . pre-Revolutionary War days. There were hundreds of attempts to revive colonial arts and crafts, including the details o-F architecture. These attempts can be classified into many catagories such as-; Georgi an, Dutch and Flemish. The basis o-F these classifications. is the massing of the building. For e xam p1e the Georoian Colonial Revival houses resembled the southern Virginia pl an t ation house and those of Williamsburg, They are rec tangu1 ar in shape and have dormers with symetrical window and door open i ngs.. They tended to be of brick with white wood details. The Dutch r i e t y is typified by the four-part gambrel r oof . D e t a i 1 s on al 1 these buildings are strongly classical featuring columns, den t i1 mol di ngs, pa11 a d i a n w i nd ow s and pe d i men t w in d ow ho o d s. 2456 N, 2nd (Mi 56-8) is a fine b r ick examp1e, designed by Henry Messmer in 188 4 for A. Weber, i t f e a t u r e s a pedimentai porch top supported by c o i umns.. 466 e. . Garfi eld, 1883 (Mi 54-12) h a s- a. n ou t st an ding c r ow n story palladian window with columns and swag work. 1862 N. 5th (Mi 24-26) i s a. three storv brick C1 assi c/Co1 on i a 1 t ype apartment bui1d i ng; i t was c omp1e t ed in 188'5. It sports- ionic pi 1 as t ers the c o r n e r s and along the -Facade. An apartment building at 2 7 r-j, H u b b a r d (M i 53-17) s h owe influences. o-F the Spanish Colonial R e v i v' a 1 wi th tile root and arched windows. There are sever a. 1 Du tch-Gambrel type Colonial Revival dwel 1i ngs i n the dist ri ct w ell. 2o0S N. 1st (Mi' 28-8) and 2034 N. Buffurn (Mi 30—23) b o t n c on t as n tour o a. r t gambrel roofs. wh i 1 e the Buffurn house a i s o h a •=• a bay and palladian window and was bu i 1 t i n 1700 and designed by Eugene R. L i eber t. GE RMAM-FL EMISH R EVIVA L 1830 to 1820 This pi cturesque s t y 1 e w a. s- one o-F the popular "European Revivals" o-F the late nineteenth century. Along with the Tudor and Span i sh revivals, it was- popularized by immigrants to the U.S. who brouoht with them native building traits and -Forms. Somet imes referred to as the "German Renaissance Revival", this s t y 1 e takes i ts t o r m an c de tai 1 =• From mi devi 1 German i c bu i1 di ngs. Most st rue tures bu i1 t i n Amer i c a wer e o-F br i c k and -Featured a stepped gab 1 e or Flemish gable on the high pitched root or dormer. The br i ckwork used varied pat terns-j bu t the Flemish bond was the most popular. The North First Street Historic District has some excellent examples o-F the s t y 1 e . Along North First Street, 2546 , 2556 and 255S are the most notable. 2546 has two stepped dormers. a i aroe b a. v w i n d ow and a columned porch. 2550 has- an en1 ar ged arc h ed top dormer wi th a o-F volute bu tresses.. The Hubert R i e s e n nou se at 2558. bu i : t 1 Fi 1303 and designed bv Ct to Uehling and C a r I Linde, h a s a Tudor Gothic porch, exposed timber -Framing and arched windows. BUNGAL ZiW 1£?0 t o 1940 Th i s typi cally one to one-and-a-half story home is singularly the mos t popu1 ar built i ri the per i od. I t i s the prototype of the mooem ranch house. Inspiration + or these homes came from India and the 1 one 1 ow buildings used there as wayside stops between cities. The n am e i t s e 1 f i s an adaption of an Indian word. On Bungalows the roof ridge paralied the street. and gently sloping roofs often covered a large porch t h a t r a n the length of the house. Other features of th e s t y 1 e are exposed rafter ends at the roof, exposed b r a c e s o n p o r c h e s , uii de windows i n bands and 1arge shed-roof dormers. Building materials were brick (the most popular) wood shingle and stucco. In Brewer-' Hi 1 1 the s t y1e is represented by 24 17 1-1. 2nd (Hi 55-12) and 2479 N. 1st (Mi 29-25). The North First Street Historic District has two splendid ex amples. The former was a Robert Messmer design. constructed in 19 12 . They contain exposed roof rafter ends. a long covered porch, and a 1 arge dormer c her acter i st i c oc this st y1e. CRAFTSMAN 1906 t o 1940 ih e Ar ts a n d C r a f t s m ovem ent that began in England in t h e late n i r. eteen th cent u ry w a s the i n sp i r a t i on f or this house type. I ri Hme--1 c a the leading proponent of the fashion was Gustav Stick ley. He published a magaz i ne i n the teens and twenties ent i 11ed "The Craf t sm = n '' which summoned the return t o a m o r e simple method ot c or =• t r- u c t i on and decoration. In the Craftsman magazine an abundance OT pl a ns- were pictured. Many of these were simple box or cube type s truetures, very simple in decoration. These houses were usually two r or two-anc-a-ha1f stories h i oh wi th a 1 ar ge dormer si mi 1 ar to the bunga 1 ow . C r a f t sm a n h om e s a 1 s o featured a -Full •Facade porch supported by colonial o^ rustic po-= t s-. Roots were otter medium pitch in h eior x or hipped. The style. often called the box house appear eo i n mai 1 or a er house plan books such as those of the Radford company and trie Ml addin Company. They were intended for the larger and home-desiring middle classes who were beginning to inhabit the city edges and suburbs. Their cost was modest-$1,?50 to $3,500. I n various ways craftsman homes were si mi 1 ar to the mid-century 1 tai i anate cubes. t h a t w e r e built i n the Ci vi1 War era. Many ot these modern cube homes were very simple in decoration. uni ike the houses sh own i n Stic k1eys magazire. Many appear with entended root rat ters, r ubb1e por ch post s, bands of windows with three-over-one double-hung sash. Exterior surfaces were mixed, with clapboard the most popular along with stucco. Shingles and Tudor-like half timbering were also popular surface materials. These homes were wel1 received and are auite common i n m a n y m i dw e s t e r n t own s. The George J. Engelhardt residence, 2558-60 N. 2nd (Mi 56-1?) a two story, banded, window box structure and 2553 N. 2nd (Mi 56-18) is another cube/box unembel1ished structure. COMME* Brewer ■' s Hi I I c ont ai ns- m a n y fine q u a 1 i t y "nei ghborhood" commercia 1/store type buildings. Running between North Avenue a n d W a 1 n u t s treat alone N. 3rd Street are structures that ref 1 ec t tne various stages of commerci al design from the Greek Revi ■--a 1 to the Chicago s t y 1 e . GREEK' REN I UAL Many ear 1y commercial buildings were actually converted rest dances-. Many people built homes i n the business are a that they later turned into commercial structures and moved into new residential nei ghborhoods . There are several examples of this cultural phenomena along North 3rd Street. 284G N. 3rd (Mi 36-17) i s an unadorned gable to street design wi th a half-round window and two second story windows; this w i t hi its roof pitch are reminiscent of early Classic Revival dui1 di nos. A pair of similar structures; 1914 and 1916-18 N. 3rd (Mi 36-37, 36-36) also have early nineteenth century ■Features. Both are three bays wide and are two stories i n height with -Front -Facing gables. l'z'14 has a noticeable frieze board arid slightly arched windows. 2818-28 N. 3rd contains a bold return cornice and clapboard siding, a three bay -Facade and wi de frieze b o a. r d s . This- certainly i s one of the ear 1i est s T r u c r r u e s on N . 3 r d S t r e e t . (M i 36-22"' I TA LI A' -JAT E. ZUI CT 0 RIAN I T A LI AN AT E Being tne most prolific type of 1'? t h c e n t u r y c omme rc i a 1 h bui 1 i dnc- t o r many Mid-Western main streets- this building type reniai neo popuiar our in o most of t h e c e n t u r y. Three ex cel lent ex amp 1 es- a-ta.no out. The Deftner Building, 2034-36 N. 3rd (MI 36 - 1 8) i s a t w o s t o r’ m a s o n r v structure wi t h large pressed metal c or nice. ihe ground floor retains i ts or i gi na 1 cast i r on col u m n s ano three large windows. 2000-02 N. 3rd (MI 36-26) has an ev e n m o r e o r n a t e cornice with a large pediment supported by acanthus leaf b r a diets. The second story arched windows ar e surruonded by massive brick hoods. Next door, 2004-06 (MI 36-25) i s- also a brick structure but is asymmetrical i n c om p o s i t i o n . I t i s- one structural bay in width, bu t i s sp! it int otwo distinct uni t s on the upper 1 e v e 1 defined by three large bracket-like el emen ts with urn forms on their tops. The sou t h er n-mos t por t i on has a large segmental arch spanning over- three window openings; the 1 arger center one has a round arch head while the other two have gothic arch h e a d s-. The northern port i on nas- a large bay window with a. segmented roof, above wh i c h i s- triangular pinnacle flanked by repeats of the urn forms- on ei then side. The lower storefront i s 1argely intact: the second floor e n t r y i s to the north side and the shoo ent r-y 2 c. can tered i n the remaining storefront. Famous area a r c h i test Henr-y Messmer- d e s- i g n e d a. sec tion of N. 3 r d n ow n u m b e r e d 2 1 0 7 , 0- 8.11 and 15 (MI 38-31.33,35). Th i s- 1 on g s t r e t c h oi- undu1 at ing aces is marked with a. wave-1i ke series of bays one and two stories, in height. The effect of the Moot's- El ock i s one of ores t h ar mi on . The detailing i s- ex t r erne 1 y f i n e w i t h den tils. suns- and wreaths appearing on the facade bet we e n t he I set s- of w1 n dows , 2167 is particularly notable because of i ts three smal1 sec one story arched windows- and 1 arge bevel led gl ass bav window. QUEEN ANNE 1366-63 N. 3rd is a three story brick building that c o n t a i n s two large second story bay windows- and a cornice with sunbursts and urns. A third story arched window is surrounded b y s- t o n e arching. This type of commercial design is rare i n most neighborhood shopping areas. and reflects the transition from I tai i anate to Neo-Cl as-si cs and 26th century styles. CHICAGO STYLE This- ear 1y 26th century style's- hallmark is- 1aroe window g i ass- a r e a s . The Schuster commercial building at 2153 N. 3rd , ou i 1 t i n 1'367 by C. R a u 1 e J r . and designed by Charles Kirchoff and Thomas L . Rose (MI 33-35) i s- t ypi c a1 of t h i s s t y 1 e . This f i v e bay structure features m a s s i v e g 1 a s s areas on the f r o n t facade s-et wi th on e 1 a. r g e w i n d ow surrounded by smaller panes m a. d e t Ci 1 ook 1 i ke side adn transom 1 i oh ts. The effect i s- on e of 1i oht ness and s i mp1i c i t y . NEG-CLASSIC i n e r e t u r n OT c > a s s-) c de tai 1i ng t Ci comme r ci a1 structures oegan i n t h e late 1'? t r. c ent ur y . The Scnuster Building, 26 6 7 N . -Zm-d (MI i s terra cotta. covered with classic and moori sh f1a von. I t i s three bays wide. defined by piers on the ground floor and pilasters- above. T h e edges of the pi 1 asters nave a r ooe" mo11 f rising t o sma1 1 c apitais. On the c o p i ng a too e a c h pi 1 as ter i s an urn . The center bay i s narrower and c on tains the large recessed entry. Al 1 three bays i n c orpor ate t he same triple window with half-round panels above. The center window of each i s wi o'er , and thus the half-round panel above 1 s- tai 1 er . i hese p a n e 1 s- incorporate a floral terra cotta relief. the cornice is a b a n d a c r o s s- the facade above a row of smal 1 r oun d a r c n e s . Wh i C h gives the building a Moorish sense. i he wal 1 surface is also decorated; the diamond grid pattern contributes to the exotic appearance. I he Dorsen Office Building at 2268-18 N. 3rd (MI 36-13) is another impressive neo-c1assi c a 1 d e s i g n . The building i s a four' s tor y comme r c i a1 structure faced with white glazed br ick and terra cotta panels. W h i 1 e the storefront portions of the ground floor have been unfortunately altered, the office en try and the upper f1oor s- ar e intact. The articulation of the second t i oor a c t s- a transit i on bet w e e n the w i n d ows o n the two floors above. The structural b a y size i s expressed by the piers which ci c c u r between each p a i r o f w i n d ow s-. Terra cotta panels- with rounz modi i i on s c over the spandrel a r e a s Detw e e n win d ow s each floor 1eve1 . i err a cotts motifs also adorn t h e top of t he pi er s. ART l'c-L-c t i r s- ~ s t V1 e to truly break with the “Classie" tradit ions of Europe was Art Deco. I t ■' s- popularity held sway t r om the s t o the 1?H0' S-. Mai n1y a nonresi den t i al s1 y 1 e , i ts characteristics- ar e an gu1 ar c omposi t i on, h ar d 1 i n e s and stvleized decoration. Forms- tended to be geometric with s-u rf ace ma t er i a 1 s of glazed brick. tiles, and meta 1 . j n 1?27 Hugo Miller constructed a one story terra cotta b u i 1 d i n c . At the top is the silhouette of the parapet in a stepped design incorporating curved masonry units which t i e i n t o the frieze design which ext ends across the facade i n a narrow band close to the top. The design of this band i s a repet i t ive stylized fl oral mot i f. Elements, of this are incorporated in the 1 ower band of terra cotta relief, however, this seems to be pr i mar i1y a s t y 1 i z e d animal motif. I n the center i s an elongated hexagonal medallion wi th a peacock; t h i s- i s flanked on e i t h e r s-1 d e w i t hi rr> o r e peacocks in a design which i s outlined i n a scrol1 shape reducing to a narrow band at each outside edge. The building is 1oc a t ed at 2215 N. 3rd Street(MI 36-1) . 321-2? W. Nor t h i s- a br i c k s t y1ed Art Bee o structure wit h moorish detail^. I t i s p 1 a i n i n ornamen tat i on excepting the cl azed tiles t hi a t set off the f i ve bav facade. This type of des-i on more typic a 1 t o tne of f-ma in street bu i1 di ngs t h a t wer- e con s true ted i n t h e 1?2G - s- and 1?3&’s- reflecting a. mor e restrained set of or i nc i pl es . IM 5“ iTUT I GMAL i he Sr- ewer s Hill a r e a c cm tain s some excel 1ent ex amp1es of i n ■=■ t i t u t i on a 1 bu i i di no s. B o t h the Golds-. Meir- Schoo i (M i 58-56) and tne Garfield Avenu e School, (M i 56-1) were designed by Henry Koch , noted Milwaukee architect, and bui1t between 1887 and IS98 . Gar-field Avenue School i s- a three-etory brick masonry structure designed in the Ri ch ardson i an Romanescue sty1e. I t has a. slate c over ed hi p roof wi th numerous gables over wings which proJ ec t f r om the m a i n b odv of the building. The major tenestr at ion i n the east front e1eva t i on i s i n these wings. Tai 1 two-story arched openings provide light for the second and third floors. The round arches over these openings. as wel1 as those of the first floor, are accomp1 i shed i n dark brick which contrasts the body of the ou i lo i n g and hi oh 1i oh is the openings. Decorative spandrel pan eis between second and third story windows are dark in c o 1 or like the gl ass- and frames; this emphasizes the geight of the open i ngs . The 1 ar ger- c en t er w i n g whi c h contains- the entry is flanked on eac h side b y a. n arrower wing with paired openings. That i ri the center i s- three openings wide, the middle one being ten widest. I t i s capped by the largest of the round arches.