University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Theses (Historic Preservation) Graduate Program in Historic Preservation 2000 An Interpretation of the Captain Frederick Pabst Mansion: The Response Based Approach Cheryl Elaine Brookshear University of Pennsylvania Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses Part of the Historic Preservation and Conservation Commons Brookshear, Cheryl Elaine, "An Interpretation of the Captain Frederick Pabst Mansion: The Response Based Approach" (2000). Theses (Historic Preservation). 364. https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/364 Copyright note: Penn School of Design permits distribution and display of this student work by University of Pennsylvania Libraries. Suggested Citation: Brookshear, Cheryl Elaine (2000). An Interpretation of the Captain Frederick Pabst Mansion: The Response Based Approach. (Masters Thesis). University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/364 For more information, please contact [email protected]. An Interpretation of the Captain Frederick Pabst Mansion: The Response Based Approach Disciplines Historic Preservation and Conservation Comments Copyright note: Penn School of Design permits distribution and display of this student work by University of Pennsylvania Libraries. Suggested Citation: Brookshear, Cheryl Elaine (2000). An Interpretation of the Captain Frederick Pabst Mansion: The Response Based Approach. (Masters Thesis). University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. This thesis or dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/364 ^mm^'^^'^ M ilj- hmi mmtmm mini mm\ m m mm UNIVERSITVy PENNSYLV\NL\ LIBRARIES AN INTERPRETATION OF THE CAPTAIN FREDERICK PABST MANSION: THE RESPONSE BASED APPROACH Cheryl Elaine Brookshear A THESIS in Historic Preservation Presented to the Facuhies of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE 2000 V^u^^ Reader MossyPh. D. Carlen I. Hatala Adjunct Professror of Architecture Associate Planner Historic Preservation City of Milwaukee \\j^Xu^.^ Graduate Group Chair Fr&iilcGAMatero Associate Professor of Architecture UNlVtHS.'TY OF PENNpVLVANi/ Table of Contents Table of Contents i List of Illustrations Hi Introduction / Chapter One: The Captain Frederick Pabst Mansion 4 History of the Pabst Mansion 5 Building the Mansion 10 Captain Pabst 39 Pabst Begins Brewing 41 Charities 46 The Captain's Family 49 Domestics 53 Family Life in the Mansion 57 Chapter Two: Background on Discovery and Effective Interpretation 70 Discovery Defined 70 Successful Interpretation: 72 Relevance: 73 Retention: 75 Framework: 75 Chapter Three: Discovery Methodology in Historic Homes 78 Objective of History and its Relationship to Other Subjects: 78 Response-Based Approach: from Literature to History: 78 The Historic House Museum Environment: 81 The Interpreters 82 Chapter Four: A Case Study of the Response-Based Approach for The Captain Frederick Pabst Mansion 86 Interpretive Objective 86 Physical Preparation 88 Tour Path 95 The Tour 96 Orientation 96 The Front Hall 99 The Southeast and Southwest Parlors 100 The Dining Room 103 The Smoking Room 104 The Northwest Bedroom 106 Southwest Room 107 Elsbeth's Bath 107 Master Silting Room 108 Master Bedroom 1 10 Servants' Wing 112 Servants' Dining Room 1 12 ii Page Bullcr's Pantry 113 Pavilion 1 13 Conclusion 115 Appendix A: Chain of Title 117 Appendix B: Inventory of Contents of Residence of Mrs. Maria Pabst 129 Appendix C: The Daily Journal 135 Appendix D: Sample Room Book Page 137 Bibliography 138 Primary Sources: 138 Secondary Sources: 138 Index 143 111 Page List of Illustrations Images Image 1 : Pabst Mansion Exterior, Wisconsin Heritages, Inc., Milwaukee, WI. Image 2: Main Hall Looking East, Wisconsin Heritages, Inc., Milwaukee, WI. Image 3: Main Hall Looking West, Wisconsin Heritages. Inc., Milwaukee, WI. Image 4: West Parlor Looking East, Wisconsin Heritages, Inc., Milwaukee, WI. Image 5: West Parlor Looking West, Wisconsin Heritages. Inc.. Milwaukee. WI. Image 6: East Parlor Looking North, Wisconsin Heritages, Inc., Milwaukee, WI. Image 7: Dining Room Looking Southwest, Wisconsin Heritages, Inc., Milwaukee, WI. Image 8: Dining Room Looking West. Wisconsin Heritages, Inc., Milwaukee, WI. Image 9: Dining Room Looking East, Wisconsin Heritages, Inc.. Milwaukee. WI. Image 10: Smoking Room Looking Northeast, Wisconsin Heritages, Inc.. Milwaukee, WI. Image 1 1 : Smoking Room Looking Southeast, Wisconsin Heritages, Inc., Milwaukee, WI. Image 12: Northwest Bedroom Looking East, Wisconsin Heritages, Inc., Milwaukee, WI. Image 13: Southwest Room Looking East, Wisconsin Heritages. Inc.. Milwaukee, WI. Image 14: Southwest Room Looking West, Wisconsin Heritages. Inc.. Milwaukee, WI. Image 15: Master Sitting Room Looking South, Wisconsin Heritages, Inc., Milwaukee, WI. Image 16: Master Sitting Room Looking North East, Wisconsin Heritages. Inc., Milwaukee, WI. Image 17: Third Floor South West Room, Wisconsin Heritages, Inc., Milwaukee, WI. Image 18: Cooking Kitchen, Wisconsin Heritages, Inc., Milwaukee, WI. IV Pase Image 19: Servant's Dining Room. Wisconsin Heritages, Inc., Milwaukee, WI. Figures Figure 1 : First Floor Floor Plans, Wisconsin Heritages, Inc., Milwaukee, Wl. Figure 2: Second Floor Floor Plan Prior to Elevator Installation, Wisconsin Heritages, Inc., Milwaukee, WI. Figure 3: Tour Route, Wisconsin Heritages, Inc., Milwaukee, WI. V Pase Introduction The American Association of Museums defines a museum as, a legally organized not-for-profit institution or government entity; be essentially educational in nature; have a formally stated mission; with one full-time paid professional staff person who has museum knowledge... present regularly scheduled programs and exhibits that use and interpret objects for the public according to accepted standards; have a formal and appropriate program of documentation ,care and use of collections and/or tangible objects; have a formal and appropriate program of maintenance and presentation of exhibits.' Because each museum presents different information, each develops its own interpretive methods and techniques. Anthropology and natural history museums, for example, frequently use signs and subtle gallery planning to guide visitors through the material. Museums for science and technology are now moving to discovery techniques also called experiential learning. In these cases visitors manipulate exhibits to "discover" the scientific principles involved. Historical museums cannot have their programs easily categorized. Depending on the available resources and the material presented, they use a wide variety of techniques. Generally, historical societies with a museum are presenting the history of a community and use the gallery techniques of an anthropology museum. This suits well since the material presented is anthropological in nature. Museum Accreditation Criteria and Characteristics, American Association of Museums, October 22, 1997, pp. 1-2. Page Historic sites tend to be split. Some sites use the gallery technique, although this has drawbacks since the spaces can not be arranged according to how people learn, but remain in their historic configuration. Also, historical sites may use guided tours with a lecture format; this type of presentation seems to be limited to nature walks and historic sites. Other sites use the discovery techniques similar to those in science museums. These are often called "living history museums'". In these museums interpreters recreate tasks which occurred in the setting at the time being presented. This method derived from experimental anthropology and archeology where scientists -- upon deciding from fragments how a process occurred — would duplicate the process to prove their theories. Educational theory and techniques are constantly undergoing revision, and the museum community attempts to revise its programming to offer the best educational experience. This requires looking at all possible techniques even those that may not at first appear to suit the museum. This is especially true of historic sites. Past techniques have been chosen to help protect and preserve the site, but as conservation measures and educational techniques change the interpretation should also change. The number of museums using the discovery or experiential techniques has been growing across the country. Including these methods in more historic sites should be carefully considered. Discovery techniques offer many educational benefits and several techniques exist and can be adapted to a site. This paper will look at the benefits and varieties of this technique and then look at how it can be applied to a specific site. The Captain Frederick Pabst Mansion in Milwaukee, Wisconsin provides a case study for the development of a new interpretive approach. However, no interpretation is possible without a full understanding of the site: thus the first chapter documents the history of the Page 2 mansion. Next, this paper examines the use of discovery techniques in interpretation and an explanation of the approach suggested for the mansion. Lastly, the approach is applied to the mansion. Page 3 Chapter One; The Captain Frederick Pabst Mansion The Captain Frederick Pabst Mansion is situated just on the edge of downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Built between 1890 and 1892, the mansion has Flemish Renaissance detailing. Captain Frederick Pabst built it as a home for his family