Milwaukee Relocation and Moving Information

Greater Milwaukee Relocation Handbook
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Architecture

Cream City Bricks

Milwaukee builders were using locally fired bricks since the first brick home was built in the late 1830s. Made from lacustrine clays that run in deep veins along Lake Michigan, these cream-colored bricks were in great demand around the country because of their superior strength and enduring color. Brickmaking boomed in the 1850s when Milwaukee was nicknamed "Cream City." Cream City bricks can be found on buildings throughout the metropolitan area.

Milwaukee Bungalows

These homes, usually modest in nature, are a testament to the Milwaukee ideal of home ownership. Mass-produced during the early 1900s, they were known for their excellent workmanship and promoted the ideals of Gustav Stickley, a Wisconsin-born designer. Stickley was editor of The Craftsmen, a monthly magazine devoted to the craftsmen movement, which lasted from 1901 to 1916. These homes vary in style, sometimes resembling a Japanese pagoda and other times a Swiss chalet. Found throughout the city, these houses typically have low gabled roofs, open front porches and wide chimneys.

Milwaukee City Hall

(200 E. Wells St.)

The most symbolic building in the downtown landscape, City Hall reflects Milwaukee's German heritage and is one of only a handful of buildings in the world designed in the Flemish Renaissance style. It was completed in 1893 at a cost of $1 million. Of special note are the huge granite arches supporting the 350-foot bell tower, the ornately sculpted exterior and an eight-story indoor atrium.

Milwaukee Art Museum Addition

(700 N. Art Museum Drive on the Lakefront)

Designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and dedicated in 2001, the modern lakefront addition resembles a ship anchored to the downtown landscape by a pedestrian suspension bridge. It also features a brise soleil, which, when opened, soars like a bird over the addition below. It is considered by many to be Milwaukee's signature landmark and has garnered international attention.

Federal Building

(515 E. Wisconsin Ave.)

This grey granite castle is an example of the Richardsonian Romanesque Style popular in the 1880s and 1890s. Based on the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh, it was designed by Willoughby J. Edbrooke, supervising architect for the Department of Treasury. It is noted for its carved ornament exterior, its spacious atrium and "Courtroom 390," which was once called "the most distinctive courtroom in the United States."

Germania Building

(152 W. Wells St.)

Built in 1896, this building housed Germania Publishing Company, which produced German-language books, newspapers and magazines. It has a distinct German character and a profusion of Renaissance detail.

DeKoven Center

(600 21st St., Racine)

One of Racine's most intriguing landmarks, the DeKoven Center started as an Episcopalian college in 1851. It consists of eight buildings built in English Gothic Revival design. Located on 40 acres of trees and prairie grasses, the center is used for conferences, retreats, weddings and celebrations.

St. Josaphat Basilica

(2333 S. 6th St.)

This South Side church was built at the turn of the century by Polish immigrants and local craftsmen. Parishioners spent $20,000 to buy 500 railroad cars of marble, limestone, granite columns, finished metal and woodwork from the demolished Chicago courthouse and post office. They then fashioned the materials into a truly magnificent church. Since 1991, more than $5 million has been spent on renovations.

100 East

(100 E. Wisconsin Ave.)

This building, completed in 1989, was designed to resemble the Pabst building, a Milwaukee landmark that occupied the same spot from 1892 to 1980. Although less than 10 years old, 100 East preserves many of the same elements as the Pabst Building, which was one of the city's first high-rises.

Milwaukee County Courthouse

(901 N. 9th St.)

Built in 1930 and designed by New York architect Albert Randolph Ross, the Roman neo-Classic courthouse towers over the downtown. Its imposing presence is intensified by its oversized Corinthian colonnade.

Third Ward Warehouses

The Great Milwaukee Fire of 1892 decimated the city's Third Ward. Developers quickly rebuilt the area, giving it a rare architectural cohesion. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places as having the largest collection of turn-of-the-century warehouses, the area's buildings house art galleries, boutiques, offices, apartments, condominiums and restaurants.

Frank Lloyd Wright

The influence of Wisconsin architect Frank Lloyd Wright can be seen in the many Prairie Style homes scattered throughout Milwaukee and in the S.C. Johnson Wax headquarters he designed in Racine. The Prairie Style homes feature low roofs that shelter the stucco or brick buildings. Wright designed at least five houses in Milwaukee, including a group of duplexes. The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, located at 9400 W. Congress St., Wauwatosa, was Wright's last major project. Wright referred to the building as his "little jewel." Wright also designed two buildings for the Johnson family of Racine -the SC Johnson Administration Building and Wingspread, a former family home that is now a conference center.

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