You won't see places like this in Brookfield or other suburbs of Milwaukee. From left is a Milwaukee School of Engineering high rise dormitory; the elaborate, old Beaumont apartments; the newish MSOE School of Business; the Hamilton apartments; and the house at 1247 N. Milwaukee St., known historically as the Garner-Ranney-Schultz House. Now a duplex, it was built in 1865 with quality styling and materials. Its first resident was a doctor.

High on a hill, the Garner House has a view of the downtown sports district. Plans are to erase the house from the built landscape, and replace it with a "luxury" three-unit residence. A unique and irreplaceable thread will be pulled from the woven fabric of this variegated neighborhood.

Gail Fitch, December 16 & 18, 2019

Sometimes, you don't know whether you're in the suburbs, the countryside, or the city. The church at 2032 Canton St. in Toledo, Ohio, at the corner of Scott St., was not far from the downtown business district, but it's hard to tell from the setting.

In 1879-1915, this Gothic revival treasure was the German Zion Reformed Church, whose denomination later merged into the United Church of Christ. After its congregation built a prairie style church six blocks away, it became the synagogue of Anshai Stard Congregation. Then, it was Ebenezer Baptist Church. By about 1950, it had lost most of its steeple. The original front doors were wood.

When we first saw the red church in 2005, it was "abandoned." I took this picture in May 2009. When we went back again in October 2019, it was gone. I cried.

According to city permit records, repairs were made in September 2009; it was torn down in May 2017. It was 138 years old.

Sources: Toledo Lucas County Public Library, Images in Time (online), City of Toledo citizen access (property records online), and "Miracle on Cherry Street" in the Toledo Blade, October 18, 2003 (toledoblade.com).

Gail Fitch, December 16 & 18, 2019

Historic Designations Heard at March 13, 2017 HPC Meeting
Historic designation, including one for the imperiled State Theatre Building, dominated the agenda at the Historic Preservation Commission's March 13, 2017, meeting. The HPC approved the National Register Nomination for the Century Building at 808 N. Old World Third Street, and considered three, local historic nominations.

The HPC approved permanent historic designation of the Bzdawka Building at 1112-1114 W. Lincoln Ave. Built in 1919, it has sheet metal highlighting its shaped gables, and a keystone at the top. HPC staff member Carlen Hatala noted that Milwaukee's Polish community largely came from the part of Poland that belonged to northern Germany after Poland was divided between Austria, Germany, and Russia. The Bzdawka Building reflects that northern German, Polish heritage.

Temporary historic designation was approved for the elaborate, and well cared for, Peter and Ida Frattinger House at 807 N. 23rd St. (23rd & Wells), named for its original owners. The current owner lives in the house, and has two tenants on the upper floors. Queen Anne style, the house dates to the 1880s. Carlen Hatala noted that there was never a coach house or barn with it. Street car service began in 1874 on Wells Street, so there was an easy commute by street car to downtown, she said.

The issue of temporary historic status for the State Theatre Building at 2612-1616 W. State St. was more complicated, and the HPC decided to carry it over to April's meeting. Originally a 1,000-seat movie theatre, it became a space for performances by many well-known musicians and rock groups. Vacant since 1991, the City Redevelopment Authority became its owner in 2000. On February 10, 2017, the building suffered a fire. Whether it is repaired or torn down, asbestos will have to be removed first. The removal process is different and more expensive if the goal is to repair the building. James Dieter, who owns the Kalvelage mansion at 2432 W. Kilbourne Ave., said he has fund-raising ideas for the State Theatre Building. Steven Ewing, owner of 2619 W. State St., across the street from the old theatre, also spoke in favor of repairing and reusing it.

In other matters, the HPC approved a connector to join the church at  2432 N. Teutonia to a planned addition. As HPC staff members Tim Askin and Carlen Hatala said, the HPC does not have oversight of the addition itself because its lot, next door to the church, was not owned by the church at the time the church was historically designated, and the designation covered only the church building, not the church property. The church, Greater Galilee Baptist Church, was originally Beth Israel Synagogue.

The HPC approved the installation of glass block window with furnace pipes venting through it at 2134 N. Lake Drive on the condition that the owner work with staff on modifying it to make it more in keeping with the HPC ordinance. Replacing older windows with glass blocks is not allowed. The work was done six years ago without a building permit and without the HPC's approval. This was one of a handful of "cold cases" the HPC staff is clearing up in the wake of the long illness of former staff member Paul Jakubovich, who died in December 2014.

March 13 was the last meeting for HPC commissioner Blair Williams. He resigned in February. He said he served for 5.5 years. Also present were commissioners Matt Jarosz (chair), Marion Clendenen-Acosta, Ann Pieper Eisenbrown, and Patricia Keating Kahn. Ald. Robert Bauman was absent. A previous vacancy yet to be filled is the seat formerly occupied by Anna-Marie Opgenorth.   
Update: Sally Peltz was named to the HPC, and the size of the commission was reduced from seven to six members.
[Note: This report was not submitted to city staff or the HPC for review. Any errors are mine. -- Gail Fitch]

by Gail Fitch, January 15, 2016

The church at 2747 N. 4th Street in Milwaukee has stood for 105 years, but won't much longer. It was built in 1910 by the Evangelical Lutheran Golgotha Congregation. "Golgotha" is a German word. About 1948, the congregation Americanized its name to Memorial Evangelical Lutheran Church. It moved to 7701 N. Green Bay Rd. in Glendale about 1963.

In the meantime, the Mount Moriah Baptist Church began in the 1950s, and in 1957, it was at 538 W. Galena Street. By June of 1964, it was worshipping at 2747 N. 4th St. After some 50 years, it will remain at the location, but in a new building.
A Mount Moriah spokesperson said that the congregation tried to take good care of its building, but did not always get what it paid for from contractors. It took a while to find that out; by then the roof was leaking so much, that they reportedly had no choice but to replace the building.

Mount Moriah has already built a chapel next door, behind the church, on Christine Lane. They expect to tear down the old church by spring, and have the new church erected in its place in July. It will connect with the chapel, which will then become the fellowship hall.
To help pay for the new church, fixtures and construction materials from the church are for sale. That includes stained glass windows, oak pews, pianos and organs, the bell in the tower, and more.
That was the subject of news stories on Fox 6 TV on December 16 and Channel 12 TV on December 18. It led to my visiting the church on December 19, 2015, and taking the pictures you see here.

The white building to the right (above) is the old Fifth Street School, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is being converted to senior housing by Gorman & Company, which will partner with Mount Moriah on parking space and community-use space.
At the north end of the block is the former Nunn-Bush shoe factory, which is now a Milwaukee Enterprise Center, an incubator for start-up businesses. The immediate area also includes a playground and old and new houses.



The church interior looks crowded because the pews were moved aside and somewhat stacked, and the carpet taken up and draped over the pews when most of the oak flooring was removed. A movie production company in Tennessee bought the flooring, the hanging lanterns that lit the sanctuary, much of the paneling in the basement, the entire south steeple, and two out of three roofline crosses that light up.
In the basement, even the window sills, which slope, were paneled.

Mount Moriah Baptist Church has already celebrated its 50th anniversary. The church interior is light blue and white with gold trim-stripes. It has a sloping floor. The front, where the altar and choir loft were, were two steps up. That wood is now mostly gone. The pews are "straight," but slightly L-shaped to help them stand, without tipping, on the sloping floor. The door on the right led to the pastor's office.



The pews and balcony are blond oak. The seat cushions are medium blue, and matched the carpeting, which was taken up. The walkable floor visible here is the subfloor. Some sections of the oak floor that did not go to Tennessee are leaning against the pews. Organ pipes are visible in the balcony. The swinging doors to the narthex include cross-shaped viewing windows.



The church has two large windows that are reportedly 15' x 20'. The one above, to the north, shows the Resurrection. The one below, to the south, is the Crucifixion. The three crosses on top of the Resurrection window are echoed in the view holes on the three pairs of swinging doors between the sanctuary and the narthex, and in the three, light-up crosses that lined the roofline over the front of the church. The front of the church faces east.



The color scheme of the stained glass windows includes a lot of yellow, brown, and green. The windows may have been made in Germany. That was not unusual for German-American congregations in Milwaukee.



Four double windows, like the one above, are reportedly 5' wide and 14' high. The church hopes to sell them, but will have a place to store them if they do not sell before the building is demolished.



This window on the way up to the bell tower and balcony is 30" wide and 11" high. It has slipped a little in its opening.

The windows include names of donors, including Ernst Grettin (above, right), Mr. & Mrs. August Barkow, Mr. & Mrs. Ernst Winter, Mr. & Mrs. Julius Zimmerman, and Mr. Emil Reech (or similar spelling).



One hanging lantern remains. It is in the narthex, where a brass (or wooden?) plate over the center exit reads, "Depart to Serve."



Richard Hodge, a church member who looks after the building, tipped a section of oak flooring to show a visitor on December 19. Behind them, water damage is visible on the wall.
The church sold the oven that was in its basement kitchen, but some beautiful cabinetry is still there. Where the paneling was removed recently from basement walls, the bricks were in a variety of colors (not shown).

Asking Prices

Channel 12 said that the church was asking $1,000 for a piano with "Carnegie Hall" on it. They also have a treadle organ that Mr. Hodge said was given to them by "an old German lady in the neighborhood."
The stained glass windows are worth an estimated $25,000 to $100,000, but the church would sell them close to the low end of that range, according to the sales agent the church hired.

Phone Numbers

Anyone with questions about the windows or other items should call Rickey Townsell at 414-745-4195.
Those interested in buying them should call the sales agent hired by the church:
414-482-0286.
Close-ups of the windows were shown at the Fox 6 website. Look for them with a web search for: Fox 6 News Milwaukee December 16 church windows.



The wind blew off some of the protective, clear panels on the large, south window. That was, reportedly, another job that fell short of the quality the congregation thought it was getting. It's a shame this fine old church building won't continue on, but its congregation will.

More Research

The church's architect was H.G. Hensel; the style is Neogothic Revival, according to the Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory (online), Division of Historic Preservation-Public History, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin (whew!).
City of Milwaukee permit records show the building built in 1910 is 90' long and 45' wide across the front. It got a new boiler in 1948. In 1950, the front stairs and entrance to the first floor were rebuilt to add a front entrance to the basement. In 1959, an arch was enlarged, the roof of the chancel was raised, and $1,000 was spent on plastering. After the Lutherans left, the Baptists improved the basement in 1978, and added air conditioning in 1979.
Milwaukee church enthusiast Gregg Fitzpatrick researched the current location of Memorial Ev. Lutheran Church.
The information that the nearby Enterprise Center used to be the Nunn-Bush shoe factory came from John Gurda's book, Milwaukee: City of Neighborhoods (2015).

Article and photos, copyright 2016 Gail Fitch

Services are Saturday, December 27, 2014, for Paul Jakubovich, historic preservation expert

According to the December 24 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Paul Jakubovich died on Monday, December 22. He was 57. Visitation will be Saturday, December 27, at 9 a.m. at Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church, followed by funeral services there at 11 a.m. The address is 8635 W. Warnimont Ave., one block south of Morgan Ave.

                                         Served city for more than 20 years                               

For more than 20 years, Paul worked for the City of Milwaukee in the cause of historic preservation. He was an expert on historic architectural styles, construction materials, and technical aspects of restoring old buildings. The Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) consulted him during its meetings, and the public met with him for advice when applying for the HPC's approval to make exterior changes to their historic buildings. Sometimes, Paul drew the plans for them. At the HPC meetings, it was not unusual for building owners, architects, or craftspeople to express their appreciation for his help.

Paul was from the Milwaukee area, but worked in Chicago for a while. After he returned, he wrote or co-wrote four books published by the City of Milwaukee.  With fellow HP staff member Carlen Hatala, he wrote City of Steeples: An inventory of architecturally significant worship structures in Milwaukee (1996).  
Paul wrote As Good As New: A Guide for Rehabilitating the Exterior of Your Old Milwaukee Home (1993), and Living with History: A guide to the preservation standards for historically designated houses in Milwaukee (1997). He was co-author, with then-HP staff member Les Vollmert, of Good for Business: A Guide to Rehabilitating the Exteriors of Older Commercial Buildings (1995). It would be hard to imagine better historic preservation guide books than these.

Paul also wrote many historic designation research reports that celebrated the history and architecture of buildings nominated for local historic designation. The reports were presented at HPC meetings with his photos to illustrate them. He also coached applicants through the process of applying for historic status, which in complicated cases could take a year.

For a time, Paul also taught evening classes in window glazing at Milwaukee Area Technical College. For several years, he presented slide shows on Milwaukee architecture and historic preservation to neighborhood and civic groups.  Using a knife to cut through plastic siding, he would astonish the audience with the flimsiness of some modern construction materials. For his many efforts, Historic Milwaukee, Inc., the non-profit organization, honored him on May 15.

Paul's health had not been good for a few years, but he was still working, and sat at his usual place at the table at the HPC meeting on December 9. His work was a great contribution.

-- Gail Fitch,
December 24-26, 2014

Can Milwaukee's Old School Houses Live On?

by Gail Fitch, December 13, 2014

Some vacant Milwaukee public school buildings -- some a century old -- could soon be sold or eventually end up razed.  "Keep an eye on them, case by case, and submit an application for historic designation; the city won't object, Alderman Robert Bauman said at a panel discussion, "Milwaukee Public School Buildings: Past, Present, and Future," on December 8 at Centennial Hall at Milwaukee Central Library.

Ald. Bauman specifically named Lee, Wheatley, and Garfield Schools, adding that if sold, historic designation would give the city some control via COA -- approval by the city's Historic Preservation Commission for exterior changes.

Garfield Elementary, 2215 N. 4th St., was built in 1887, and is on the National Register of Historic Places, according to Historic Milwaukee Public School Houses by Robert Tanzilo (The History Press, 2012). Lee Elementary is at 921 W. Meinecke Ave., and Phillis Wheatley School is at 2442 N. 20th St. For reference, North Avenue is 2300 north.

Leasing vs. Selling or Demolition

Some schools are unused because of a decline in school age population near them, and because various competing schools, including private, church, choice, and charter schools, have drawn students away from MPS.

Four years ago, there were more than 20 vacant MPS schools (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 28, 2014, "Report Card on MPS Buildings"). The article, by Erin Richards, described a variety of fates since then, including being sold or leased to schools not connected with MPS. Many are still up in the air.

Stacy Swadish, executive director of Historic Milwaukee, Inc., said that Cincinnati has auctioned its vacant schools. Cleveland has razed them. Chicago is selling them, but not to charter schools. She suggested asking the neighborhood what it wants. Posting a sign to explain the status of the building could invite input or offers, too.

Ald. Bauman said, "We do not want to sell to charter [or other non-MPS-connected] schools." They don't have "institutional backup," he said.  The owner can "leave town, go to jail, abscond with the money. Leasing is okay." He gave the example of McKinley School, 2001 W. Vliet St. It was sold to a choice school in 1989, fell on hard times, and eventually came under city ownership. It was named to the Local Historic Register on September 24, 2014.

"Will families with school age children grow to need the schools again?" Ald. Bauman asked. The choices include selling for redevelopment, clearing the land, selling to a charter school. "It will be brutal," he said. "The city may be forced by the state to sell the buildings."

Panelists agreed that it would be good to try to preserve the old schools as buildings if not as schools. Robinson Middle School, 3245 N. 37th St., was sold to a developer who converted it into Sherman Park Senior Living Community; Dover School, 619 E. Dover St. will be converted to apartments.  (Also see MJS article.) However some schools, like Wisconsin Ave. School at 27th & Wisconsin, are in neighborhoods too scary to  attract reuse as living quarters, panelists said. Ald. Bauman said that multi-family housing combined with poverty is a bad idea. An audience member suggested that 27th & Wisconsin, with its bus connections, might be a good location for a youth hostel.

"Permanence, Strength, and Power"

HMI's Stacy Swadish said there's an emotional attachment to an old school. It "lends itself to a sense of community."

Ald. Bauman, who said he grew up in Chicago, and has been in Milwaukee for 35 years, called school architecture "a separate genre," noting that school buildings built between 1890 and 1940 had "unbelievable refinement and architectural amenities." He said the school architecture built then in places with industrial wealth like Milwaukee and Chicago projected "permanence, strength, and power."

Panel moderator Alan Borsuk, a former education writer for Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, said that the century-old buildings have some drawbacks, such as bathrooms only in the basement, but they have elegance, including "wide halls and wood floors."

Gina Spang, director of facilities and maintenance at MPS, said, "The old buildings have character, and operate better than some of the younger facilities. They have high ceilings, and are easy to operate. They add value to the neighborhood. The way we teach has changed." The open concept has fallen out of favor, and schools "want to go back to the traditional classroom," she said. On the other hand, some old schools have the cafeteria in the basement or the gym and cafeteria together, and, "It would be nice to have a better cafeteria and separate cafeteria and gym."

She said that for some schools, like Carlton Elementary, 4116 W. Silver Spring Dr., demolition might be best. It has different levels of floors that do not align. "Redevelop some," she said. "They have a lot of life left in them."

Vacant schools are heated to 40 degrees over the winter; and roof leaks, broken windows, grass cutting, and snow removal are attended to, she said. Ald. Bauman said that MPS may not always be able to afford to care for its buildings, though. In Detroit, he saw a school with its roof gone due to a fire. Repurposing, demolition, and selling to other (non-public) school operations are the typical outcomes, he said.

Ald. Bauman said that "old" tends to be equated with "bad or outmoded." He said the media often mention "failing schools," but he hears good stories. Moderator Alan Borsuk said that a city school can't compete with the "lots of athletic fields and posh buildings" in a suburb. HMI's Stacy Swadish said that great teachers and parental involvement are important; the facility is not the only thing.

Robert Tanzilo, author of Historic Milwaukee Public School Houses, was instigator of the panel discussion, but sat in the audience. He said the average age of MPS buildings is 69 years, and that Maryland Avenue School has had a basement bathroom for 127 years.  "Great architects" [designed the Milwaukee public schools]; "investment was made," he said. Ald. Bauman said, "It's not easy to downsize capital investment. The city now owns Garfield School, but there is no private sector demand" for it.  MPS's Gina Spang said, "The city has taken pride in its buildings. Great craftsmen built the city. MPS has old, but solid, buildings."