04 Feb weekend trip to milwaukee: worker cottages, solomon beman, terra cotta ornament and incised building name plaques
images documenting 19th and early 20th century architectural buildings and ornament during first of many trips to milwaukee in 2020. my truncated visit prevented me from exploring my areas of interest in a more in-depth and methodical manner, but i can always pick up where i left off when i return.
in addition to my trademark method focused on photographing architectural ornament in great detail, i’m going to begin documenting workers cottages in and around the “brewer’s hill” neighborhood. i’m interested in the seemingly large presence of wood-framed single and two-story homes bedecked with fret-sawn wood ornament. cottages of this type existed in chicago, but most are long gone with only masonry or brick buildings accentuated with terra cotta and limestone left standing.
as my interests continue to evolve, or some cases, fall to the wayside, i’m looking forward to building a sizable archive of milwaukee architecture images falling far outside of my comfort zone of 19th and early 20th century commercial building ornament. turning towards surrounding residential neighborhoods where i can let my “mind’s eye” aimlessly wander will be a refreshing change of pace.
all images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive.
commercial building terra cotta ornament:
w. kroening, 1886:
19th century wood framed workers cottages near brewer’s hill neighborhood:
commercial building name and/or date plaques:
miscellany:
solomon s. beman:
further reading: