oldmke

@oldmke@mstdn.social

I post photos and videos from Milwaukee's past

#Milwaukee #Wisconsin #MKE #OldMKE #Vintage

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Back in the early 1890s the residential area near what is now N. 12th st. and W. Wisconsin av. was growing rapidly, and it was decided that the area needed a school to meet the needs of Catholic youth. So, through the efforts of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Johnston, the residence of Dr. Nicholas Senn at 12th and Cedar was purchased in 1892 as an ideal site for the school which was to be called Holy Angels academy. The first floor accommodated a chapel, l ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeK0RuSae00

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Milwaukee is familiar as a city of many ethnic groups and this picture shows in one way why that reputation is long-lived. The annual Scottish picnic was already a 25 year old tradition when this picture was taken at National Park on Aug. 5, 1891. A parade of carriages, a full band and pipers piping started the event with games following. The Highland Fling, of course, was danced by talented little girls, as pictured here. Then the games began in ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeJvZ-qCW00

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Students came in all sizes to attend the School of Engineering of Milwaukee. All wore a sort of uniform back then - a three piece suit plus hat. This 1907 picture shows a group of engineers-to-be in front of the first home of the school, located then at 1025-27 Winnebago St. The area, at the intersection of 11th, Winnebago, Vliet and Somers Sts. was an important commercial part of the city at that time. The school was founded by Oscar Werwath in ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeJhrVdeu00

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There were wooden sidewalks, hitching posts and gas lights at 8th and Michigan Streets when this building, now the oldest building in use in the Milwaukee Public School System, was built in 1884. A school has occupied the site ever since the system was formed in 1846. The building pictured here is the third on the site. Over the years, the schools have had many names: Fourth Ward from 1846 to 1868; Plankinton School from 1868 to 1875; Fourth Dist ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeJa_fk0a00

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Milwaukeeans of the late 1800s never failed to take their visitors past the Schandein mansion, located at 24th and Grand (now W. Wisconsin) Ave. It was built by Emil Schandein, one of the owners of the Pabst Brewery, and was styled after a castle he had seen in Germany. It was probably the first home in Milwaukee equipped with a furnace, and a newspaper article related that "many residents of the day asked the privilege of inspecting the furnace ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeJNFqk4i00

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The building originated in a movement for a new police station during the first decade of the century. After prize competition, the city selected Albert Randolph Ross as the architect. When the idea of a joint city-county building to house law enforcement agencies arose, A. C. Clas, also an architect, was selected to plan the county portion. Both Ross and Clas designed the building's exterior. The cornerstone for the city's portion was laid Aug. ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeJGO5A0y02

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The Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Hospital at 1545 S. Layton Blvd. recently marked its 100th birthday. The building was opened on Dec. 23, 1893, and the picture above probably was taken not long after that. The hospital was the dream of Mother Alexia Hoell and Mother Mary Alfons of the School Sisters of St. Francis. They wanted to build a place like those in Europe where people would come to rest and recover from chronic and non-infectious diseases ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeJ2eb_Gy00

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During its heyday, Milwaukee's Republican House with its 109 rooms was considered a marvel of luxury. In typical late 19th century style, its exterior featured towers, old fashioned fire escapes, balconies, flag poles and other ornate elements. Guests sat on its balconies to watch parades, and Civil war veterans lounged on green benches outside to reminisce about vanished campaigns. From his favorite bench Cornelius MacGillicuddy, better known as ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeIxn3Syq00

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The Republican House, located on the northwest corner of 3rd St. and Kilbourn Ave., once was considered Milwaukee's finest hotel. It was a marvel of luxury. Designed by F. Velguth of Milwaukee, who was retained through successive remodelings, it had ornate towers and balconies and loads of exterior ornamentation. The Republican House goes back to the 1830s, when the city's first real hotel, the Washington House, was built by Archibald Clybourn at ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeIk2-pau00

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The Republican Hotel, once located at 907 N. 3rd St., was originally designed by F. Velguth of Milwaukee. It retained, through successive remodelings, the towers, balconies, fire escapes and exterior ornamentation of the late 19th century. Its interior preserved much of the plush elegance of the period. In its heyday, it was the scene of many political rallies. It was the lineal descendant of the old Washington House, erected in 1837 at what is n ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeIdB6PWW00

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The three story building pictured here, which was also known as the Custom House, was the seventh location for the Milwaukee Post Office in the first quarter century of its existence. In 1860, it moved into this building on the northwest corner of what is now N. Milwaukee St. and E. Wisconsin Ave. Soon after Solomon Juneau was commissioned postmaster by President Andrew Jackson in 1835, mail was delivered to Juneau's trading post once a month, an ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeIPTUD8m00

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The corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Milwaukee Street was the site of the Post Office in the late 1800s. This building at 324 E. Wisconsin Ave. was the first government-erected building to house the post office and federal courts. Daniel Wells, a Wisconsin congressman, obtained funds for the land and construction of the building in 1856. When plans were made for a new federal building at 517 E. Wisconsin Ave., Wells bought the old building and rent ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeIIapvKi00

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The Grand Avenue Mall is celebrating its first anniversary, but the heart of the mall, the Plankinton Arcade, has been having anniversaries for many years. This is a view of the Plankinton building under construction in August 1916. The building originally was two stories high, with extensive glass skylights along its length as well as in the central rotunda. The façade was decorated with Gothic details. In 1924, five stories were added, and much ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeI4s44em00

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The Plankinton Building, now the heart of Milwaukee’s Grand Avenue mall, originally was a two-story structure built in 1916 on the site of the old Plankinton House Hotel. Eight years later, construction got under way on a five-story addition. This photo, taken on Dec. 1, 1924, shows crews from the firm of S. M. Siesel well along in erecting the steel skeleton for what would be used as office space. The $1 million addition, designed by the Chicago ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeHz_gtqm00

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I'm playing around with some AI-based colorization tools. They seem promising.

A colorized park scene

oldmke, (edited )

Some results are better than others

oldmke,

What do you think of the result? Worth the effort?

An enhanced and colorized image

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The signs of rebuilding were all there - barricades, ladders, sawhorses - and only the skylight, lamps and mezzanine give a clue as to where this picture was taken. Sharp eyed Downtowners will recognize it as the west end of the Plankinton Arcade in the Plankinton Building. This isn't a recent photo, however. It was taken in October, 1936. When plans for the arcade were originally announced in 1915, it was described as "a building which promises ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeHmFZUaq00

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The Phoenix Club was on the east side of N. Jefferson St. between E. Mason and E. Wells Sts. The social organization was founded in 1885 and this clubhouse was built in 1889. The club remained at the location until 1903. The building was subsequently occupied by several fraternal organizations. In 1957, it was razed and the site is now a parking lot. There were many listings under "Clubs and Social Organizations" in city directories of the late 1 ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeHfNhI4m00

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This was the residence of Guido Pfister, at 429 Jefferson, between E. Wisconsin Ave. and E. Mason St. Pfister, pioneer leather manufacturer, came to Milwaukee in 1847, when he was 29 years old, and almost immediately established himself in the leather business. His first store was the Buffalo Leather Company on Market Street Square. In 1853, Pfister merged his business with that with that of his friend and countryman, Frederick Vogel, who had a t ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeHReoaGq00

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The square Petit mansion, built in 1899 by Louis J. Petit, then president of the old Wisconsin National bank, was one of the finest examples of classical architecture in Milwaukee and the scene of many a fashionable gathering. Among its many rooms were a ballroom which occupied the entire third floor, a billiard room and a gymnasium. The ballroom could accommodate 250 couples. In the stables at the back of the house were kept fine carriages and p ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeHKntX0y00

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Back in the days when a glass of beer cost five cents, a popular spot to quench your thirst was the Pabst Theater Café. The café adjoined the Pabst Theater, built in 1893 as the home of Milwaukee's German theater group, and the city's leading German families as well as actors dined there. The 30-foot bar was equipped with a buzzer that warned the bartenders five minutes before intermission to get ready for the theater crowd. The beers then would ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeH74JfSW00

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At the turn of the century, the area to the south of City Hall was known as City Hall Square. The statue of Henry Bergh and his dog standing in the square was as well known as City Hall itself. Bergh founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The fountain had a circular trough that served as a watering place for horses and other animals. People walked, rode bicycles or traveled in carriages or by streetcar. The stores ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeH0CQwyi00

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The building certainly looks familiar, but all those small structures around it! The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. building on E. Wisconsin Ave., an eight story granite structure, was designed by Marshall and Fox of Chicago and erected in1914, in the Corinthian style. The 74 foot columns on its southern facade have always been particularly impressive. In earlier days, this block was a pond called Lake Emily by the settlers. It was deep e ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeGoSRJSW00

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The Chicago & North Western Railroad's passenger depot, 915 E. Wisconsin Ave., was built in 1889. Like other terminals of the era-at the height of the railroads' prosperity - it was meant not only to serve passengers, but also to impress. Both the interior and exterior of the depot were finished in pressed brick - dark red outside and tan inside. The main waiting room had a massive fireplace, broad arches and a timbered ceiling. The second and th ... https://tmblr.co/ZANp-QeGhboaay00

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