Friday, April 14, 2017

Milwaukee's Pabst Mansion

In 1890, Captain Frederick Pabst, owner of Pabst Brewing Company, began construction on his mansion on Grand Avenue in Milwaukee, WI. The original estimate for the 20,019 square foot mansion was $75,000, but by the time the mansion was completed two years later, the total cost (including house, carriage house, greenhouse, pavilion and land) was $254,614 ($32.7 million in today's currency).


The home has 66 rooms, 10 bathrooms, 14 fireplaces, 210 windows, and 137 doors. It's a beautiful Flemish Renaissance Revival style, designed by George Bowman Ferry. The family moved into the home in 1892 and lived there until the death of Captain and Mrs. Pabst in 1904 and 1906 respectively. The family sold the property to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee in 1908 and it became the residence for the archbishop for over sixty years. In 1975 it was sold to a private developer and was primed for demolition, but a group of concerned citizens stepped forward and began the process of saving the mansion. At one time, Grand Avenue was home to over sixty such mansions, but today there are only five remaining, and the Pabst Mansion is one of them.

Painstaking renovation has been done, and is still being done, on the mansion. Many original artifacts have been returned to the home and layers of paint have been removed to display the original paint beneath.







The home is a perfect example of perseverance and hard work in preserving a piece of American history. The volunteers who give guided tours are to be commended for their dedication.

Have you visited a historic mansion? What mansion did you visit? 

Gabrielle Meyer
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10 comments:

  1. Beautiful pictures of the Milwaukee Pabst Mansion. Restoring a piece of history to it's original paint and luster of the wood is time consuming but wow the final results. Gabrielle, have you visited President Lincoln's home in Springfield, IL. So thankful America citizens have perserved historical places to tour. Thank you for sharing.

    Easter blessings to you and yours.

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    1. I haven't visited Lincoln's home, but have plans to this summer! We'll be in Springfield in August and I'm really excited to visit his Presidential museum, as well.

      Happy Easter, Marilyn.

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  2. I grew up near Milwaukee, and my mother was a docent for the Pabst mansion in the early 80's. I revisited the mansion last fall with visiting relatives and it was interesting to see how much has been done over the years. Thank you for featuring it!

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    1. The docents there were so passionate and dedicated. It was fun to see all that they had done to bring the home back to its original charm. Work was still being done in several rooms, and they continue to bring items back to the mansion as they find them all over the world. A wonderful place to visit!

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  3. I visited Carter's Grove when I was a kid,also Mt. Vernon and several others. Every summer, My mother would arrange trips for us when we went to visit my father's folks in Pennsylvania . I love old things. My mother, who is 100 yrs old, instilled in us a love for antique things and history because she was interested in them!
    Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Your mother sounds like my kind of lady, Paula! I try to take my children to as many historic sites as possible. We're planning a trip to Ohio in August and will make several stops on the way there and on the way back. The love of history is a wonderful legacy to instill in the next generation.

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  4. That's worth a drive to Milwaukee! They lived there less than 15 years... what a reminder to take care where I store up my treasures. Wow. Biltmore wowed even my children when we visited years ago. I was most interested in the servants quarters because that's where I would have lived (my mother was a maid for a wealthy woman).

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    1. It is a wonderful reminder to store up our treasures where moth and rust do not destroy. I'm always amazed (and a bit sad) to tour these amazing homes and realize they were used for such a short period of time by the original owners. Several historic houses are like this one. Sadly, subsequent generations can't afford to keep them up and many are torn down. It's so nice to see one such home being lovingly restored and cared for.

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  5. I love visiting historical mansions. I enjoy thinking about all the people that lived there a long time ago and what their lives must have been like. Fascinating! :-)

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    1. I completely agree! It's fun to imagine what it would be like to live there. That's one of the reasons I write and read historical fiction. :)

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