Bob John’s Delinquent Domicile

This 1902 cottage, designed by the Lienhouts and Guthrie firm, is in the northernmost reaches of N. Marietta Ave., just a block inland from N. Lake Drive and its string of mansions.

It has been the home since 1974 of used book dealer and real estate investor Robert E. “Bob” John. This is a longest continuous tenancy of any House Confidential honoree yet.

It is also the first to be tax delinquent.

Mr. John is on hock to the City Treasurer in the sum of $5,682.46 for unpaid real estate taxes for the home alone, in addition to tens of thousands owed on his downtown riverfront buildings.

The John residence is a modest 1,729 square feet on two levels, and has a steeply pitched 431 square foot space in the attic. The full basement is 862 sq ft. It has 4 bedrooms, just one bath and no half-bath (more on that) and is rated Grade “C” by the city assessor.

The property, which John bought for only $6,800 — a quarter of its value even then — includes a four-car garage. When he bought the place, each parking stall rented for $10 a month. Today, the doors you can see from the street are clearly inoperable, tilted like tombstones. You get a sense that every corner of the garage is stuffed with books, just as John has said his other buildings are.

His holdings include three prime properties on the Milwaukee River in the heart of urban Milwaukee — 808, 830 and 834 N. Plankinton. The latter two addresses were the home to Renaissance Book Store, which John opened with his brother George about the time he bought his home. He operated it until the city shut it down after protracted legal proceedings a couple of years ago.

Another prime riverfront building, just downstream on the same block at 808 N. Plankinton Ave., has never been open, despite its prime retail location and reasonably good shape. Full of books!

John is $93,809.09 delinquent in his tax payments to the treasurer on his home and those three buildings, but is current on the $14,848.54 tax on the warehouse he owns at 1613 E. North Ave. Nothing goes on there, either, apparently.

The John book business continues in urban Milwaukee with a short-term leased space in the shops of Grand Avenue, and with the brilliantly inspired Renaissance Book Store at Mitchell International Airport, where John’s inventory is available to a world of travelers.

But John never got involved in internet sales, which could have brought many customers to his books, not to mention to relieve his buildings of some floor load and combustibility. The alphabet, as well as subject matter, had only peripheral bearing on the arrangement of books in his emporium. But, of course, he could locate any single one without stirring from his chair, located at the front door, facing inwards.

Bob does it his own way, and he finds Bob vs. the City to be a most agreeable forum when the maintenance of his real property is concerned.

The city officials are not quite so amused.

In 1986 the city assessor wrote about long-undone repairs and maintenance to the John home. You can sense his frustration, when he ordered a reduction to the John property valuation:

“Nothing done — Forget It Already. Place looks poor. … This has been going on since ‘75!!”

In 1988 the assessor observed “no functional heat 2nd floor area attic radiators removed, pipes shot. … Half-Bath interior filled with junk front porch cluttered with garbage Rotting floorboards.”

The inspector ordered, “replace defective or missing roofing material, replace missing siding, trim, balusters, gar door, porch step, defect gar roof, defects in walls of garage.”

“Refer For Enforcement,” he ordered in December.

“Trial Guilty,” was entered into the record in August, 1991.

By April 1993 things had improved, “lots of work is being done,” yet by November, “Int has had N/C since last INSP. Many Unf projects. Latest work has been done on the EXT only.”

And there we must leave Bob John, while a scaffold stands at the ready in his back yard, fully erected, awaiting the call of the tradesman and inspector, whichever comes first.

The Rundown

• Style: “Cottage”
• Location: City of Milwaukee
• Neighborhood: Downer Woods
• Subdivision: Kenwood Park
• Walk Score: 62 out of 100. “Somewhat Walkable”
• Street Smart Walk Score: 48 out of 100 “Car-Dependent.”
• Transit Score: 56 out of 100. “Good Transit”
• Size: 1,729 square feet, plus that unheated 431 square foot attic and 956 square foot garage. More space than you would think. .
• Year Built: 1902. Four car garage dates to 1919; huge for the era.
• Assessed Value: Land — $94,300; Improvements — $45,500 Total $145,600
• Taxes: $5,682.46 DELINQUENT.

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