Most Popular What’s It Worth?

Milwaukee’s Downtown and adjacent neighborhoods have seen a great amount of redevelopment in 2019 and two of the most popular What’s It Worth? stories of the year were in that area. One was a rather small scale renovation of an 1886 Milwaukee fire house that for nearly a century had been a warehouse. Today it is being converted into a residence. Another popular story gave the history of an old warehouse (essentially a giant refrigerator) that was also bought for eventual conversion. Other columns looked at a long-dead mall on the northwest side that awaits its fate, and a huge downtown office building, mostly empty this century, that is to be re-imagined, and equipped with a new three story addition atop holding a hotel. Other stories looked at a former bank that’s now a hostel in Riverwest, and a number of old mansions that are now getting new tenants and being repurposed.

All of these and more were popular with you the reader, and I am grateful for your interest and for your comments and suggestions. I would also like to acknowledge the staff of the City of Milwaukee Development Center, the Assessor’s Office, the Municipal Research Library and the Historic Preservation Commission. They are to be thanked for providing me with source research documents that are essential for finding the story behind old buildings, and which can be found nowhere else. In this age of Google it is nice to know that there is information out there that can only be accessed by microfiche reader or in paper files and bound volumes of documents. This adds to the spirit of adventure behind What’s It Worth? I thank you for your support of this project over the year, and look forward to seeing what the new year and new decade brings.

10. Cream City Hostel Has Low Price Tag

Cream City Hostel. Photo by Michael Horne.

9. Koeffler House A ‘Grand Old East Side Home’

Charles A. Koeffler, Jr. House, 817-819 N. Marshall St. Photo by Dave Reid.

8. Lion House the Finest Pre-Civil War Home

The Lion House, 1241 N. Franklin Pl. Photo by Michael Horne.

7. Astor St. Eschweiler Mansion Worth $590,000

1037 N. Astor. Photo by Michael Horne.

6. Milwaukee Athletic Club Worth $7.6 Million

The Milwaukee Athletic Club: $7,598,000.00. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

5. $575,000 Building Helped By Streetcar

733-737 N. Milwaukee St.. Photo by Michael Horne.

4. Old Blue Cross Building Once Cost $28 Million

501 W. Michigan St. Photo by Michael Horne.

3. Milwaukee Cold Storage Building Is Unique

100 S. 2nd St. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

2. Northridge Mall Worth $2.5 Million

Northridge Mall. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

1. What Is An 1886 Firehouse Worth?

Milwaukee Firehouse Ladder Co. No. 5. Photo by Dave Reid.