Historic Third Ward Building Could Be Razed
Developers want to tear down 1884 building, a longtime tavern vacant since 2013.
Catherine Foley – Miller Tavern building. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
One of the oldest buildings in the Historic Third Ward could be demolished.
Two real estate firms are pursuing the demolition of the historically-protected, triangular tavern building at 266-272 E. Erie St. The Historic Third Ward Architectural Review Board is scheduled to discuss the request on Wednesday.
A representative of one of the firms declined to comment in advance of the meeting on what the firms are planning for the site.
Constructed in 1884, the two-story building was originally a saloon and rooming house operated by the widowed Catherine Foley. It survived the 1892 Third Ward fire, when approximately 440 nearby buildings were destroyed.
Miller Brewing acquired the property in 1896, using it as a tied-house tavern, and expanded the structure in 1912. It housed the Wreck Room tavern, a prominent LGBTQ+ tavern described as the first cowboy and leather bar in the city, from 1972 until 1999. The building served as the student union for the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design from 1997 until 2013, when a substantial fire damaged the structure. It’s been vacant since the fire.
A partnership of General Capital Group and Joseph Property Development acquired the fire-damaged building, the three-story building at 143 N. Broadway and an adjacent parking lot at 139 N. Broadway in 2014 for $760,000 and pursued a mixed-use building for the oddly-shaped, 8,293-square-foot site.
But Historic Preservation Commission, with the support of the architectural review board and Historic Third Ward Association, designated the structure as historic in 2015. The move made it more difficult to demolish the structure, with the partners switching plans in 2017 to pursue redevelopment of the building as a restaurant and bar. But those plans never progressed publicly after the architectural review board endorsed the concept.
“This does not mean it can’t be torn down. It only means there is a process to do so,” said area alderman, historic commissioner and architectural review board member Robert Bauman in 2015 when the historic commission considered the designation. He supported the proposal, which passed unanimously.
The historic designation report says the building is the oldest remaining structure in the neighborhood with direct ties to the Irish community, which for several decades was the dominant ethnic group in the area.
The structure is a rare Third Ward building that is historically protected through the city’s historic preservation ordinance, and as such creates an unusual redevelopment situation.
The historic commission must formally review any demolition request, with the commission’s decision being subject to an appeal to the Common Council. The architectural review board holds no formal authority over demolition, but is being asked to provide a recommendation. The review board, however, is the body that would need to approve any new building on the site.
The property sits at the triangular intersection of E. Menomonee St. and E. Erie St. The neighboring properties that the developers own border Catalano Square and sit back-to-back with the historic tavern. The four-story building at 147 N. Broadway, divided into condominiums and owned by others, prevents the developers from owning what would otherwise be a triangular site.
The development partnership, known as Joseph GenCap Triangle LLC, has not filed a demolition request with the historic commission.
Two members of the historic commission, Bauman and Patti Keating Kahn, also serve on the architectural review board and are slated to review the proposal Wednesday. Historic commissioner and UW-Milwaukee architecture professor Matt Jarosz serves as the non-voting coordinator for the architectural review board.
General Capital has done a substantial number of projects in the Milwaukee area, including the nearby Two50Two MIAD Student Apartments complex. Joseph Property Development, which is headquartered in the neighborhood, has redeveloped a number of historic properties and developed a number of new buildings. Its most recent project in the neighborhood was 321 Jefferson, a 60-unit apartment building constructed on a vacant lot.
For more on the tavern building’s history when it was the Wreck Room, see an extensive profile on the Wisconsin LGBT History Project website.
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Political Contributions Tracker
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- March 23, 2017 - Robert Bauman received $250 from Patti Keating Kahn
- May 10, 2016 - Robert Bauman received $250 from Patti Keating Kahn
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I get it was damaged in the fire, but demolishing this building would be a terrible shame. It is historic for many reasons in addition to its architecture. I hate to point out the obvious but, once gone, these buildings don’t come back. It’s just so darn charming.
“Historic Third Ward” will mean nothing to me if it goes but architectural review of new construction in the neighborhood—with all its tweaking and advice—continues. To argue that a new building’s exterior needs to match or complement the old *without* saving the old is just a charade…
Just tear it down, I have a hard time taking any historical value of the structure seriously when they only make it historical 2 years AFTER a fire and it was sold, basically guaranteeing it’s going to be expensive as hell for the next person to do anything with. Not actually concerned about historical development in the neighborhood but just different people wanting control of what goes in there next. Frankly, the Third Ward would be better with blanket structure guidelines (street activation, primarily brick facade, no surface parking lots/front parking lots) for planning with just a special review for excessive heights (in excess of 12 stories) Also, stop with the parking requirements, there is so much underused parking downtown that gets utilized by suburbanites 3 days a year and that’s the only reason it exists. Our downtown is DROWNING if parking no one uses and yet we require all buildings to build MORE. I forget the statistic exactly but there are like 7 parking spots for every car in the city it is insane.
It is unfortunate that this building was allowed to deteriorate to the point it has currently reached. To a creative developer and a talented architect, this building certainly could be brought back to life. Its loss would be regrettable.
Buildings like this make the Historic Third Ward what it is – a unique neighborhood of historic buildings, and one treasured largely because of them. These buildings make up the backbone and character of the Third Ward. Given that the city and ARP already found this historic, I would hope they would reaffirm their commitment now to historic preservation and the Third Ward. If this is allowed to be torn down, it would lead the way for more historic Third Ward buildings to be demolished.
Well stated, Jeff!
I too am in complete agreement with Jeff. When “progress” means the erasure of significant historical
structures, it is a city’s sense of self the suffers. The failure to act earlier to preserve a community’s historical
architectural record is what should be faulted, not the ultimate cost of delayed responses.