Commission Votes To Protect Schuster-Bloodgood House
Neighbor hopes to see westside home restored to its former glory. But opposition could be forthcoming.
3217 W. Wells St. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
The Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) unanimously blessed another Near West Side building with historic protection, without a peep of opposition. But there is an indication it could be coming.
In a brief meeting Monday, the citizen-led HPC recommended permanent historic protection for the Schuster-Bloodgood Flats, a rooming house at 3217 W. Wells St. The commission had granted the home temporary historic protection earlier in August.
The only member of the public to show up Monday was the nominator, Laura Sue Mosier, who owns the neighboring Schuster Mansion. She said on her way into Milwaukee City Hall she was called by an attorney for new owner Jaswant Singh, who wants to set up a meeting. Singh acquired the property, through Shaan Real Estate Inc., in November for $100,100.
Mosier told the commission on Aug. 5 that she nominated the building for fear it could be demolished. “Ever since November he’s been renting it illegally,” she told the commission. “Through his tenants, I heard he planned to have it demolished and build new apartments for college students.”
Singh still has one more opportunity to oppose the measure, as owners of nearby investment properties did earlier this year. The Common Council must now hold a hearing to review the commission’s designation. The temporary designation granted earlier in the month lasts for up to 180 days and does not require council review.
Local historic designation prevents exterior alterations or demolition without a city-issued certificate of appropriateness.
“This is a big lot. It could be redeveloped,” said commissioner and area Alderman Robert Bauman during the temporary designation hearing.
On Monday, Mosier said she hopes Singh restores the property. “My goal would be to have it not a boarding house, but for it to go back to three apartments,” she said.
The building was constructed in 1906 as a three-unit apartment building designed to look like a house. It was developed by tobacco entrepreneur George Schuster and constructed as an investment property next to his personal residence, the Schuster Mansion at 3209 W. Wells St.
Colonel Edward Bloodgood, a twice court martialed (and twice overturned) Civil War regiment leader, was the first resident of the building. He led a volunteer unit in the war.
“This guy had a massive and important career protecting and fighting for the Union in the Civil War, freeing enslaved peoples, helping capture Atlanta for the Union, helping end the War and essentially got two presidential pardons along the way,” said HPC planner Tim Askin on Aug. 5. On Monday he kept his remarks brief, citing his extensive earlier report and the lack of substantial new information. Askin recommended the structure be designated.
The commission planner said city records show it was divided from three apartments to 14 or 15 individual rooms for rent in 1950 and 17 rooms around 1970.
The home was designed by architect Charles D. Crane, a prolific and highly-regarded Milwaukee architect.
“It’s a very transitional building; kind of Colonial Revival, mostly Colonial Revival, but it’s just got these details hanging over from the Queen Anne era and even a little bit of Italianate,” said Askin at the earlier hearing.
Crane, then in a partnership with Carl Barkhausen, designed the neighboring Schuster Mansion in 1891 and several other Germanic-style homes throughout the city. “Their architectural pedigree in the history of the city is top line,” said Askin of their training under Edward Townsend Mix and many homes.
Askin said the only noticeable change from a 1980 photo, the first known photo of the structure, is the replacement of a handful of windows.
The Common Council now finds itself with two pending designations to review: the Schuster-Bloodgood Flats and the buildings on the south half of the block. Mosier also nominated a cluster of four apartment buildings, two of which have been long vacant, along W. Wisconsin Avenue for permanent protection. The commission unanimously endorsed the Wisconsin Avenue designation on Aug. 5 after discussing the impetus for Mosier’s nomination: the city’s largest landlord Youssef Berrada. But unlike an early 2024 fight for the buildings to the east, Berrada does not own any of the four apartment buildings.
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Related Legislation: File 240493
