Design Contest Seeks to Save Historic Building
Milwaukee Preservation Alliance plans 'Brick by Brick' event for old Third Ward tavern.
Catherine Foley – Miller Tavern building. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
The Milwaukee Preservation Alliance is ramping up its campaign to save a fire-damaged Historic Third Ward building.
The MPA is a nonprofit and Milwaukee’s leading preservation advocacy organization. It received the building, 266-272 E. Erie St., as a donation in early 2024.
The building was previously subject to a heated preservation debate, with owners General Capital Group and Joseph Property Development arguing to the Historic Preservation Commission that the building was beyond practical repair and a commission staffer stating the effort amounted to “demolition by neglect.”
The MPA insists the structure, built in 1884, can be restored and is pursuing a $3 million fundraising campaign to redevelop it as its headquarters and leasable commercial space.
An upcoming design contest will give architects, planners and others an opportunity to promote their vision of a revitalized building with a scale model.
The models will be judged at a May 15 fundraiser, “Brick by Brick,” being held at The Women’s Club of Wisconsin, 813 E. Kilbourn Ave.
Winners will be recognized in the categories of Most Sustainable, Most Detailed, Most Unique and People’s Choice with voters paying to vote. The fee to enter the design contest is $500 and includes two tickets to the fundraiser.
The winners will be recognized on the donor wall at the renovated building.
A design reference and guidelines packet offers a simple list of rules, including the requirement that the model be movable between locations, non-perishable and not made of single-use plastic. The model can be 3-D printed as long as an original design is used.
The two-story building was originally a saloon and rooming house operated by the widowed Catherine Foley. Miller Brewing acquired the property in 1896, using it as a tied-house tavern, and expanded the structure in 1912. It later housed a prominent gay leather bar, Wreck Room, and served as the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design’s student union. A fire occurred in January 2013, shuttering the building.
General Capital and Joseph Property purchased the building and two adjoining properties in 2014 for $760,000. The former tavern was designated as historic in 2015.
Architect Chris Socha, a partner at The Kubala Washatko Architects worked on the building for the two companies, and said in September 2023 that the issue isn’t the 2013 fire, but the nature of the 1912 addition. “These buildings were basically joined together at that time and that’s a principal reason these buildings have so many issues,” said Socha. Structural engineer Alan Rentmeester of Spire Engineering detailed the differing foundation systems each employs and how one is now leaning on the other, causing a cascading series of issues, including failing brick masonry. The conclusion of the development team was that the building could be saved, but it would result in a “faux version.”
MPA is working with ZS, Engberg Anderson, Beane Engineering and Berglund Construction to stabilize the building and plan its renovation.
A 2025 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. It is a rare survivor of the 1892 Third Ward fire.
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