Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Spencerian Business College, Late 1860s
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Spencerian Business College, Late 1860s

Located in the four-story Library Block, one of the city's tallest structures.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Menomonee Hotel, Late 1860s
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Menomonee Hotel, Late 1860s

One of earliest hotels, near what is now Plankinton and Wisconsin, was modest indeed.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Milwaukee and Wisconsin Streets, Late 1860s
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Milwaukee and Wisconsin Streets, Late 1860s

These buildings still stand today, except (at left) the original steeple of St. John's Cathedral.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Broadway in Late 1860s
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Broadway in Late 1860s

Then called Main St. and just south of Wisconsin, it boasted the Newhall House Hotel.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Wisconsin Ave. and Northwestern Mutual, 1870s
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Wisconsin Ave. and Northwestern Mutual, 1870s

The company's new headquarters was proof of the city's increasingly cosmopolitan style.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: South Side of Wisconsin Ave., 1868
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

South Side of Wisconsin Ave., 1868

Then called Wisconsin St., it was a hot spot for photography studios.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Wisconsin and Broadway, 1867
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Wisconsin and Broadway, 1867

The well-dressed people in the photo had to stand rigidly in place, so the photo wouldn't be ruined.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Love Nest of A Beer Baroness
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Love Nest of A Beer Baroness

Huge 1889 mansion is where Pabst owner continued her affair with her daughter's husband.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: The Mansion Where Scandal Brewed
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

The Mansion Where Scandal Brewed

The wife of the Pabst Brewery's co-owner had a scandalous affair in this fine Italianate mansion.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Philip Best Brewery’s Moorish-Style Facility
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Philip Best Brewery’s Moorish-Style Facility

The old bottling plant still stands today. By 1885 the future Pabst Brewing moved to Downtown.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Philip Best & Co. Brewery, 1880
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Philip Best & Co. Brewery, 1880

Already the world's largest brewer, the company would soon be renamed the Pabst Brewing Co.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Last Days of Melms Brewery, 1869
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Last Days of Melms Brewery, 1869

It would be taken over by the Pabst Brewery, soon to become a manufacturing colossus.