Photos

Content referencing H.H. Bennett

Visual Art: The Mystique of Wisconsin Dells
Visual Art

The Mystique of Wisconsin Dells

MOWA exhibit's photographs capture history and allure of this longtime tourist attraction.

FORWARD 2018: A Survey of Wisconsin Art Now Returns to the Charles Allis Art Museum
Art: When Photography Was Tough Work
Art

When Photography Was Tough Work

Art Museum’s exhibition of nature photos by Muybridge, Watkins and Bennett is a beautiful story.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Schlitz Garden’s Observation Tower, 1880s
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Schlitz Garden’s Observation Tower, 1880s

Beer garden on 8th and Brown offered many thrills, with stunning views of Lake Michigan.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Ludington Building, 1885
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Ludington Building, 1885

On the northwest corner of Wisconsin and Water, center of a booming downtown.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Inside the Grain Exchange, 1880
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Inside the Grain Exchange, 1880

The trading room was one of the "most lavishly decorated" public spaces in the region.

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: 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: Loading Coal, 1885
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Loading Coal, 1885

These appear to be dock workers along the river. Coal was vital to the city's commerce and lifestyle.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Public Museum Exhibits, 1880s
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Public Museum Exhibits, 1880s

The museum would move 12 years later, saving it from the exposition building's disastrous fire of 1905.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Panorama of Milwaukee, 1885
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Panorama of Milwaukee, 1885

The new Industrial Exposition Building gave a great vantage point for those photographing the city.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Milwaukee Industrial Exposition Building, 1880s
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Milwaukee Industrial Exposition Building, 1880s

Touted as the "finest in the country," the exposition hall on 5th and Kilbourn held a wide range of events.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: German Market, Early 1880s
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

German Market, Early 1880s

The market hall on E. Juneau was popular from at least 1870 to about 1920.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: City Hall, 1880
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

City Hall, 1880

The remodeled market hall became City Hall in 1861, but the Milwaukee Sentinel derided the result.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Elias Friend Residence, 1879
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Elias Friend Residence, 1879

The wealthy clothing manufacturer built this elegant home on Cass and Mason.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Fire Fighters in Dress Suits, 1880
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Fire Fighters in Dress Suits, 1880

A classic photo of workmen at Firehouse No. 1, looking like dudes about town.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Broadway North of Wisconsin, 1879
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Broadway North of Wisconsin, 1879

Another classic H.H.Bennett photo captures Milwaukee just after the advent of telephones and telephone lines.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Water Street in 1880
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Water Street in 1880

Looking south from Wisconsin, this was a prime business district dominated by Victorian buildings from the 1850s.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Wisconsin Avenue Bridge, About 1880
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Wisconsin Avenue Bridge, About 1880

The wooden bridge would be replaced by a new iron one two years later. It is turned to allow boats to pass on the Milwaukee River.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: J.C. Iverson & Co. About 1879
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

J.C. Iverson & Co. About 1879

Located on Water St. south of Mason St. the company sold classic stereoviews of Milwaukee by H. H. Bennett.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Increase Lapham On The Case
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Increase Lapham On The Case

Milwaukee's pioneer scientist was with famed photographer H.H. Bennett inspecting rock formations in the Dells in 1869.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Downtown Milwaukee, 1871
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Downtown Milwaukee, 1871

Remarkably, many of these buildings still stand today on Wisconsin Avenue.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Solomon Juneau Statue, Late 1880s
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Solomon Juneau Statue, Late 1880s

At the time it dominated the view, before changes in Juneau Park and on the lakefront.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Leif Erikson at the Lakefront, About 1910
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Leif Erikson at the Lakefront, About 1910

Not long after Solomon Juneau's statue was erected, a knockoff of a Boston-made sculpture of Leif Erikson was erected in the lakefront park.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: The Lake Bluff of Yesteryear
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

The Lake Bluff of Yesteryear

This late 1880s photo shows the dramatic views afforded by the winding paths of Juneau Park.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Chapman’s Biggest Department Store
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Chapman’s Biggest Department Store

The third Chapman's store was built in 1885 and would remain in business nearly a century.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Courthouse Square Fountain, Late 1880s
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Courthouse Square Fountain, Late 1880s

Created by Casper Hennecke, it became the subject of a popular Milwaukee postcard.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Alexander Mitchell’s Belvedere, 1880s
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Alexander Mitchell’s Belvedere, 1880s

Considered the finest structure of its kind in America, it still stands today at the Wisconsin Club.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: Mitchell Mansion’s Classic Fountain, 1880
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

Mitchell Mansion’s Classic Fountain, 1880

Photos of Alexander Mitchell's mansion and its classic fountain, 1880, and as the place looks today.

Yesterday’s Milwaukee: The Lush Landscaping of Alexander Mitchell’s Conservatory, 1880s
Yesterday’s Milwaukee

The Lush Landscaping of Alexander Mitchell’s Conservatory, 1880s

The famed photographer H. H. Bennett captured the splendor of the Mitchell mansion.