German immigrant architect Otto Strack was chosen to design the mansion of Joseph B. Kalvelage. Strack is noted for providing Milwaukee German industrial elite with designs reflecting the height of architectural fashion in their homeland. His flair for baroque ornamentation and decorative arts is shown throughout his designs, but never more so than in the German Baroque Revival Kalvelage house.

The Kalvelage house is dramatic in effect and majestic in form. While it is two and one half stories tall, its grand appearance is enhanced because it is set above street level. The two levels are separated by a mezzanine that sits above the central portal. The monumental entrance is elaborately decorated with molded terracotta. Eight half-figure atlantes frame the portal. A piazza extends from the porch and leads to a flowing staircase with wrought iron railings in the form of entwined leaves and grotesque heads. The railings were crafted by famed Milwaukee iron worker Cyril Colnik who moved to the United States in order to 'make it as beautiful as Europe made her cities.'

The façade of the house boasts elliptical arched windows trimmed with terracotta molding and foliated cartouches topped with women's heads. Above, a wide cornice with an interlaced scrolled frieze forms the base for the curved mansard roof. On each end of the cornice is a pressed tin lion intended to watch over the house.

The interior is just as impressive as the exterior. Carved lions guard the symmetrical divided main staircase while a large stained-glass window sits at the landing. Many of the rooms are elaborately decorated with carved plaster moldings and scrolled friezes.

The Kalvelage house is privately owned, please respect the privacy rights of its owner.