1681 N. Prospect Ave. | National or State Registers Record | Wisconsin Historical Society

National or State Registers Record

1681 N. Prospect Ave.

National or State Register of Historic Places
1681 N. Prospect Ave. | National or State Registers Record | Wisconsin Historical Society
NAMES
Historic Name:Adler, Emanuel D., House
Reference Number:91001397
PROPERTY LOCATION
Location (Address):1681 N. Prospect Ave.
County:Milwaukee
City/Village:Milwaukee
Township:
SUMMARY
Emanuel D. Adler House
1681 North Prospect Avenue, Milwaukee, Milwaukee County
Architect: Alfred Charles Clas
Date of construction: 1888

Emanuel D. Adler was a well respected clothing manufacturer born in 1854 in Milwaukee to Austrian immigrant parents. By 1880 the family's clothing business had become the city's second largest firm of its type. Emanuel began to work in his father's company at seventeen, moved up to vice-president after the company's incorporation, and assumed the presidency after his brother, Isaac's, death. The company was liquidated in 1929.

At age 34, Emanuel Adler married Clara H. Schloss of Detroit. Clara's millionaire father, Seligman Schloss, purchased a parcel of land on Prospect Street, and then built their residence as a wedding present. Local architect Alfred C. Clas was chosen to design the house. The house remained in the family until 1937. It was later converted to a rooming house.

The home is a three story Queen Anne style residence with Romanesque Revival influences. Queen Anne features include the varied roof forms and the turret located at the northeast corner of the residence. Romanesque features include the heavy stone clad first floor and the foliated capitals of carved red sandstone that frame the entry way to the home. Only minor alterations have been done to the house, including the addition of an attached garage.

The interior had a typical Queen Anne living hall-centered floor plan. Broad oak stairs rise to the second floor in a U-shaped configuration. The second floor contained the four main family bedrooms and two smaller maids' rooms towards the back. The third floor contained a large and plainly finished ballroom with a smaller wainscoted room which was probably used for billiards.

Much of the original interior decorations are intact, including the two downstairs fireplaces with beautiful wood carving. The main fireplace is has an oak overmantel with two carved plaques with griffins. A frieze of oak leaves and scrolls flank the Adler family crest (an eagle holding a padlock in its beak). Colonnettes flank the fireplace. The front parlor's fireplace is dark natural wood in a Neo-Classical design with fluted pilasters flanking the firebox. The tile surround depicts portraits of male heads in classical warrior attire.

The Emanuel D. Adler House is a private residence and is not open to the public. Please respect the rights and privacy of the owners.

PROPERTY FEATURES
Period of Significance:1888
Area of Significance:Architecture
Applicable Criteria:Architecture/Engineering
Historic Use:Domestic: Single Dwelling
Architectural Style:Queen Anne
Architectural Style:Romanesque
Resource Type:Building
Architect:Werner,Fred
Architect:Clas,Alfred C.
DESIGNATIONS
Historic Status:Listed in the National Register
Historic Status:Listed in the State Register
National Register Listing Date:09/13/1991
State Register Listing Date:01/18/1991
NUMBER OF RESOURCES WITHIN PROPERTY
Number of Contributing Buildings:1
Number of Contributing Sites:0
Number of Contributing Structures:0
Number of Contributing Objects:0
Number of Non-Contributing Sites:0
Number of Non-Contributing Structures:0
Number of Non-Contributing Objects:0
RECORD LOCATION
National Register and State Register of Historic Places, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin

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