George W. Peck was publisher of the Sun, a newspaper he originally established in La Crosse, Wisconsin prior to moving it to Milwaukee in 1878. A popular regular feature of the paper was a series of short fiction that Peck wrote called the Bad Boy Stories. Based on the mischievous antics of a young boy, his column was the basis for his nationally acclaimed book, Peck=s Bad Boy and His Pa (1883). Shortly after the book was published, Peck built the subject row house as an investment property, although the southernmost unit would later be his residence for nearly two decades. (George Peck also had a political career winning the race for Milwaukee Mayor in 1889 and serving two terms as Governor of Wisconsin from 1890 to 1894).

The George W. Peck Row House was designed early in the career of notable Milwaukee architect, George B. Ferry. Ferry skillfully utilized the Queen Anne style in his design of Peck’s Row, which exhibits the asymmetrical massing and variety of surface textures and wall projections that are characteristic of the style. Decorative stylistic features include the building’s wooden bracketing beneath the eaves, multiple examples of jig-sawn ornamental panels and prominent chimneys featuring patterned brickwork. On the eve of construction, the Milwaukee Daily Journal anticipated that “the block will be about the handsomest residence block in the city.”

The building remained a fashionable address for upper-middle-class residents into the early twentieth century; however, as the character of the neighborhood changed, it was remodeled on the interior into a 67-unit rooming house in 1936. Cited as Milwaukee’s “finest and best-preserved, early 1880s Queen Anne style row house,” the George W. Peck Row House was locally designated by the City of Milwaukee on 16 June 1998. It was rehabilitated in 2002-03 to feature six condominium units on the interior. This property is private. Please respect the rights and privacy of the owners.