Property Record
803-811 E STATE ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Pasadena Apartments |
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| Other Name: | Pasadena Apartments |
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| Reference Number: | 115155 |
| Location (Address): | 803-811 E STATE ST |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Milwaukee |
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| Year Built: | 1903 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1984 |
| Historic Use: | apartment/condominium |
| Architectural Style: | Neoclassical/Beaux Arts |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Chandler & Park |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE: This structure is an excellent example of apartment buildings constructed during this period. Styled in the Neo-Classical the use of horizontal banding on the ground floor is of particular note. Construction date, 1903. (1, 2) Theo. Kermer, Owner, 1903. (2) (3) By 1900, the expansion of heavy industry brought thousands of wealthy singles and childless families to Milwaukee, all of whom needed housing. This demand, along with the rising value of land in the downtown area, prompted the construction of large luxury apartment buildings. The Pasadena is one of the largest such buildings remaining from this era. Apartment blocks were relatively rare in Milwaukee at the time, so area architects experimented freely with different design concepts. For the Pasadena, Racine-based Chandler and Park adopted the French-flat pattern—large floor-through units, with separate entrances to each file of apartments. The Pasadena’s columned terracotta porticoes adorn the entrances with banding on the columns that echoes the first-floor masonry. Projecting bays and rhythmic fenestration along East State add exterior visual variety and daylight the interior. The building’s owners hoped its attractive design would appeal to middle-class tenants. The name helped, too, as Pasadena, California, was then a fashionable place where wealthy Midwesterners were moving, retiring, or buying vacation homes. |
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| Bibliographic References: | 1. Tax Program 2. Building Permit. 3. Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |