Property Record
509 W WISCONSIN AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Hotel Schroeder |
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| Reference Number: | 41850 |
| Location (Address): | 509 W WISCONSIN AVE |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Milwaukee |
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| Year Built: | 1928 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2004201719842019 |
| Historic Use: | hotel/motel |
| Architectural Style: | Art Deco |
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| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Holabird and Roche, Chicago |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. Good example of Moderne found in downtown Milwaukee. Faced with brick and stone, and ornamented with low relief sculpture on the frieze and lower stories. Part of a body of work in Milwaukee designed by the well-known Chicago architectural firm of Holabird and Roche. Note: Photo Re-take 4-24/34, 35. Previously surveyed in 1984 with map code 153/8. Map name was 392. The former Schroeder Hotel is typical of massive hotel design in the 1920s. On the hotel's exterior, low-relief carved limestone panels embellish the corners, spandrels, and cornices of the three public elevations. Inside, a recent renovation has restored much of the airy lobby's original Art Deco character, including splendid imported red-marble walls and elegant ornamental plaster ceilings. The twenty-three-story hotel, designed by a prestigious Chicago firm, has simple, clumsy massing that at least reduced the light-eliminating bulk of tall buildings, and provided more opportunities for architectural embellishment. Commercial architects understood how to design maximal vertical space for maximal ventilation and light, from designs for Chicago and New York. The setbacks on the Schroeder Hotel effectively divide the building into three distinct vertical stages. The hotel rests on a four-story base of public rooms and offices, but the next thirteen stories with bedrooms shift to an H-shaped plan with a strong vertical emphasis and a wide, low-relief decorative cornice. Finally, topping the structure is the smallest stage, a six-story rectangular block. Hotel and insurance magnate Walter Schroeder had his own luxurious penthouse suite on the top floor, where he lived until 1965. 2017 - This massive hotel complex occupies the entire city block bounded by West Wisconsin Avenue to the north, North Fifth Street to the east, West Michigan Street to the south, and North Sixth Street to the west. Included in the complex is a hotel tower, which faces east toward North Fifth Street; a modern addition that extends to the west along West Wisconsin Avenue; and a detached modern parking garage on the south side of the complex. The 25-story, Art Deco-style hotel tower was completed in 1928. It has a four-story, limestone-clad rectilinear base, which is oriented parallel to North Fifth Street by its long axis. The base features numerous decorative elements, including stone reliefs and a stepped parapet across the façade that is topped by an ornate flagpole. The primary entrance is centered on the east-facing façade and sheltered by a marquee. On the lower four stories, tall multi-light windows are arranged symmetrically. Some windows feature modest fluted surrounds and spandrels with stone reliefs. The remainder of the building is clad in brick and has setbacks that divide it into three vertical sections, which overall form an H-shaped plan. The northern and southern towers are shorter than the broad center tower, which is topped by two two-story blocks at its north and south ends. All three towers are divided into even fenestration bays with one-over-one windows. Simple spandrels accompany the windows on the center tower. The upper stories of all three towers include stone relief decorations. The building is topped by a communications tower and a large sign that reads “HILTON.” 2019 - Resurveyed (streetcar project). Previously determined eligible for NR. Update photo. |
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| Bibliographic References: | ZIMMERMAN, 170. MILWAUKEE HISTORIC BUILDINGS TOUR: KILBOURNTOWN, CITY OF MILWAUKEE DEPARTMENT OF CITY DEVELOPMENT, 1994. ARCHITECTURAL RECORD, v. 64, 10/1928, pp. 265-274. Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. Pagel, Mary Ellen & Virginia A Palmer, University Extension The University of Wisconsin, Guides to Historic Milwaukee: Kilbourntown Walking Tour, 1967. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |