The Schramka Funeral Home, operated by three generations of the Schramka Family, was an important business in the lives of the working-class immigrant populations in Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood. In 1928, the Schramka family hired Milwaukee local architect Roland C. Kurtz to design a new purpose-built funeral home to house their business and primary residence in what was then a largely Polish-Catholic neighborhood. The home was completed in 1929 and provided vital services to the surrounding communities for seventy-two years.

The building faces south, fronting East Burleigh Street, and is nestled into a residential neighborhood with two-story homes on either side. The east drive allowed for deliveries and passes under the porte cochère for covered transfer of caskets to and from hearses. Designed in the Tudor Revival style, one of several Period Revival styles popular in the 1920s, the Schramka Funeral Home is characterized by asymmetry, multi-gabled rooflines, decorative half timbering, and large expanses of tall, narrow windows with arched, leaded-glass casement sashes. The buff-colored brick and Lannon stone are also distinctive features of 1920s Milwaukee homes. The large, attached garage was an important and relatively new feature of funeral homes, reflecting the rise of the automobile, especially the rise of automotive hearses in funeral service. On the interior, historic woodwork, tile, millwork, and decorative plaster accent the highly intact floorplan, which includes the original main chapel with casket display alcove and organ room, front office, and embalming room, as well as the smaller chapel and enlarged family rooms dating to 1943. Several original light fixtures, including tall candelabra sconces, also remain.

The Schramka Funeral Home is a wonderful example of purpose-built funeral homes that emerged in the 1920s when dedicated facilities were supplanting the family home as the primary place for display and visitation of the deceased. Typical of funeral homes built during the same period, the Schramka Funeral Home was designed for both funeral services and family living. The Schramka family lived on the second floor which allowed the Schramkas to be on call at all hours without sacrificing family life. This proximity also conveyed an element of trust and care, with grieving families knowing someone would always be on site to watch over their loved one’s body. The funeral home, with its many beautiful and historic details, serves as an excellent example of 1920s funeral home architecture, blending the needs of a family business, highly sensitive and sanitary requirements, and the comforts of a family home.

This property is private. Please respect the rights and privacy of the owners