Property Record
2001 W WISCONSIN AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Brett Funeral Home |
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| Other Name: | Brett Funeral Home |
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| Reference Number: | 113868 |
| Location (Address): | 2001 W WISCONSIN AVE |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Milwaukee |
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| Year Built: | 1942 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 19832014 |
| Historic Use: | funeral home |
| Architectural Style: | Colonial Revival/Georgian Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Mark Pfaller; Richard Scheife |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| 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. 2014 The Brett Funeral Home is a Colonial Revival, purpose-built funeral home constructed in 1942. It is a two-story building with an L-plan and a cross gable roof with a centered gable portico. A cornice with dentils runs beneath the roofline. The main (north) facade features a prominent full-height portico supported by four classical columns, with a circular window at the center of the gable end. Centered between the columns are two entrance doors, both with matching surrounds comprised of pilasters supporting arched pediments with keystones. One door leads to the funeral parlor, the other to an apartment on the second story. Windows are six-over-six, double-hung sash with a simple limestone lintel. The western elevation has been painted red. One of the rear garage spaces was converted to a crematorium in the 1960s; it has a tall, prominent chimney near the center of the roof. The interior is relatively intact. It includes an open foyer, sitting room, two visitation rooms, and a front office. The floor in the foyer is the original hardwood. Floors in the sitting room and visitation rooms are carpeted. Walls have decorative, classically inspired moldings. Entrance is not admitted past the viewing rooms due to health codes. A second-story apartment is currently under renovation. T.J. Brett established the business in 1885 in Walker’s Point. The business moved to the site in 1902, and constructed the current building in 1942. It was run continuously by the Brett Family until 1985. It is currently operated by James Witkowiak (1). 2015- "The Brett Funeral Home is located on the southwest corner of W. Wisconsin Avenue and N. 20th Street. The property faces north on W. Wisconsin Avenue and is separated from the street by a small setback with a grassy lawn, sidewalk, and tree-lined terrace on the north, and a concrete walkway leads from the sidewalk to the main entrance. A modern sign is located on the front lawn and a sidewalk without a terrace separates the building from N. 20th street on the east side. An alleyway at the rear provides access to a large parking lot on the west side. The Brett Funeral Home is a two-story, Colonial Revival, purpose-built funeral home designed by architect Mark Pfaller and constructed in 1942. Massing consists of a two-story, gable ell main block with a two-story rear wing and hip roof rear ell. On the west side of the building, a one-story section occupies a portion of the space between the main block and rear ell. The red brick walls are laid in a common bond with brick quoins and rest on a concrete foundation . The roof is covered in asphalt shingles and features a dentilled cornice with returns. A brick interior chimney projects above the roofline on the west side of the rear ell. Windows throughout are six-over-six and eight-over-eight, double-hung sash with stone sills, and are arranged in single, paired, and triple configurations. The front (north) facade features a full-height classical portico supported by four fluted Doric columns and a pediment with a central oculus window. The portico shelters a pair of entrances with matching wood surrounds comprised of fluted pilasters and arched blind fanlights with keystones. The east entrance provides access to the funeral parlor while the west entrance leads to the upstairs apartment. The entrances flank a central, eight-over-eight, double-hung window beneath a wall-mounted sign surrounded by soldier-brick trim with stone corner accents. Paired upper-story windows flank the sign and four sets of paired windows are found on the front facade of the ell. The east gable ends of the main block and rear (south) ell project slightly at either end of the east (side) elevation. An oculus window is located in the peak of the main block's east gable end. A secondary entrance is located on the south ell, and consists of a pair of eight-light glazed doors beneath a multi-light transom, sheltered by a hip-roof portico supported by brackets. A window to south of the doorway features a soldier-brick, round-arch header with stone accents. A central upper-story window in the gable end also features soldier-brick trim and stone accents. The west (side) elevation displays minimal architectural detail, and the brick has been painted. A flat parapet has been added to enclose a roof deck area above the one-story portion of the building. The upper-story walls on the remaining three sides of deck area are clad in replacement siding. A flat-roof, one-story, three-bay garage addition designed by Richard W. Scheife in 1964 extends across the rear (south) elevation of the building. The garage addition also utilizes red brick in a Flemish bond with corner quoins, and its east elevation features an arched window with brick and stone details. One of the garage bays was converted to a crematorium in the 1960s; the crematorium chimney projects from the roof at the southeast corner of the garage and the easternmost bay door has been infilled with concrete block. The remaining two bays have wood overhead sliding doors. The rear elevation of the main building is of cream brick, but otherwise displays the same details found on other elevations. Interior The interior of the building consists of a basement mortuary and storage area, first-floor funeral parlor rooms, and a second-floor apartment (see the attached floorplans). The building currently functions as a funeral home, and the basement and rear portion of the first floor were therefore not accessible during the site visit due to health codes. The second-floor apartment was also inaccessible, as it is a private space and is currently being renovated. The accessible spaces on the first floor retain their original layout and architectural details, including wide segmental-arch doorways, wood floors, and stucco crown molding with a classically inspired triglyph and metope motif. The main entrance to the first floor is located on the east side of the portico and opens into a small entry vestibule leading to an open area that historically served as a lounge area (see floorplan). Stairs on the west side of the lounge lead to the basement, and a doorway on the lounge's north wall opens into an office located on the front of the building. The slumber room, which now serves as a consultation space, is accessed via a central doorway on the east side of the lounge. On the south side of the lounge, a pair of arched doorways with curtains provide access to the two large chapel spaces that occupy much of the main floor. Each chapel is oriented with its long axis running north-south, and two sets of paired bi-fold doors along the shared central wall can be opened to allow circulation between the two spaces. Viewing areas are located at the south end of each chapel, and the adjacent doors lead to a rear hallway that provides access to several smaller rooms at the southwest corner of the building and an elevator and stairway at the southeast corner. The southeast entrance on the east elevation opens onto the landing of the stairwell. The original plans for the funeral home indicate that the upstairs apartment historically contained a central hallway with four bedrooms along the east side, kitchen and living room spaces at each of the building's corners, and a door to the second-floor deck on the east side. The basement contained a stairwell at the southeast corner and utility spaces at the southwest corner. Restrooms and additional office spaces were located at the front of the building, and the remaining space was used for casket storage." -"Brett Funeral Home", WisDOT #2190-00-00, Prepared by Mead & Hunt, Inc. (2015). |
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| Bibliographic References: | 2014 (1) Brett Funeral Home, “History – Our Story,” http://www.brettfuneralhome.com/fh/aboutus/history.cfm?&fh_id=12967 (accessed 30 December 2014). Ad for funeral home, including drawing, Milwaukee Sentinel, 21 June 1942, A-13. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |