Property Record
2432 W KILBOURN AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Dorothea and Joseph B. Kalvelage House |
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| Reference Number: | 16293 |
| Location (Address): | 2432 W KILBOURN AVE |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Milwaukee |
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| Year Built: | 1896 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1984 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | German Renaissance Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | OTTO STRACK |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Kalvelage, Joseph B., House |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 5/23/1978 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| 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. German Baroque Revival. THE ARCHED WINDOW IN THE GABLE HAS BEEN FILLED WITH GLASS BLOCK. IRONWORK WAS PRODUCED BY CYRIL COLNIK. DURING THE 1920S THE HOUSE WAS OCCUPIED BY THE KU KLUX KLAN. IT LATER BECAME THE ROGER WILLIAMS HOSPITAL AND THEN A ROOMING HOUSE. IT IS NOW ONCE AGAIN A SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING. Mason was G.E. Stuewe. Builder was John Langen Berger. Of the facade’s many striking features, the most impressive are the eight life-size terracotta male half-figures—called atlantes after the titan Atlas of Greek mythology—resembling similar ones at Dresden’s early eighteenth-century Zwinger Palace. They guard the front porch, glaring at passers-by. But they are not the only faces watching. Winged heads peer from scrolled keystones in the arches of the front porch, a headdressed women leans from the molding above each second-story window; a kingly bust with flowing beard and drooping mustache crowns the arched window on the third story; and pressed-tin lions stake out the corners of the roof. Craftsman Cyril Colnik created the lacy wrought ironwork trimming the porch roof, terrace, and balcony. Ornate decoration continues inside the thirty-room mansion. In the dark central entrance hall, extensive carving decorates the divided wooden staircase, with floral and scroll motifs, women, and watchful lions. Baroque carved woodwork highlights the first-story rooms. Even some of the ceilings consist of oak panels and beams. Joseph Kalvelage was an executive in a plumbing-fixture firm (which may explain why his house has seven bathrooms). He and his wife Dorothea hired one of Milwaukee's leading German-immigrant architects, Otto Strack, to design their mansion. At this time many wealthy German Milwaukeeans left established German neighborhoods, such as Brewers’ Hill, and moved into opulent mansions elsewhere in the city. Captain Frederick Pabst built his famous German Renaissance Revival mansion on Grand (now West Wisconsin) Avenue in 1892. The Kalvelages, Harnischfegers, and others emulated Pabst, moving to the west side and embracing German Renaissance Revival architecture for their new residences. Unlike Pabst’s neighborhood, the Kalvelages' neighborhood remained middle class. |
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| Bibliographic References: | MILWAUKEE ETHNIC HOUSES TOUR, CITY OF MILWAUKEE DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENT, 1994. Zimmermann, H. Russell, "Past in Our Present", Milwaukee Journal 5/28/1967. Tax program. Building permit. Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |