Property Record
316 Oxford Rd
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | John and Florence Melster House |
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| Reference Number: | 227544 |
| Location (Address): | 316 Oxford Rd |
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| County: | Waukesha |
| City: | Waukesha |
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| Year Built: | 1955 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2014 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Contemporary |
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| Wall Material: | Concrete Block |
| Architect: | John Randal McDonald |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | John and Florence Melster House |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 5/3/2023 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 2/24/2023 |
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| Additional Information: | Built into the hill behind it, this three-story, Contemporary- (or Wrightian-) style house is constructed primarily of concrete block and a three-story chimney anchors the house on the west. All rooflines are flat. A band of floor-to-ceiling windows and an entrance are located along the west half of the first floor of the home’s primary south façade, while the east half includes another shorter band of windows. The second level features a projecting, board-sheathed balcony of which the west half has always been enclosed with windows. The east half features a rounded glass, greenhouse enclosure that was completed in 1985. The third level of the home consists of original clerestory windows that light the second-floor living room. Designed by noted architect John Randal McDonald, this house was built at an estimated cost of $15,000 between 1955 and 1956 for John & Florence Melster, who wed on 9 May 1942. John was born on 7 April 1921, the son of Anna (nee Fischer) and Hermann Melster. John graduated from Milwaukee’s Washington High School and served in World War II from 1943 to 1946. In 1948, he assisted Merle Farnham in the start of Dairyland Food Laboratories, where he worked for many years and served as the corporate treasurer. Melster concluded his working career as a manufacturer’s representative, under the name of The Melster Company. He retired at the age of eighty-nine. Aside from his work, he served for a time as the treasurer of Friends of the Library. John died on 10 March 2014. His wife Florence was named the Woman of the Year in 1978 by the Christoph Memorial YWCA, for which she served on the building committee when it was built in 1961. The Melsters remained in the home until 1992, after which the home was owned by James C. Bell. 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. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Original permit for 316 Oxford Road, 4 April 1955, Original permit does not identify McDonald as the home’s architect; however the contractor is recorded as Merrill York; Permit for porch and greenhouse addition, 12 August 1985; “Woman of the Year,” The Milwaukee Sentinel, 16 May 1978; “John R. Melster,” Obituary, Waukesha Freeman, 12 March 2014, Available online at www.gmtoday.com/obits/freeman/obits/2014/March/12/10.htm, Accessed in June 2014; Brian Beno, “John Randal McDonald, Architect: Celebrating Five Decades of Architectural Excellence." Unpublished by copyrighted 1994, 1998 by Beno; Waukesha City Directory, 1991-1992. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |