Property Record
4600 W BROWN DEER RD
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Otto's Wine Cask |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 234409 |
| Location (Address): | 4600 W BROWN DEER RD |
|---|---|
| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Brown Deer |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
| Section: | |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1969 |
|---|---|
| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 20172019 |
| Historic Use: | large retail building |
| Architectural Style: | |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Stucco |
| Architect: | Cook-Williams Associates (Milwaukee) |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | 2019 - This one-story, rectangular-plan, commercial building was designed by Cook-William Associates and constructed in 1969. It features a flared roofline with metal fascia and walls clad in stucco. Pueblo-style decorative features are clustered on the southeast corner of the building along the south (front) facade and east (side) elevation. They include a series of arched window openings, with some on the east elevation infilled, and culminate in a recessed entryway with open arches at the southeast corner of the structure. This same section of the building features stucco pilasters and vigas that perforate the building below the roofline and extend across the south facade. Fixed storefront windows line the front (south) facade and recessed entry. An “Otto’s Wine Cask” sign in the shape of a wine barrel is mounted on the south facade and a modern freestanding sign stands on a wide grassy lawn south of the building and parking lot. 2017 - The subject structure was erected in 1969 by James and Julia Tobin, replacing their previous business building that was demolished as a result of the construction of W. Brown Deer Road. Established circa 1947, the business was originally known as Tobin’s Beer Depot. In 1955, the Village of Brown Deer was officially incorporated; James Tobin was among the eleven persons to sign the village incorporation papers. Three years later, a new, $22,000 building was built, replacing the one that was in the location of what would be W. Brown Deer Road and the business was renamed Tobin’s Brown Deer Liquor. Tobin served as a village trustee from February 1955 to April 1961 and again from May 1966 to April 1981; Tobin died on 9 March 2000. The 1969 structure’s (albeit modest) Southwestern-inspired design was a result of a trip that Tobin had taken to Arizona, where he admired the local Pueblo-style architecture. After serving the Brown Deer community for fifteen years as The Wine Cask, it was sold in 1984 to Otto Kujus and it was renamed Otto’s Wine Cask, the name it retains today. Otto’s maintains seven locations throughout the metro-Milwaukee area. |
|---|---|
| Bibliographic References: | 2019 - Milwaukee County Land Information Office. “Aerial Imagery of Milwaukee County,” 2019. https://lio.milwaukeecountywi.gov/Html5Viewer/index.html?viewer=MCLIO-Map. 2017 - Citations for information in Additional Comments below: Building permit for 4600 W. Brown Deer Road, 5 June 1969, est. cost, $212,000, architect/designer, Cook-Williams Associates, contractor Jos. P. Jansen Co.; “Village Incorporator Passes Away,” in the Brown Deer Historical Society Newsletter (April 2000), 4; Please note that a 2013 article, based on information provided by Bill Tobin (son of James Tobin), indicates that an addition was made in 1955 to the original 1947 building; however, building permits specifically record a permit for new construction as of 10/17/1958; “The Tobin Family Wine Cask,” in the Brown Deer Historical Society Newsletter (July 2013), 4; Molly Snyder, “Otto’s Provides Community With Libations, Jobs,” Available online at https://onmilwaukee.com/market /articles/ottosliquor2.html, Accessed January 2018. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |