Property Record
3119 W WELLS ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Alice and Abraham H. Esbenshade House |
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| Reference Number: | 30290 |
| Location (Address): | 3119 W WELLS ST |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Milwaukee |
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| Year Built: | 1899 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1984 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | German Renaissance Revival |
| Structural System: | Balloon Frame |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Crane & Barkhausen |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Esbenshade, Abraham H., House |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 1/16/1986 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: | Multiple Resources of West Side Area |
| 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 State Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation. Another map code is 23/20. DESCRIPTION: The Alice and Abraham H. Esbenshade House, 3119 West Wells Street, is a two story, brick, hip roofed late Queen Anne residence displaying Renaissance Revival features built in 1899. The essentially rectangular shape of the house is articulated with bay windows, round turrents, open porches and complex roof planes that are reminiscent of the American Queen Anne. On the main facade is a Flemish Renaissance gable edged in terra cotta that terminates with a finial. The corner round turret is topped with a squat bell-cast conical roof. These features appealed to the Teutonic taste and origins of both arhictect and client. Varied materials including brick, rock-faced limestone, terra cotta, dressed limestone and rough cast stucco add to the textural richness of the exterior which appears to be virtually intact. The dominant feature of the design is the low roof with its broad overhanging eaves that appears to be pressing the house to the ground and keeping its exuberant Queen Anne features in check. The Esbenshade House is located in what was once a gracious neighborhood of upper class late 19th century houses. Lots in this part of the city were larger than average and the Esbenshade House, though large in scale, does not cover the entire lot as do houses in neighborhoods that are closer to the center of the city. The house is sited at the front one-third of the 50 x 150 foot lot, and has ample front and side yards. There is little or no landscaping. The garage was finished on 5/12/1916. ARCHITECTURAL/ENGINEERING SIGNIFICANCE: The Alice and Abraham H. Esbenshade House is locally significant as an example of late Queen Anne residential architecture that illustrates the transition to the more restrained domestic architecture of the early twentieth century. Built in 1899 for Esbenshade, it is one of the best preserved late Queen Anne residences in the city. Designed by the architecture firm of Charles D. Crane and Carl C. Barkhausen, it is representative of the best of the large-scale residential commissions the firm executed at the end of the nineteenth century. The incorportation of Renaissance Revival elements such as Flemish gables was typical of their work at this period for their largely German-American clientele. In addition to residences, the firm also executed churches, commercial buildings and institutions. In the context of late Queen Anne domestic architecture in Milwaukee, the Esbenshade House is unique. There simply is not anything else like it. The house represents the inventive experimentation that occurred as Victorian-era architects attempted to make the transition from the Queen Anne picturesque aesthetic to the historical revivalism of the early 20th Century. (See Historical Background for more information on architects). HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: The house was built for Alice and Abraham H. Esbenshade (1849-1914) in 1899 to the designs of the Milwaukee architecture firm of Crane and Barkhausen. Esbenshade was secretary-treasurer of the F. Westphal Company, a file manufacturer, during the eight years he lived in this house. In 1907, he moved to a house on Wisconsin Avenue. Before he built this fine house, Esbenshade had lived on North 4th Street in the heart of the old Germantown neighborhood. (B). The firm of Crane and Barkhausen was active from 1888 until 1902 when the firm dissolved. Charles D. Crane practiced alone from 1912 until shortly before his death in 1934. The firm executed a large number of residential commissions as well as churches and commercial blocks. (C, D). As of 1931, the building had been converted to apartments. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. City Building Permits. B. City Directories. C. Watrous, Jerome A. "Memoirs of Milwaukee County," Vol. II. Madison Wisconsin: Western Historical Association, 1909, pp.316-17. D. Gregory, John G. ed. "History of Milwaukee, Wisconsin," Vol, IV Milwaukee: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1931 pp. 579-80. E. MILWAUKEE ETHNIC HOUSES TOUR, CITY OF MILWAUKEE DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENT, 1994. F. MILWAUKEE HISTORIC BUILDINGS TOUR: WEST END, CITY OF MILWAUKEE DEPARTMENT OF CITY DEVELOPMENT, 1994. G. MILWAUKEE SENTINEL 12/3/1994. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |