| 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.
Club was incorporated in 1848 and consisted of college grads cultivating interests in sciences and liberal arts. Contained a library. This building originally housed living quarters for college men training with local industries. Rooftop cocktail lounge was added in 1953; Elliot B. Mason, former president of the club, built it.
Good example of 1920s Colonial Revival used for a semi-public building. In nearly original condition.
The University Club is representative of one of America's distinguished 20th century architects, John Russell Pope, famous for designing the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D. C. Schooled at Columbia'a School of Mines and the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris his subsequent works are of national repute. Styled in the Georgian Revival it is most tasteful and is as elegant a building as to be found in an urban setting. It is one of the few semi-public buildings to be construced in this style.
The University Club was incorporated in 1898 to cultivate interest in the sciences and liberal arts. It has a well stocked library. Originally, the living quarters were used for college men training for local industry. The new roof top cocktail lounge opened in 1954 with a panoramic view of the lakefront. Because the clubhouse had been built during Prohibition there was not an adequate bar and thus the above was constructed.
Elliot B. Mason was the mason in 1953.
"Of the many architectural landmarks on this tour only three were designed by architects of international renown: the Marine Plaza, by Wallace Harrison and Max Abramovitz, the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center by Eero Saarinen, and the University Club by John Russell Pope. Unlike Harrison, Abramovitz, and Saarinen, Pope achieved celebrity not for radically modern conceptions, but rather for such stately, traditional designs as this structure. Among his better-known works in the time-honored classical tradition one may list the National Gallery and Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C." Pagel, Mary Ellen & Virginia A Palmer, University Extension The University of Wisconsin, Guides to Historic Milwaukee: Kilbourntown Walking Tour, 1967.
2021 - This Georgian Revival Style building was constructed in 1926 and designed by John Russell Pope. The red brick structure is five stories tall with an elliptical-shaped penthouse atop the flat roof. The first story is clad in stone, with a central entryway that opens out to a balustraded stone terrace along Wells Street. A wide flight of steps rise from the sidewalk to the double-doored entry beneath an elliptical stone arch with keystone. The second and third stories are grouped beneath a dentillated stone cornice, with the central bay marked by monumental stone pilasters with ionic capitals, as well as a shallow balcony supported by scrolled brackets. The fourth story is crowned by a stone balustrade, while the fifth story is set back from the balustrade and clad in stone. Set further back atop the fifth story is the copper-clad penthouse. Windows are symmetrically arranged on both the south and east elevations, and are generally multi-paned double hung replacements, with those on the second story featuring balconets and tabbed stone lintels. |
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| Bibliographic References: | MILWAUKEE HISTORIC BUILDINGS TOUR: YANKEE HILL, CITY OF MILWAUKEE DEPARTMENT OF CITY DEVELOPMENT, 1994.
Perrin, 1968, Milwaukee Landmarks, 46-47.
American Architect, v. 129, #2498, 6/5/1926.
Milwaukee Journal 5/9/1954.
Milwaukee Journal 4/26/1964.
Milwaukee Sentinel 2/29/1964.
Facade; MEY survey
Permit.; MEY survey
Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript.
Pagel, Mary Ellen & Virginia A Palmer, University Extension The University of Wisconsin, Guides to Historic Milwaukee: Kilbourntown Walking Tour, 1967. |
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