Property Record
7907 W Wisconsin Ave
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Frank W. and Florence Engel House |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 77670 |
| Location (Address): | 7907 W Wisconsin Ave |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Wauwatosa |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
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| Year Built: | 1940 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 199520202021 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | English Revival Styles |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Stone Veneer |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | N |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | 2021: Appearance unchanged. 2022 WisDOT survey information: Rising two stories and topped with a side-gabled roof, this Tudor Revival-style house is sheathed entirely with limestone/Lannon stone and includes an attached, one-story garage. The entrance is set within a front-facing gable that includes a dominant chimney, the uppermost section of which is constructed of brick. The stone-trimmed doorway itself consists of a pair of wooden doors topped with a transom. Windows along the north entrance elevation are either single or paired double-hung sash; all windows feature leaded glass windows, with the peak pair exhibiting diamond panes rather than square. Construction of this house began in 1939 and was completed in 1940 at an estimated cost of $12,000 by subdivision owner-developer David V. Jennings and built by contractor William F. Thalman. The first confirmed owner-occupants were Frank W. and Florence Engel as of the 1940 census. Frank Engel was born in Springfield, Illinois in 1884 and, by no later than 1916, he was employed as the supervisor of the Illinois agents of the New World Insurance Company of Spokane, Washington. That same year he wed Florence Raleigh of Bloomington, Illinois. The Engel family, which included daughter Mary, continued to live in Springfield until at least 1930; however, they moved to Wauwatosa in 1932. After residing at 2139 N. 81st Street, they moved into the subject home in 1940, at which time Frank was the state manager for Franklin Life Insurance Company. Circa 1949, the Engels moved to South Pasadena, California, where Frank died in 1963. The next owners of the house were Dr. Louis V. and Lucille McNamara. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Citations for the 2022 survey information provided below in Additional Comments: Original building permit for 7907 W. Wisconsin Avenue, dated 27 October 1939, owner: David V. Jennings, contractor: William F. Thalman, est. cost, $12,000; “Raleigh-Engels,” wedding announcement, The Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL), 11 March 1916, 12; Wauwatosa City Directory, Various dates reviewed between 1932 and 1949; “Frank W. Engel Passes Away,” South Pasadena Review (South Pasadena, CA), 23 September 1963, 1; U.S. Federal Census, Population, 1930, 1940, 1950. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |