Property Record
5240 N LAKE DR
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Carl Herzfeld House |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 9305 |
| Location (Address): | 5240 N LAKE DR |
|---|---|
| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Whitefish Bay |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
| Section: | |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1924 |
|---|---|
| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 20111980 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Spanish/Mediterranean Styles |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Russell Barr Williamson |
| 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: | 1980- ROUND ARCHED WINDOWS. Largest known house designed by Williamson. Herzfeld was president of the Boston Store. Original cost of the house was $60,000. 2011- At the turn of the twentieth century, Carl Herzfeld and partner Richard Phillipson were hosiery and undergarment retailers in Milwaukee. In 1902, the Herzfeld-Phillipson Company leased the hosiery department in Julius Simon's department store in downtown Milwaukee. By 1903, Herzfeld began leasing several additional departments from Simon. Herzfeld and Nathan Stone, another department lessee, bought Simon out in 1906. Herzfeld acted as the company’s president for many years; the store becoming what we know today as Boston Store. In 1924, Herzfeld constructed his personal residence in Whitefish Bay. Julius Peter Heil, born in 1874 in Duesmond-an-der-Mosel, Germany, immigrated to Wisconsin with his parents in 1881. The Heil Family settled in New Berlin, Wisconsin, where Julius attended school until the age of 12. By the age of 14, he began working as a drill press operator for the Milwaukee Harvester Company. He later worked for the Falk Corporation of Milwaukee and traveled throughout South America installing street railway tracks. In 1901, Heil founded the Heil Rail Joint Welding Company, changing its name to Heil Company five years later. The Heil Company became a major manufacturer of dump-truck bodies, storage and transport tanks, road machinery, and residential heating units. Heil and his wife, Elizabeth, purchased the Mediterranean Revival style house of Carl Herzfeld, designed by architect Russell Barr Williamson, in 1926. They lived in this house until 1938. Heil was appointed to head the state advisory board for the National Recovery Administration by President Roosevelt in 1933. After winning the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 1938, Heil was elected Governor of the State of Wisconsin, defeating Progressive incumbent Philip F. La Follette. During his two terms in office, 1939-1943, his administration sponsored the enactment of the State Employment Peace Act, reorganized the welfare and tax departments, created the Department of Securities, modernized the state's accounting system, and directed the liquidation of frozen assets of the Building and Loan Association. As governor, he also consolidated several programs into the Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Public Welfare, and the Division of Departmental Research. Heil also served as an alternate delegate to Republican National Convention from Wisconsin in 1940 and was a member of the Freemasons. During Heil's second term, a State Guard was created to replace the National Guard, which had been called to active duty during World War II. Governor Heil was defeated by Progressive opponent Orland S. Loomis in the gubernatorial election of 1942. At that time, he returned to his business interests and was chairman of the board of the Heil Company until his death in 1949 |
|---|---|
| Bibliographic References: | WHITEFISH BAY PUBLIC LIBRARY FILE, "HISTORICAL RESEARCH PROJECT". WHITEFISH BAY HERALD 11/30/1995. Ellias, "Russell Barr Williamson" thesis, 1974. Whitefish Bay village building records. Milwaukee) Daily Reporter citation, 15 May 1924. 2011- Dictionary of Wisconsin History. Wisconsin Historical Society website. <http://www.wisconsinhistory.org> Mertens, Maureen Dietzel. “Storied Whitefish Bay Mansion For Sale.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel January 18, 1996. National Governor’s Association website. <http://www.nga.org> Plankinton Block/Julius Simon, Dry Goods, 331 W. Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Record #41857. Wisconsin Historical Society, Architecture and History Inventory website. <http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/ahi> The Political Graveyard website. < http://www.politicalgraveyard.com> |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |