Property Record
4860 N OAKLAND AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Russell Barr & Nola Mae Williamson House |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 9318 |
| Location (Address): | 4860 N OAKLAND AVE |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Whitefish Bay |
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| Year Built: | 1921 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2011 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Prairie School |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Russell Barr Williamson |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| 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 Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. 1980- County landmark. The design is based on FLW's Henry Allen House in Wichita, KS. Russell Barr Williamson was the supervising architect for that house while working for Frank Lloyd Wright and apparently adapted that design for his own home in Whitefish Bay. 2011- Russell Barr Williamson was born in 1893 in Royal Center, Indiana. While initially intending to study forestry, he began at Kansas State Agricultural College in Manhattan, Kansas, and ended up graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in architecture in 1914. Upon graduation, he began working in the Chicago office of Frank Lloyd Wright, where he became chief assistant within two years. By 1918, following his departure from Wright, Williamson established an architectural practice in Kansas City, MO, punctuated briefly that first year by a construction engineer position for the Pennsylvania Rail Road in Logansport, Indiana. In 1919, Williamson returned briefly to Kansas City before moving to Milwaukee that same year to work for Arthur L. Richardson. That same year, Williamson received his Wisconsin architectural registration. Soon after, he established his own independent practice in Milwaukee. In 1921, Williamson designed his own residence located at 4860 N. Oakland Avenue in Whitefish Bay. During the early 1950s, he moved to Oostburg, Wisconsin, where he continued to practice until his death in 1964. A large number of the buildings he designed in Whitefish Bay are located in the proposed Lake Woods & Ortonwood Triangle Residential Historic District. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Architect Files. On file at the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation & Public History, Madison, Wisconsin. Building permit records on file at Whitefish Bay Village Hall. ELLIAS, JUANITA. PRAIRIE SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE IN MILWAUKEE: RUSSELL BARR WILLIAMSON. UW-MILWAUKEE MASTERS THESIS, JUNE 1974. Fehring, Thomas H. Images of America: Whitefish Bay, page 61. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |