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6316 Washington Blvd

The tour home, at 6316 Washington Blvd., was built in 1924 for Paul and Marion Gillan, who purchased the property in 1921 on a land contract. The Gillans remained in the home with their two children until moving to Nebraska in 1937. Despite having earned a degree in architectural engineering from the University of Illinois, Paul would work as managing editor of his father’s publishing firm, the S.Y. Gillan Company, in downtown Milwaukee. The house, designed by architect Arthur Runzler, received some degree of notoriety in January 1928 after earning top honorable mention in a national competition held to raise the visibility of the use of common brick for residential construction. One year later, an image of the house appeared in a Johns-Manville ad for its Blended Normandy Green asphalt shingles, which covered the home. As a result, a lawsuit was filed for the unlawful use of the home’s image in Collier’s Magazine and the Gillans were modestly compensated for its use.

As built in 1924, the home was considered somewhat modest in size and included three bedrooms. Since then, a family room was added to the west end of the first floor of the house, and the original porch over the garage was enclosed for use as the master bedroom. An addition was made over the first-floor sun room, which expanded the size of an original bedroom, and the kitchen was remodeled. Most recently, the home’s current owners are finishing off the basement to provide for additional living space.

Despite the seemingly large number of alterations completed by a succession of six families, the house continues to maintain its appearance to passersby as a quaint, English-inspired, 1920s Tudor Revival cottage.

In 1926, the bungalow at 6185 Washington Circle was completed. Original owners of the home were Charles and Lillian Burbach, who wed circa 1922. It was a second marriage for both and they had no children. In addition to serving as the secretary of the Tures Manufacturing Company, a gas lighting firm, Charles was secretary of Garden Acres Realty Company, the contracting firm responsible for the construction of the house. No doubt his position as an officer in such a company resulted in the high-end interior finishes of the home.

This bungalow, with its green tile roof and shaped porch wall, exhibits a Mediterranean Revival influence. Built at a cost of $18,000, the house was completed with two bedrooms on the first floor.

The current owners, the seventh, bought the property in 2005. Curious about the house’s history, they had done some city directory research but still questioned the “S” in a window of the front door. The “S,” it appears, was added by the Schliegers, the home’s longest-term owner, who purchased the house in 1940 and remained there through 1977.

The upper level remained unfinished until 1990 and, although the spaces largely remain the same from that remodeling, the current owners changed out the previous wood trim and doors (installed in 1990) with wood trim and doors that match that found on the first floor. The kitchen was also remodeled and the enclosed staircase to the second floor was reoriented and opened up to the first floor.

6208 Washington Blvd

The American Tudor Revival-style house at 6208 Washington Blvd. was completed in 1928. It was designed by architect Herman Buemming for Allton and Emily Earling. Buemming also designed the home for Allton’s parents, Emil and Ida Earling, across the street at 6128, as well as Allton’s sister and brother-in-law’s house at 6112. Allton and his father were both in the coal business, serving as officers for various firms throughout their lifetimes.

Allton and Emily had no children. They sold the house in 1936 and moved to a small Cape Cod house they built in the former Town of Granville. The home changed hands seven additional times.

Notables who owned the house included the Herbert Ladish family (1939 to 1950). Herbert was the second-generation owner of Ladish Malting Company. However, preceding the Ladishes and occupying the home for just three years (1936 to 1939) was U.S. Rep. Raymond Cannon and his family. Cannon served Wisconsin’s 4th District from 1933 to 1939. He is perhaps more notable for his career as an attorney, he was identified as one of the first to establish a sports-related practice. Cannon represented boxer Jack Dempsey in a lawsuit nullifying Dempsey’s contract with his manager. Cannon was involved with issues stemming from the 1919 World Series that was thrown; and he- a former semi-pro baseball player himself- formed the first, albeit short-lived, baseball players union in 1922.

Raymond’s son Bob was also an attorney and is identified (by Commissioner Emeritus of Baseball Bud Selig) as being involved with bringing major league baseball back to Milwaukee. Bob Cannon served as the Brewers vice president upon its establishment in 1970.

The 1949 sale ad for the home begins: “Magnificent brick home on a beautifully landscaped lot…designed for effortless entertaining and family living pleasures” and ends with “A home that the executive or professional man would take great pride in.” The same can be said today.

With four bedrooms and a den, the house has 4,100 square feet of living space. The interior has changed little, aside from a kitchen remodeling and bathroom updates. The current owners have been in the house since 1990.

2006 Two Tree Lane

The Eclectic Mediterranean-Revival style house at 2006 Two Tree Lane was built in 1929 for Herbert and Martha Schwarting. The contractor and designer of the home was Robert W. Stanhope, who learned the carpentry trade while serving in the Marine Corps during World War I. Following the war, he went back to school to learn the technical end of building. He then started his own contracting firm, which also offered design services.

Herbert Schwarting was long involved in the clothing business of the Rice Friedman Company, which later became the Woolcraft Manufacturing Company. Woolcraft produced coats for the U.S. Army during World War II. Herbert died in 1944 but Martha remained in the home through 1967. Their two daughters, Elizabeth (Betty) and Bernice (Bea), owned the home from 1961 to 1967, when the house was sold to Edward and Callista Grebe.

The home’s current and third owners purchased it in 2008. Before their ownership, few alterations had been made to the home, although the Grebes had finished the basement with a recreation room.

In need of additional space, the current owners worked with Pekel Construction and Remodeling to design a two-story addition that was completed in 2011. On the first floor, the addition added an office, expanded the breakfast nook into the family room and included an attached garage. On the second floor, two bedrooms and a bathroom were added to the original three-bedroom house.

In 2014, they purchased a portion of land at the rear of the home that allowed them to create a patio area.

1836 Martha Washington Drive

The house at 1836 Martha Washington Drive, was completed in 1933 and was built for attorney Erwin Nell and his wife Mildred, who had purchased the lot in 1929. The home’s Mediterranean Revival design was completed by George Zagel & Bro., a firm well-known for its apartment designs throughout the Milwaukee area.

The Nells were both curling enthusiasts and belonged to the Wauwatosa Curling Club, which meets in the Muellner Building in Hart Park. The club had an extensive collection of bon-spiel pins that were “watched over” by Mildred. Following her death in 1964, Erwin presented a portable showcase for the pins to the United States Women’s Curling Club in her memory. The Nells had two sons, Robert and Gerald, the latter of whom established Gerald Nell Inc., a contracting firm still in Waukesha.

The home’s current and fourth owners bought it 30 years ago. The decision to purchase the house was not a quick one. They had looked at 28 houses in the metro area.

Aside from the kitchen remodeling, which was done previous to the current owners, as well as bathroom updates, little has been done to alter the home’s original interior layout and features. Regarding the exterior, 10 years ago, their “75-year roof” (seemingly good to its word) required maintenance. The original tiles were removed, the flashing underneath replaced and the original tiles were reinstalled. Amazingly, just six tiles needed replacement.