From: James Maurer Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2024 3:04 PM To: Elmer, Linda Subject: File #231385 & File #231388 – Proposed West Wisconsin Avenue Historic District Comments Dear Ms. Elmer, I am writing to you as a lifelong resident of the City of Milwaukee. I have been living at my current addr ess for 34 years, since 1989. Sometime in the mid to late 1980's a beautiful three story clapboard and shake shingle Quee n Ann style home with a turret rising from the first floor to the third floor was torn down. It was located next to Wisconsin Legal Blank on 37th Street North of Wisconsin Avenue. Now it's a parking lot. In the 1980's the City of Milwaukee forced the owners of the Harnischfeger Mansion, at 3424 West Wis consin Avenue, to tear down the spectacular Carriage House located at the Northern end of the driveway. It was made o f brick matching the brick used on the house and had a bay window on the second floor residential section. At the time the p roperty was owned by the Humphry's (who owned the property next door where they previously had their Chevrolet dealer ship). My friend Florence Rust was very interested in Historical Preservation and lived the majority of her life at 3025 West Highland Blvd. and participated in many efforts to preserve the historical properties on Highland Blvd. in the 1960's. This included the Miller House, the Usinger House, directly to the East of her home and many others which were eventually bought, left derelict, then raised by developers and replaced by the current 1960's architectural (Soviet style) atrocities. Florence graduated Magna cum Laude from the Marquette School of Journalism in 1947 and won the Prix de Paris Award from Vogue Magazine for fashion writing. She was able to save one home on Highland Blvd from destruction. In 1978 she purchased and saved the Dr. Day Home (Sunny Hill, B 1874) which still stands today, restored, at 8000 Milwaukee Avenue in Wauwatosa (just around the corner from Russell Zimmerman on Church Street). In the 1980's she was instrumental in designating her new neighborhood in the 3400 block of North Lak e Drive as an Historic District which it remains as today. The home that she lived in was located at 3432 North lake Drive. It was the Samuel Field house later sold to George Kuehn It was originally located at 303 Martin Street which was near Juneau Park. In 1928 it was disassembled and moved to it's present location due to the reconfiguration of the streets near Juneau Park. There has been much investment in the historical properties along 27th Street North of Wisconsin Ave nue. Another hotel is being designed, by the owner of the Ambassador Hotel, on the North West corner of 27th & Wisconsin Avenue, the former Wisconsin Avenue School. This is really an up-and-coming neighborhood. Too much of Milwaukee's architectural heritage has been destroyed and the varied styles of these rem aining houses and apartment buildings are fine representations of their period styles, Victorian, Queen Anne, Shingle Style, Tutor and the Neo- Classical Millerand apartment building designed by Martin Tullgren & Sons in 1925. There are many Historical Restoration Tax deductions available from the State in order to preserve some of these remaining buildings. Therefore in memory of my friend Miss. Rust I would like to register my support for the Historic Designation being proposed for the properties on West Wisconsin Avenue. (3035 W. Wisconsin, the Millerand Apts., 3111, 3121, 3127 and 3133 W. Wisconsin. ) Sincerely, Jim Maurer 3707 West Kilbourn Avenue MI, WI, 53208-3112