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Historical Background on the Building

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Designed by the architectural firm of Kirchoff and Rose, the elaborately detailed neoclassical revival structure on the corner of Third and Kilbourn was completed in 1913, the third building on the same site to house the Second Ward Savings Bank.

The bank was one of Milwaukee’s early financial institutions, incorporated in 1855 and reorganized in 1866. Among its board members were the famous brewers Phillip Best, Valentine Blatz and Joseph Schlitz. Hence its moniker, the “Brewers’ Bank.”

Purchased by the First Wisconsin National Bank in 1928, the building served as the Second Ward Office of another thirty-seven years. In 1965, First Wisconsin donated this classic structure to Milwaukee County to serve as the home of the Milwaukee County Historical Society.

The building’s architecture is in the French Renaissance style. The entire interior finish is black and white Paranozzo Italian marble. There are six massive vaults located in the basement, main floor and mezzanine levels of the building. The one located in the south end of the building has a door and vestibule weighing 27 _ tons, while the door and frame of the safe deposit vault in the basement weighs 42 _ tons. The total cost of the structure was $400,000, a very substantial amount for that time.