History of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

The deadliest fire in Milwaukee history occurred at the Newhall House hotel on January 10, 1883 on the corner of Michigan Street and Broadway. Firemen who battled previous fires at the hotel, one of Wisconsin’s largest, dubbed it a “tinder-box.” The inferno originated in the opulent structure’s wooden elevator shaft and took over twenty-six hours to extinguish. Seventy-two people died, many jumping from their rooms. After raising and extending a ladder across an adjacent building, firefighter Herman Strauss heroically rescued ten female servants. A song composed by J. W. Kelley, “The Milwaukee Fire, or the Burning of the Newhall House,” memorialized the blaze, and monuments at Forest Home and Calvary Cemeteries commemorate the victims.

William I. Tchakirides

THE LOSS WILL REACH NEARLY $1,000,000 AND INCLUDES THE CONSUMPTION BY THE FIRE FIEND OF 52,000 BARRELS OF BEER.
Milwaukee, July 5 - The entire brewery plant of the Fauk, Jung & Borchert Brewing Company burned to the ground Thursday afternoon. The loss is $800,000, and the insurance less than $400,000. In the matter of area and financial loss the fire is the biggest in the history of Milwaukee. The plant covered an area of about three acres on the Muskwango Road in the Menominee valley, just outside the city limits. It was the original plant of the Falk Brewing Company. Less than a year ago the Jung & Borchert Company abandoned their plant and consolidated with the Falk Company, the capital stock of the consolidated company being $1,000,000. Since the consolidation extensive improvements of the old Falk plant were made, including an addition to the main brewery of a brick building, 148 x 257 feet, an elevator 40 x 100 feet, 70 feet high, with a capacity of 125,000 bushels of malt, and ...

MILWAUKEE, Wis., July 18. - Fire to-night destroyed the Grace Hotel, a four-story brick structure, at the corner of Park and Reed Streets, on the South Side. About twenty-five firemen were injured, of whom five may die. The pecuniary loss will be small.

Among the injured are Chief James Foley, Capt. P. J. Linehan, Capt. John Wolf, Assistant, and Chief Clancy. It is feared that Capt. Linehan and Capt. Wolf cannot recover.

Two alarms were sent in, owing to the dangerous locality. At a time when the fire seemed to be under control, and while several firemen were in the structure to subdue what little flames were left, with ten others on the roof, the structure collapsed and nothing but a mass of debris was left.

The firemen on the roof and those on the ladders and within went down with the ruins. It was an unexpected catastrophe, and the crowd groaned as one man when they realized what had happened. The work of rescue then began, and as quickly as the injured could be gotten...

UPWARD OF THREE THOUSAND PERSONS HOMELESS AND THE PROPERTY LOSS ESTIMATED AT $6,000,000 - REMARKABLE SWIFTNESS WITH WHICH THE FLAMES SPREAD.

By The Associated Press.
MILWAUKEE, Wis., Oct. 29. - In the great fire which swept over this city for ten hours last night forty-six acres of business and residence property, valued at $6,000,000, were burned, upward of 3,000 persons were made homeless, and four lives were lost...

At 3 o'clock this morning the fire was under control and practically out. The territory burned out is in the shape of a slightly obtuse triangle, with the apex at Blade & Co.'s on the river, one side Detroit Street, another Menominee Street to Milwaukee Street and then to the Milwaukee River, and the base Lake Michigan. Roughly, it is a space two-thirds of a mile wide and three-quarters of a mile long.

The most brilliant feature of the conflagration was the burning of the towering elevator and malthouses of the Hanson Malt Company. The elevator, after smoking ...

MILWAUKEE, Jan. 14. - Dr. J. Kasten, son-in-law of Mrs. Schrum, who was burned to death in the Cream City hotel Friday, put in the entire night digging the charred ruins of her room searching for a fortune. He thinks she had $40,000 in money concealed in the room. Nothing was found however.

Milwaukee, a city, port of entry, county seat of Milwaukee co., and the most populous city of Wisconsin, is situated on the W. shore of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Milwaukee River, 85 miles N. of Chicago, and 80 miles E. of Madison. Lat. 43°3'45" N.; lon. 87°57' W. The Milwaukee River approaching from the N., almost parallel with the lake shore, is joined about half a mile from its mouth by the Menomonee River, which flows in from the W., and nearer its mouth by the Kinnickinnick River, which comes from the S.W. The largest steamers on the lakes can ascend the Milwaukee River 2 miles from its mouth, and boats can also ascend the Menomonee and Kinnickinnick Rivers for a long distance. A large amount of money has been expended by the general government in the improvement of Milwaukee harbor, and it is now one of the best harbors on the Great Lakes...

The pressed steel frame was considerably lighter and less costly than the structural steel frames then available. At the time, the small Milwaukee manufacturer did not even have a customer for this product. Soon the company sold frames to a number of auto makers, including Peerless and Cadillac, but the big breakthrough came in 1906 when Henry Ford came to Milwaukee. Ford was laying the groundwork for his Model N and needed a supplier for 11,000 frames. This launched the company A.O. Smith. The company developed a way to economically produce large quantities of car frames and by 1910 was supplying 60 percent of the automobile frames for US car makers.

Milwaukee, the most populous city of Wisconsin, a port of entry and county seat of Milwaukee Co., is situated on the W. shore of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Milwaukee River, 80 miles N. of Chicago, on the Chicago and Northwestern, the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul, the Wisconsin Central, and the Pere Marquette Rs. Lat. 43° 3' N. ; Lon. 87° 57' W. Milwaukee harbor is now one of the best harbors on the Great Lakes and the largest vessels can approach quite to the warehouses. The city is advantageously situated along the banks of the Milwaukee River and the Menomonee and Kinnickinnick tributaries, and the transportation facilities afforded by these water ways have made it one of the chief manufacturing and commercial centres of the north-central section of the Union. The chief articles of its extensive commerce are grain (wheat, barley, corn, oats, rye), flour, and lumber. Its grain-elevators have a capacity of over 6,000,000 bushels. The product of the flouring-mills, whose...

MILWAUKEE, Wis., July 4. - Mayor Emil Seidel was burned about the head and face today when a puff of flame burst from a gas heater which he lighted in his bathroom.

Mr. Seidel had just returned from the East, where he had made several speeches. He had intended visiting the several parks throughout the city to see how the sane celebration of the Fourth was being carried out, but prior to his outing prepared for a bath.

In lighting the heater the flames burst forth in his face, singeing his eyelashes and slightly burning his face and one of his eyes. It was at first thought that the burns would prove serious, but after examination by a physician they were found not to be serious.

The Mayor expects to be back at his office within a day or two.

John Flammang Schrank attempts to assassinate Theodore Roosevelt.

Seven Men Including Deputy Chief Langford Overcome After Leaving Small Blaze.

FIVE SENT TO HOSPITAL

Blaze at Which Men Were Prostrated Like Milwaukee Fire After Which Twelve Died.

Deputy Chief Langford got one whiff of the fumes which poured from the quarters of the Sheffield Standard Plating Company on the second floor of 206-208 Canal Street early last evening and then ordered the men of Engine 31 and Truck 6 to get out of the place at once. some chemicals were giving off fumes which the Chief recognized as containing arsenic, and although there was no fire, he knew that the fumes were more deadly than any smoke or flame. Several hours later he himself was overcome by the poison and five men had been taken to the hospitals.

Firemen Louis Keller and Frederick Hendrick of Truck 6 succumbed in the quarters of their company at 77 Canal Street and were removed to Gouveneur Hospital. Battalion Chief Crowley and Fireman Morrell, also of Truck 6, became ill later and were...

On June 15-16, 1955, Milwaukee participated in "Operation Alert," a National Civil Defense Test Exercise that simulated an atomic bomb evacuation for police and city officials. The public could listen along, but did not actively participate. The test warning signal went off at 10:00am on the June 15 and police were at their traffic control points within 20 minutes. The test supposed that a .2 megaton bomb hit Milwaukee at 1:04pm with ground zero at the intersection of North Second and West Clybourn Streets. The exercise continued until noon on June 16.

Milwaukee Art Museum:

Start your journey with a visit to the iconic Milwaukee Art Museum. The stunning architecture by Santiago Calatrava itself is worth the visit. Inside, you'll find an impressive collection of over 30,000 works of art.

Lakefront Brewery:

Milwaukee is known for its beer, and a tour of Lakefront Brewery is a must for any beer enthusiast. Enjoy the informative and entertaining tour, and, of course, the beer sampling.

Historic Third Ward:

Wander around the Historic Third Ward, a vibrant neighborhood with trendy shops, art galleries, and delicious restaurants. The area is full of historic warehouses turned into modern spaces.

Harley-Davidson Museum:

Explore the rich history of this iconic American brand at the Harley-Davidson Museum. The exhibits showcase the evolution of motorcycles and the cultural impact of Harley-Davidson.

Milwaukee Public Market:

For a culinary adventure, head to the Milwaukee Public Market. Sample local cheeses, fresh...