Robert Machek House

This house marked a labor of love for master woodcarver Robert Machek. In his native Vienna, Machek worked for Austrian and Serbian royal families, winning a medal for his work on the Royal Palace in Belgrade. After immigrating to Milwaukee in 1890, he bought a c. 1877 cottage in 1893 and turned it into a romantic hunting lodge. The light stucco exterior walls are crossed with high-contrast, dark-stained false half-timbering. Decorative shingles on the front gable and dark paneling at the basement level and on some of the window bays add a warm effect. Machek carved elaborate wooden surrounds for the windows, each one distinct and borrowing design elements from different architectural traditions. Tiny carved human heads peek out beneath the small windows on the gables, and others watch from the front porch arches. The interior, replete with ornamental woodwork and cabinetry, provides additional proof of Machek’s outstanding talents. A large, two-story garage addition of 1971 on the north side of the house blends with the original construction.