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State Bank of Wisconsin Block and Bank of Milwaukee Block

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1857 and 1858 State Bank of Wisconsin, George Mygatt and Leonard Schmidtner; Bank of Milwaukee, Albert C. Nash; 1903 remodeled. 210 E. Michigan St.
  • (Photograph by Andrew Hope)
  • (Photograph by Andrew Hope)
  • (Photograph by Andrew Hope)

These two buildings are the only remaining examples of the stone-clad Italianate commercial blocks built in the city before the Civil War. The State Bank of Wisconsin Block (west half) and the adjacent Bank of Milwaukee Block (east half) were separate four-and-a-half-story buildings joined by a masonry party wall. Remodeling in 1903 gave them a common entrance through the Bank of Milwaukee building. Additional reconstruction done in the 1950s and 1970s stripped the State Bank of Wisconsin of the finely carved window caps that were similar to the spectacular ones on the Bank of Milwaukee Block. This latter building is richly ornamented with carved stonework. Italian Renaissance style hoods, differently shaped at each floor, cap the ornamental stone columns that grace the main entrance and each window bay. Notice the bearded gargoyles accenting the first-story window hoods.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Marsha Weisiger et al.
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Data

What's Nearby

Mitchell Building
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company
Mackie Building (Grain Exchange, Chamber of Commerce)
Marine Plaza (Bank One)
Iron Block (Excelsior Block)

Citation

Marsha Weisiger et al., "State Bank of Wisconsin Block and Bank of Milwaukee Block", [Milwaukee, Wisconsin], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/WI-01-MI24.

Print Source

Buildings of Wisconsin

Buildings of Wisconsin, Marsha Weisiger and contributors. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2017, 80-80.

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