The Baumbach Building, also known as the Midwest Lamp Company or The Buffalo, is a historic building in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, United States. Part of the

Historic Third Ward The Historic Third Ward is a historic warehouse district located in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This Milwaukee neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the Third Ward is home to over 450 businesses and maintai ...

, the five-story building was one of the city's first Chicago School factories.

History

The Baumbach Building was designed by German architect

Eugene R. Liebert Eugene R. Liebert (1866 – April 27, 1945) was a German American architect who is known for his works in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Liebert was active designing buildings in the 19th century. Career Eugene R. Liebert was born in Germany in 1866. He ...

, who was commissioned by Ernest Von Baumbach. It was built in the Third Ward, a former residential district which had been largely destroyed in an 1892 fire. In its place, a

warehouse district This is a list of notable warehouse districts. A warehouse district or warehouse row is an area found in many urban setting known for being the current or former location of numerous warehouses. Logistically, warehouses are often located in indust ...

emerged. The five-story building was started in 1899 and completed the next year. The Von Baumbachs were a prominent German family in Milwaukee; patriarch Ludwig was previously a member of the

Frankfurt Parliament The Frankfurt Parliament (german: Frankfurter Nationalversammlung, literally ''Frankfurt National Assembly'') was the first freely elected parliament for all German states, including the German-populated areas of Austria-Hungary, elected on 1 Ma ...

and served in Milwaukee as the Consul of the German Empire. Ernest was his sixth son and pursued a career in real estate. The building was first used as a clothes factory by the Cohen Brothers, with 150 employees making clothes for lumberjacks and miners. By 1940 it was used primarily as a warehouse. Starting in 1946 the Midwest Lamp & Novelty Co. used the building for plating, making shades, assembly and storage. The building was recognized by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

with a listing on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on March 3, 1983. On March 8, 1984, the building became a contributing property of the Historic Third Ward District.

Architecture

The building is located on Commission Row, a section of the Third Ward historically dominated by the produce wholesale business. Its design is a blend of an early Chicago School motif with

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

influences. The main entrance is recessed behind a light grey stone column. The capital of the column is consistent with German design with carved heads in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

. The Baumbach stands with four bays on the west side and six bays on the south side. The first floor has large storefront windows while the second, third, and fourth floor windows are double-hung. The fifth floor features round arched windows which are separated with carved lions' heads on a Celtic cross medallion. Carved crowns in a

cartouche In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the fea ...

decorate the second floor corners. The interior was originally a standard warehouse design, but the first floor has since been divided into office space.

References

{{reflist Warehouses on the National Register of Historic Places Chicago school architecture in Wisconsin Industrial buildings completed in 1900 Buildings and structures in Milwaukee Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Milwaukee Historic district contributing properties in Wisconsin