The Pfister Hotel is a luxury hotel in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. The Pfister Hotel is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by ...

. Owned by Guido Pfister and his son,

Charles F. Pfister Charles F. Pfister (June 17, 1859 – November 12, 1927) was a wealthy tannery magnate, bank financier, utility owner, newspaper publisher, hotelier and philanthropist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was also a central figure in the stalwart "Old Guar ...

, it was opened in 1893 at a cost of over $1 million. Designed by architect Henry C. Koch in Romanesque Revival style, it had features uncommon in its time like fireproofing, electricity, and

thermostat A thermostat is a regulating device component which senses the temperature of a physical system and performs actions so that the system's temperature is maintained near a desired setpoint. Thermostats are used in any device or system tha ...

controls.

The hotel was purchased by hospitality magnate Ben Marcus in 1962, who

renovated Renovation (also called remodeling) is the process of improving broken, damaged, or outdated structures. Renovations are typically done on either commercial or residential buildings. Additionally, renovation can refer to making something new, ...

the hotel and added a 13-story addition behind the building without compromising the original building itself, and continues to be owned by the Marcus Corporation. The Pfister Hotel has the largest hotel collection of Victorian art in the world. The hotel has held the AAA Four Diamond award for 37 years, since the inception of the ranking itself in 1977.Thepfisterhotel.com
/ref> It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the

East Side Commercial Historic District East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

. With The 1986 National Register nomination states:

The Pfister is the last nineteenth century grand hotel remaining in downtown Milwaukee. Local materials were used in its construction with rock-faced,
Wauwatosa limestone Wauwatosa (; known informally as Tosa; originally Wau-wau-too-sa or Hart's Mill) is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 48,387 at the 2020 census. Wauwatosa is located immediately west of Milwaukee, and is a p ...
for the first two floors and cream brick for the third through eighth floors. Indiana limestone and terra cotta were used as trim. Changes to the exterior include the removal of the massive stone portico on the Jefferson Street facade and the closing of an entrance at the southeast corner. The main lobby has been refurbished and restored to resemble its original appearance."

References

Skyscraper hotels in Milwaukee Historic Hotels of America {{Wisconsin-struct-stub

See also

References