804 W. Greenfield and 1325 S. Eighth | National or State Registers Record | Wisconsin Historical Society

National or State Registers Record

804 W. Greenfield and 1325 S. Eighth

National or State Register of Historic Places
804 W. Greenfield and 1325 S. Eighth | National or State Registers Record | Wisconsin Historical Society
NAMES
Historic Name:Lohman Funeral Home and Livery Stable
Reference Number:88000220
PROPERTY LOCATION
Location (Address):804 W. Greenfield and 1325 S. Eighth
County:Milwaukee
City/Village:Milwaukee
Township:
SUMMARY
Lohman Funeral Home and Livery Stable
804 W. Greenfield Avenue and 1325 S. 8th Street
Milwaukee, Milwaukee County
Architect: Herman Paul Schnetzky, Eugene R. Liebert
Date of Completion: 1890 and 1893

The Lohman Funeral Home and Livery Stable complex began as a single-family house built in 1890 and a separate livery barn completed in 1893. Both structures were built for prosperous Milwaukee businessman Louis Bohne, who sold them in 1894, seemingly due to economic problems. Each then functioned as a rental property, housing various occupants before the Lohman Funeral Home was established.

The Lohman Livery Stable is the largest and best surviving livery stable in Milwaukee. It is likely that it is the stable that prompted the property's development into a funeral home. In 1896, brothers Herman and Henry Lohman rented the stable for their livery business. In the nineteenth century, funeral directors often entered the trade through related careers, such as carpenters who periodically built coffins for funerals. The Lohman brothers probably began by renting out carriages and hearses, gradually expanding their business as demand for more elaborate funerals grew. They opened a funeral home in 1918, utilizing both the stable and the Bohne house.

The Bohne residence was originally a Queen Anne style house with clapboard siding. In the twentieth century, people began to want luxurious memorial services in beautiful settings instead of the gloomy ceremonies in private homes or churches, and the funeral industry adapted to these new tastes. In 1931, an extensive remodel designed by Charles R. Lesser completely encased the Bohne house in brown brick veneer with Mission style gables and added a chapel to the rear, transforming it into a fashionable Mediterranean-style building. This house was among many elegant and architecturally elaborate funeral homes that appeared in Milwaukee at this time. The Lohman Funeral Home is distinguished by its Mediterranean features such as a massive two-story pavilion, ornate gables trimmed with cast stone, a Spanish tile roof, iron work and Baroque-style twisted columns.

The Lohman Funeral Home and Livery Stable buildings are private property. Please respect the rights and privacy of the occupants.

PROPERTY FEATURES
Period of Significance:1896-1931
Period of Significance:1893
Area of Significance:Architecture
Area of Significance:Social History
Applicable Criteria:Architecture/Engineering
Applicable Criteria:Event
Historic Use:Domestic: Single Dwelling
Historic Use:Commerce/Trade: Business
Historic Use:Funerary: Mortuary
Architectural Style:Other
Architectural Style:Queen Anne
Architectural Style:Mission/Spanish Revival
Resource Type:Building
Architect:Lesser, Charles R.
Architect:Liebert, Eugene R.
Architect:Schnetzky, Herman Paul
DESIGNATIONS
Historic Status:Listed in the National Register
Historic Status:Listed in the State Register
National Register Listing Date:03/17/1988
State Register Listing Date:01/01/1989
NUMBER OF RESOURCES WITHIN PROPERTY
Number of Contributing Buildings:2
Number of Contributing Sites:0
Number of Contributing Structures:0
Number of Contributing Objects:0
Number of Non-Contributing Sites:0
Number of Non-Contributing Structures:0
Number of Non-Contributing Objects:0
RECORD LOCATION
National Register and State Register of Historic Places, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin

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