The Coakley Brothers Warehouse was commissioned by the Coakley Brothers, a Milwaukee-based moving and storage company, as one of two new warehouses catering to an upper-class residential client base. The architecture firm Eschweiler & Eschweiler designed the building with this clientele in mind, creating one of the tallest and most recognizable buildings on Milwaukee’s west side.

The location of the building outside of the central business district and away from the warehouse cluster on the commercial river and rail corridors was unusual. It represents a gamble by the Coakley Brothers to place their warehouse near their intended client base, the upper-middle-class residents of Milwaukee’s West Side. In the 1920s, personal wealth grew to such an extent that many families required additional storage for their personal belongings and valuables, as well as moving services to change them out as seasons, schedule, and taste suited.

For the first time, even less well-to-do citizens were passing down valuable furniture and collectibles, exceeding the storage capacity of many homes. Storage facilities such as the Coakley Brothers Warehouse promoted their fireproof, dustproof, and mothproof private storage rooms and open storage floors as safe and secure locations for these surplus valued items. The location of the Coakley Brothers Warehouse meant the items could be stored closer to home and with other residential items rather than being grouped in with the wholesale, commercial, and industrial storage on the waterfront.

The Coakley Brothers Warehouse is a fine example of Mediterranean Style applied in a pared-down way to utilitarian commercial buildings by Eschweiler & Eschweiler, who were known for incorporating hybridized period revival styles in their design.

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