Property Record
2400 W CENTER ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | |
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| Other Name: | O'Bee Funeral Home |
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| Reference Number: | 115504 |
| Location (Address): | 2400 W CENTER ST |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Milwaukee |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1979 |
| Historic Use: | funeral home |
| Architectural Style: | Neoclassical/Beaux Arts |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
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| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE: An excellent commercial structure design with Classical Revival elements. Mrs. Ernestine O'Bee (an African-American woman), who wed Emile Bee in 1948, is identified in a few articles as the first woman licensed in Wisconsin (in 1952) as a mortician. That is incorrect. Stories that indicate that include: Amy Rabideau Silvers, "State's First Female Mortician Brought Energy, Humor to Job, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 24 January 2007; "Her Dream Denied, She Broke A State Barrier," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 21 August 2003, 2A. An article (not found) from the Thursday preceding 19 October 1982 also said the same thing. However, a short correction "Setting the Record Straight," Milwaukee Journal, 19 October 1982 cites that (she was the first licensed female mortician) was incorrect. However, Mrs. O'Bee WAS the first woman to serve on the Wisconsin State Board of Examiners for Funeral Directors and Embalmers. Emile O’Bee (1895-1963) Emile O’Bee was regarded as a successful Milwaukee-based business man, and an influential African-American figure. He entered the family business as a mortician, and went on to found O’Bee’s Funeral Home, located at 2400 W. Center, where he was owner and president. This property has recently been nominated as a potential addition to the National Register of Historic Places, and the application is currently pending. The O’Bee’s family home is located at 2404 W. Center address, and it is assumed they lived right by the business. O’Bee spent his last fifty years in Milwaukee, but was born in Marlon, Alabama; moved to Chicago, Illinois; lived in Omaha, Nebraska; and finally settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He married Ernestine Singleton in 1948, and had two children: Emile Jr. and Patricia. After Ernestine gained her mortuary science license, she became his funeral director and was the first woman to serve on the Wisconsin State Board of Examiners for Funeral Directors and Embalmers. The couple worked together for 20 years. O’Bee was known for being a civil rights activist during his early years in Milwaukee, and later became a well-known donor for local civic causes. He was credited with leading some of Milwaukee's first marches for jobs alongside Attorney James Dorsey, and was a lifelong member of the NAACP. O’Bee also retained involvement in Blazing Star Lodge No. 4, a black private organization. Both his career and personal life were directly impacted by urban renewal and he had relocated five times as a result. The first business location was at N. 5th, then N. 7th and W. Reservoir, the 600 block of W. Walnut, N. 12th, and finally N. 24th and W. Center. Due to his influential status in the black community, many civil rights activist had hosted their funeral services here, such as Leroy Simmons and Isaac Coggs, although these examples were hosted in 1973--ten years after Emile’s death. Ernestine O’Bee (1907-2007) Ernestine O’Bee was a significant African-American female figure in the Milwaukee community, and retained that honor from her arrival in 1948 to her departure in 2007. She was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1907, earned a degree in social work from the University of Michigan in 1931, and moved to Milwaukee in 1948. She married Emile O’Bee the same year she arrived, and had two children named Emile Jr. and Patricia. At her husband’s suggestion, O’Bee soon earned her mortuary science license, joined her husband’s business as a funeral director, and became the first woman to serve on the Wisconsin State Board of Examiners for Funeral Directors and Embalmers in 1952. She was actively involved in local organizations like the Salvation Army Advisory Board, and was documented breaking ground on a plot of land donated by the City Development Authority in 1970. After her husband’s death in 1972, O’Bee became the sole owner of her husband’s business, O’Bee’s Funeral Home (located at 2400 W. Center), and branched out in the years that followed. In 1975, O’Bee’s Funeral home merged with Stinson Funeral Homes, Inc. after 52 years of operating independently. O’Bee continued to hold her position as president and treasurer of O’Bee’s, and became a board member of the parent company. Later in life, her entrepreneurial abilities led her to found O’Bee, Ford, and Frazier in 1993, which was later renamed Northwest Funeral Chapel that same year. This funeral home is still in existence, and is located at 6630 W. Hampton Ave, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. O’Bee initially served as president and funeral director, and was active in the company until her death in 2007. Over the span of her life, she was recognized by several organizations, such as the Northside YWCA (3940 N. 21st) in 1973 for her creation of YWCA programs like the St. Matthew C.M.E. choirs, and the Zonta Club of Milwaukee in 1975 where she was elected to the Board of Directors. Ernestine O’Bee lived by example, and spent her life and career empowering women through service and advocacy. |
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| Bibliographic References: | “Emile O’Bee Dead of Heart Attack.” Milwaukee Star [Milwaukee] 30 March. 1972: 1, 5. Readex. Web. 28 July 2016. Wisconsin Historical Society, Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, "O’Bee Funeral Home," Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 115504. Wright's Milwaukee (Milwaukee County, WI) City Directory. St. Paul: Wright Directory, 1972. Print. "Dr. Terence N. Thomas Scholarship Fund." Dr. Terence N. Thomas Scholarship Fund. N.p., 24 Feb. 2014. Web. 29 July 2016. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |