| Additional Information: | 2019 City of New Berlin survey recommendation write-up:
Topped with a low-pitched, side-gabled roof with wide, overhanging eaves, this low-lying, Chicago Pink brick and wood-clad house is built into the contour of the parcel and includes a partially exposed, walkout basement level. The passive solar home’s south end is comprised of a wall of glass that illuminates the living room. The roofline of the home extends to the north to include a carport; clerestory windows are evident beneath the carport roof. The home’s street-facing façade is with little detailing, aside from a rectangular window bank with awning-style windows, as well as the entrance door. Although an interior inspection was not completed as part of this report, photos of the home when it was on the market in 2017-2018, indicate that the interior was, at that time, significantly intact.
Designed by John Randal McDonald, this house was built in 1955 for Richard and Maxine Franz. Richard Franz was born in Milwaukee on 10 July 1915, the son of Richard and Ella Franz. Following graduation from North Division High School in 1933, Richard (the younger) went on to attend the Milwaukee State Teachers College, from which he graduated in 1941 with degrees in Art and English. He served in World War II in the Army Corps of Engineers. In 1944, he married Maxine Hipkoe and they had two children. He moved the family to the Town of New Berlin in 1955 and into the McDonald-designed, passive solar home, where he remained until his death in 2017, at the age of 101. Maxine preceded him in death in December 1991. His career was spent as a commercial artist and, later, as a mapper for the Waukesha County tax assessment office. Both Richard and Maxine were involved with the establishment of the New Berlin Ecology Association, the group behind household recycling in advance of Waukesha County’s recycling program. In 1978, he co-founded the Waukesha County Environmental Action League (WEAL), which continues to be dedicated to the protection of Waukesha County’s natural resources.
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| Bibliographic References: | Historical & Architectural Resources Survey, City of New Berlin, Waukesha County, Wisconsin prepared by tes | Historical Consulting, LLC, 2019.
Footnotes for the 2019 City of New Berlin survey information provided below:
Jenny Steinbach, “She Believes in Doing Own Thing,” Waukesha Daily Freeman, 20 July 1970, 5; “Richard M. ‘Dick’ Franz,” Obituary, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 22 February 2017; “Richard M. ‘Dick’ Franz,” Obituary, Waukesha Freeman, February 2017, Available online at http://www.gmtoday.com/obits/freeman/obits/ 2017/02_Feb/17/Richard-M-Franz.htm , Accessed July 2019 (this is an even longer version than that published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). |
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