Property Record
2353 W FOND DU LAC AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | J.W. Froemming & Son Funeral Home |
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| Other Name: | New Paradise Missionary Baptist Church |
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| Reference Number: | 78947 |
| Location (Address): | 2353 W FOND DU LAC AVE |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Milwaukee |
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| Year Built: | 1928 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1999 |
| Historic Use: | funeral home |
| Architectural Style: | Spanish/Mediterranean Styles |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Eugene Liebert |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | No building Permit This two-story building was erected for Julius Froemming. Julius and his son, Walter, operated the J.W. Froemming & Son Funeral Home. The $30,000 building would open for business in January 1929. It used indirect lighting, which was produced by the inclusion of X-ray reflectors in the cove, along each side of the room. Liebert worked with Howard J. Martin of Curtis Lighting for this feature. After working for a few years as a carpenter, Julius Froemming was noted as an undertaker as early as 1894. By 1896, Froemming had partnered with Fred Dettman. Their business was situated at the same location, but in a two-story frame building constructed in 1889. Froemming & Dettman continued together until approximately 1915, and Froemming was again the sole proprietor. Two years later, his son, Walter, joined the business; by no later than 1921, another son, Hilbert, was named a third partner. In 1923, Hilbert bought Walter's interest in the business and continued the family operation until 1959--well after their father died. The funeral home remained under the Froemming name into the mid 1960s. After seving as the Pitts Funeral Home during the 1970s, the structure has served as the place of worship for the New Paradise Missionary Baptist Church from about 1980 until at least 1999. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Construction date taken from building permit. "Funeral Home Is Opened." The Milwaukee Sentinel, 27 January 1929, Section 2/3. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |