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Property Location
Property Features
Original Cost $11000.
C IN THE PHOTO CODES IS SHORT FOR CW.
This little jewelbox of a house was designed in the Classical Revival style for John L. Hahn. The one-and-one-half-story, rectangular brick building has a side-gabled roof with terra cotta tiles, and three small copper-clad dormers. The center dormer has an arched roof, while the ones to either side have gabled roofs. The symmetrically arranged facade features a pair of round-headed French windows with leaded sash to either side of the center entrance. The center entrance itself is located in a shalllow, gabled pavilion, and the doorway is framed by a segmental pediment supported by two Tuscan columns. Costly copper gutters, dentil mouldings, and stone trim for the windows are additional quality features of the house.
Original owner John L. Hahn was a building contractor who later became proprietor of Hahn Plumbing Company. Hahn and his wife, Hattie, moved to 2371 North 56th Street in 1931, and the house was subsequently occupied by a succession of short-term occupants. Neighborhood lore indicates that Hahn lost his property at the beginning of the Great Depression over difficulty getting payment from the City of Milwaukee for contracting work that was done for the City.
"Built in 1922, this house is Classical Revival in style-- one of the many period Revival styles popular in the 1920s. It was designed by the architectural firm of Dick & Bauer; which was formed as a partnership in 1921. Although certainly proficient in residential design, Dick & Bauer was well known for its movie theater designs. Of the no less than sixteen theaters they designed in the state, Milwaukee's Oriental Theater may have been the most ornate. When the current owners moved into this home, the floors were covered in wall-to-wall carpeting--including the tiled sunroom--and the fireplace mantel was painted white. The original wooden floors and mantel are now exposed and combine nicely with the various plaster crown moldings--the most elaborate of which is the fleur-de-lis and dentil molding of the dining room.
Born in Lake Geneva in 1877, original owner John Hahn was a plumber. In circa 1903, he married Hattie Reichert and together they had three children: Clarence, Irene and Beatrice. Like others, the Great Depression was not kind to Hahn and, as a result, he lost the house in the 1930s. After a long series of tenants, the house was sold in 1942; four families have resided here since then." Spaces & Traces Home Tour: Grant & Sherman Boulevards, Diversity in Design, Historic Milwaukee Incorporated, May 8, 2004.
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