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When writing about the so-called Goose House in Wauwatosa that was on the market recently – the home designed by architect Minard Tullgren for his own family – I mentioned a 1906 home across the street in passing.
Alice Kearney, who, with her husband Henry Fuldner would buy the Tullgren house in the 1930s, grew up in the be-shuttered red brick Georgian Revival place at 1839 N. 74th St., built by her parents in 1906.
Now, as of Thursday, THAT house is for sale and it’s in a whole different category than the lovely but more intimate Goose House.
This one – listed for $2.25 million – has 14 rooms, including six bedrooms, four full baths, three half baths, an enclosed pool house, a three-car attached garage and more across its 3,780 square feet.
The tile, fireplaces, leaded art glass windows and the woodwork (including wainscoting and built-ins, especially in the library) are beautiful, as are the multiple, still-functioning pocket doors (including one set with glass panes), but the heated pool is out of this world, next-level.
There's a deep end, more great tile, skylights, a changing room with showers, and Cyril Colnik ironwork, including a gate.
Windows in the kitchen look out onto the pool, so one could keep an eye on the goings on there while doing the dishes.
Did I mention there's an elevator?
It’s also on a large .67-acre lot in the heart of the desirable Olde Hillcrest neighborhood. The spaciousness of the lot is down to the fact that the Kearneys purchased the 19th century Queen Anne home that had long stood next door on the corner of 74th and Hillcrest and had it moved around the block so that they could have more elbow room. (Trainspotters: that house is now at 1827 N. 73rd St.)
There are gardens and multiple patios, including a covered and arcaded one that has radiators (my parents would NOT be approve heating the outdoors!) and a tiled lunette.
The house was built for Edward J. Kearney – co-founder of West Allis-based Kearney & Trecker – and his wife Ella (nee Morton), who had previously lived on Russell Avenue in Bay View.
Kearney & Trecker
As I wrote in my story about the Washington Heights home of Kearney’s partner Theodore Trecker:
“Born in 1868 on a farm in La Salle, Illinois, Theodore Trecker moved to Milwaukee at age 18 and apprenticed as a machinist at Kempsmith Co., where he worked with E.J. Kearney, a draftsman from Little Cedar, Iowa, from around 1894.
“After having risen up to the position of foreman, Trecker suggested to Kearney that they start their own business, to which Kearney legendarily replied, "I’ll tell you what we’ll do. If Dewey beats the Spaniards at Manila Bay we’ll start in business," referring to the then-ongoing Spanish-American War.
“Dewey won the battle and on May 17, 1898 Kearney and Trecker was officially founded, starting first in a small space above a shop on South 1st Street. Their first customer brought in a baby carriage to be repaired.
“By 1901, the company had moved to 67th and National in West Allis.
“In the meantime, Kearney and Trecker’s success seemed to know no bounds, becoming one of the biggest machine tool companies in the world. By the time Trecker died in 1955, the company employed 2,250 workers in a facility that sprawled across 95 acres.”
Part of the former Kearney & Trecker plant in West Allis has been the subject of redevelopment discussion in recent years.
The architect and his design
The Kearneys hired lesser-known architect Charles Fitzgerald to design their house, which originally was a fair bit smaller than it is today.
Why they made this choice is unclear, though Fitzgerald mostly designed residences for Milwaukee’s Irish community, so perhaps that’s what happened here, Kearney being a recognizably Irish surname.
Fitzgerald was born in 1848 to Michael and Marie (Flynn) Fitzgerald, who were pioneer farmers in Stockbridge, Wisconsin, in Calumet County.
After growing up on a farm in Stockbridge, Fitzgerald moved to Milwaukee to study architecture, and where later, according to the Chilton Times, he drew “plans for many building in that city and elsewhere.
“Mr. Fitzgerald although possessed of great ability in his line of work was very modest in his claims, but many of the artistic homes of Milwaukee are evidence that he was an architect of no small ability. He was retiring by nature but those who knew him best appreciated his generous, companionable disposition, and his cheery smile and greeting will be sadly missed both from the family circle and also by friends.”
Fitzgerald died here in 1915 and was buried in Stockbridge.
What he designed for the Kearneys was a two-story home, veneered in red brick, in a Colonial/Georgian Revival style with faux shutters and that Colnik ironwork.
In 1925, the Kearneys hired well-known architects Charles Kirchhoff and Thomas Leslie Rose to expand the house and it was at this time that the solarium and pool were added.
Nine years later, in 1934, Edward Kearney passed away at the age of 65 and it seems his widow Ella remained in the house for a couple more years before selling it to Harry C. Merritt, who was a manager of the tractor division of Allis-Chalmers that later rose to VP, and his wife Nonna, who was a stenographer at the same company.
The Marx-Davidson family
At some point, the house was again listed for sale and attracted the attention of the also well-known Henry Marx, one of the most active real estate brokers in Milwaukee. Among the countless properties in which Marx was involved was this prominent Washington Highlands house, which is also currently for sale.
The Marx family moved into the house by 1942.
Marx’s wife was Elizabeth Davidson Marx.
Yes, of that Davidson family.
Three of her brothers – Walter, William and Arthur – founded Harley-Davidson with William Harley in 1903.
Before her marriage, Elizabeth Davidson had studied at Milwaukee State Teachers College and taught for a number of years in Milwaukee Public Schools.
The Marx family had two sons, though the youngest, John Alan, tragically, died when he was about 17.
After the passing of his mother in 1959 and father in 1962, elder son, William Davidson Marx, lived in the house, with his family. William Marx passed away in 1984 and the house was listed for sale in 1985.
It sold in early 1986 for $155,000, considerably less than the asking price of $199,000 and Patricia Marx, who lives until 1988, moved to a condo in Elm Grove.
The buyers were D. Michael and Carol Guerin, who owned the house until 1999. The current owners have lived in the house for 26 years.
Now, this gem hits the market again at a considerably higher price point, though it’s clearly a very high-end property.
From the sidewalk it's a lovely house, but a passerby really has no idea just how elaborate it is on the inside.
“With six spacious bedrooms, four full baths, three half baths, and a private indoor pool, this residence is more than a home, it's a destination,” says Shorewest realtor Maura Strickler.
“From the moment you step inside, every detail speaks to timeless sophistication and unmatched scale.”
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press. A fifth collects Urban Spelunking articles about breweries and maltsters.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has been heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
