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This has been a bad year for churches designed by architects Brust & Brust.
Over the past few months, St. Bernard in Wauwatosa Village – built in 1955 – came down remarkably quickly, especially considering that former Brust employee and later buyer of the firm, Gary Zimmerman, says the firm’s churches were built like battleships.
Next to fall is Brust & Brust’s St. Aloysius, 1405 S. 92nd St., in West Allis, which was completed in 1957.
Both sites will be filled with apartments. While the ones in Tosa are already underway, clearance of the West Allis site has not yet begun.
The parish was merged, along with two others – Immaculate Heart of Mary and Mary Queen of Heaven – into Mother of Perpetual Help Congregation in 2018 and they all began worshipping at one building, 2322 S. 106th St., three years later.
(A second site at 1121 S. 116th St. includes a secondary worship site, Mary Queen of Saints Catholic Academy, parish offices and an outreach center.)
St. Aloysius hosted its final Mass in May 2021. The school had closed a year earlier.
At that time, Cardinal Capital Management purchased the site, but its plans for the site did not move quickly enough, and now F Street is in the process of buying the site via the City of West Allis.
“The idea is that all the existing buildings will come down and then working our way from the south to the north, we would probably do two-story garden-style apartments,” says F Street’s Director of Project Delivery E. J. Herr. “Those would be walkups with garages and things like that.”
One row of the houses would face 92nd Street and the other, at its back, would face 93rd.
On the north side of the site, along Greenfield Avenue, Herr says, will be a four-story apartment building – L-shaped to wrap around the Gonzaga Village apartments for seniors, which is not part of the St. Aloysius property and will remain.
At the moment, the plan is for market-rate apartments in all the units.
“We're working with Rinka Architects right now, developing the site plan,” Herr says. “We have preliminary diagrams of how things are to layout, but it's still pretty early on. Right now we’re looking at about 52 units between those two (garden-style) buildings and another 100 units in the multi-family.”
It’s possible that some of the units could be used as student athlete housing for a nearby college, Herr says.
But before any of that can happen, the site must be cleared and that is expected begin in early July. Interior demolition could start by mid-June.
Fortunately, it hasn’t happened yet, which allowed me an opportunity to see inside the church, rectory and school before it is all torn down.
The history of St. Aloysius Parish
The seed of St. Aloysius was planted in 1919 when Archbishop Sebastian Messmer appointed Rev. Francis Kroernschild – who was assistant pastor at SS. Peter & Paul on the East Side of Milwaukee – to organize a new parish to serve the growing city of West Allis.
Kroernschild is believed to have selected St. Aloysius as the new parish’s patron saint.
The site at 92nd and Greenfield was chosen because of the central location of the parish’s catchment area and the entire block between Greenfield Avenue, and Orchard, 92nd and 93rd Streets was purchased the following year from Zingen and Braun Realtors.
That April the pastor and Monsignor Julius Burbach, pastor at Holy Assumption met with 15 prospective parishioners and two weeks later a building committee was formed.
By the end of May a pair of former barracks buildings that had been used by the Knights of Columbus at Camp Custer in Michigan during World War I were purchased and moved to the site.
Opting to dig a foundation and basement for the barracks, work began in July and a frame building already on the site was converted into a rectory.
When the barracks were installed atop the foundation, a central tower topped with a cross served as an entrance and together it all created a respectable-looking wooden church.
In 1921 three School Sisters of Notre Dame arrived to open a parish school, which opened with 75 students in January 1921.
All of this work left the parish in debt to the tune of nearly $50,000 and it spent much of the next decade paying off that debt.
In 1926, it was decided to replace the barracks with a combination school and church building made of brick on the concrete foundation.
Although a church history notes that the new structure was built by West Allis’ Pfeifer Construction, no mention is made of the architect(s).
When it was completed in November 1926, the church was located on the first floor with five classrooms for 300 children on the second floor.
Unsurprisingly the school quarters were already too small and so the barracks were rebuilt for school use.
The congregation continued to grow.
In 1933, the church purchased a house on 93rd Street for $4,000 to serve as a new rectory. Three years later, a convent was built to accommodate more sisters, who were required as faculty for the growing school.
In 1937, architects Herbst and Kuenzli were hired to design an addition to the school, fronting 92nd St., that was completed the following February.
Even this proved too little and soon basement rooms were converted to classrooms.
By the 1950s, something had to be done and in the end it was decided to build a new church and give the entire existing building over to the school, which would get another addition, in 1947, designed by Brust and Brust, who also built new a rectory and convent in 1949 and ‘53, respectively.
Who were Brust & Brust?
Peter A. Brust was born on Nov. 4, 1869 in the Town of Lake in what is now St. Francis. At 14, Brust quit school and started working with his father, a carpenter, to help fund an architectural apprenticeship, which he landed in the office of Edward V. Koch.
In 1890, he joined Ferry & Clas where over the course of a decade-long tenure he rose to the position of head draftsman. It’s also where he met Richard Philipp and the two were involved in a variety of important projects, including the Central Library and the 1892 renovation of St. John the Evangelist.
Brust left Ferry & Clas in 1901 to form the short-lived Crane & Brust. After that folded, Brust went to work for notable architects like Hermann Esser and H.C. Koch from 1902 to 1905.
In 1906, Brust and Philipp opened their own practice, designing many projects, from Schuster’s Department Store on Vliet Street to the chapel at St. Joseph’s Convent and much of the town of Kohler.
The partnership lasted 20 years after which Brust worked on his own until 1938 when he founded Brust & Brust with his sons John and Paul, who continued the work after their father’s death in 1946.
Like architect Henry Messmer, who was related to Archbishop Sebastian Messmer, the Brusts had an in with the archdiocese. Peter’s brother Nicholas was a priest and the procurator of St. Francis Seminary, and his nephew Leo would become an auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
Later, Paul Brust became the leader of the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Men.
Thus, when St. Aloysius needed an architect for its new church in the mid-1950s, Brust & Brust, who had a track record of church commissions as well as all the right connections, were a shoo-in.
Building a new church
With what appears to have been a large and engaged congregation and a pastor – Father Oscar Winninghoff – who seems to have been all-in, the fundraising began and quickly got creative.
In August 1955, Winninghoff handed out money to parishioners in the hopes that they could find industrious ways to grow the funds.
Winninghoff gave 1,500 parishioners a dollar each and 22 of those parishioners hatched the idea for a fundraiser.
“The 11 couples got together on plans for a Mexican fiesta at the home of Mr and Mrs Joseph Wilde, 1481 S 85th St.,” the Journal reported. “It started out as a garden party, but as plans grew, the city blocked off the street for the group and a block party resulted which attracted 375 persons.
“The guests were charged $7 a couple for a huge buffet dinner and dancing. They also took part in stunts and games that brought in additional sums and added fun.”
There was a faux bullfight and dancing in the street by guests donning “Mexican serapes or other ‘south of the border’ items for the street dancing.”
In the end, that $22 investment blossomed into $565.
At the same time, Brust & Brust was drawing plans for a huge church building that quickly drew attention for the fact that the altar was in the center of the sanctuary, flanked on two sides by rows of pews and with balconies on all four sides.
The 200-foot church filled the entire stretch of Greenfield Avenue between 92nd and 93rd Streets and reportedly had 466 windows. It could seat 1,200 for services. Entrances on each of the two numbered streets were identical.
When the cornerstone laying was reported in the Sentinel in March 1956, the headline read, “Build Church with Altar in Middle.”
“The cornerstone will be laid Sunday for the new $600,000 St. Aloysius, which will have its altar in the center of the auditorium,” the paper wrote.
“Rev. Oscar Winninghoff said the altar will be placed in the middle so the entire congregation can be closer during communion.”
And that’s pretty much how all the reporting went for the next year or so.
In January 1957 the Journal noted that the central altar was a Milwaukee first.
“Although visitors probably will regard the arrangement as radical, actually the idea of an altar in the center marks the revival of an ancient form of church architecture,” the paper noted. “In early times it was common for the congregation to stand on all sides of the altar. In many large churches in Rome the people are on three sides of the altar.
Father Oscar P. Winninghoff, pastor, admitted that the departure from more recent tradition had stirred some doubts at first. ‘But I always wanted a church of this kind,” he said. “People have been used to seeing me mostly from the back. Now half of them will be able to see me from the front as well’.”
Interestingly, Gary Zimmerman, who later worked at Brust & Brust – a firm he later purchased and which continues today as Zimmerman Architectural Studios – says that for a long time the first was considered anything but revolutionary.
“The Brusts were known for bulletproof buildings,” he says. “And just really conservative.”
Zimmerman thought that perhaps the design showed the hand of a young architect from Ecuador, who is one of the most interesting characters in 20th century Milwaukee architecture.
Vega, who was born and raised in Quito, Ecuador and was known to his friends as Pepe. After serving in the army and playing professional soccer with Liga Deportiva Universitaria, he went to Buenos Aires to study architecture and at the same time he played for Atlético River Plate.
Back in Ecuador he met Joan Davis, an American who was teaching English, and they married and moved to the U.S. After working at Brust & Brust he later moved to Mukwonago and opened his own office.
However, it seems Vega didn’t arrive in Milwaukee until 1960 and thus is an unlikely source for this design.
While the Milwaukee Public Library’s Wisconsin Architectural Archive has many architectural drawings for the church project, none is signed by anything other than the firm’s name.
"What I know about St. Aloysius church is that my father, John Brust, was the architect of record, but I don’t know who the actual designer was," says David Brust, who is also an architect. "I believe that placing the altar in the center was my father’s concept, but who did the final detailing was before my time.
"One of the reasons I took the name Aloysius at my confirmation was because of my father’s comments about the church."
While Zimmerman says that Brust & Brust designs were “too heavy, plain vanilla,” he admits that their central altar approach at St. Aloysius was ahead of its time.
“If you look at St. John’s Cathedral, when it was redone, it had a central altar,” he says, adding that while they were ahead of their time, “I don’t think they knew it. They were very conservative. Good people, wonderful families. I had a great respect for them.”
Indeed in that 1957 Journal article, the architects themselves described the church design as “conservative contemporary.”
The design was executed by West Allis contractor Ajack
Construction, which was active from 1935 until 1980. Run by brothers Joe and Valentine Ajejczyk (they changed their surname to the more easily pronounced Ajack), the company built everything from Tudor Revival homes in the Washington Highlands in Wauwatosa to St. Aloysius and all three of the churches it merged with in 2018.
The church opened in early February 1958 and some of its features were much discussed.
“Parishioners of St. Aloysius Church,” wrote the Sentinel, “will probably center most of their attention up on the interior, for, after all, it’s not every church that has the altar in the middle.
But the outside is remarkable, too, when you get close to it.
“They will find a wealth of apostolic symbolism carved on the walls by sculptor Adolph Roegner, widely known for several works of sacred art in the state. The pastor Rev. Oscar Winninghoff has written thumbnail biographies of the saints depicted and explanations of the symbolism. This is included in the dedication booklet.”
Among the carvings executed by the German-born Roegner – who came to Milwaukee in 1923 (and carved the frieze that was long ago removed from the former Journal Building) – were St. Peter’s keys and inverted cross of St. Peter, St. John’s flaming, as well as symbolism of the other 10 disciples.
“In addition are the symbols of saints who converted nations and races – St. Patrick of Ireland, St. Boniface of Germany, St. Augustine of England, St. Ansgar (Oscar) of the North, Saints Cyril and Methodius of the Slavs, St. Stephen of Hungary, St. Francis Xavier of the Orientals, St. Peter Claver of the Negroes, St. Isaac Joques of the Indians, Sr. Rose of Lima of South America, and St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, patroness of the immigrants.”
The roof of the building was copper and a carillon tower was installed on top.
The nearly 500 windows also garnered some attention.
“The building has 466 windows ranging from 12 inches square to 12 by 36 inch rectangles containing cast glass imported from Belgium,” the Journal noted. “A rippling effect from the blue, light yellow and deep red panes of varying thickness provides unusual interior lighting.
“The interior contains marble imported from Italy. The white marble altar is surrounded by a marble communion rail. The altar is flanked by marble credence tables. Overhead is a canopy of stainless steel and aluminum and a suspended cross with the carved figure of Jesus Christ on one side and a relief figure of Christ on the other side.”
With about 1,500 families and nearly 8,000 members at the time the church was completed St. Aloysius was notable as one of the largest parishes in the archdiocese.
Now it was notable, too, for its unique home.
It seems hard to believe that just about 60 years later, the congregation was too small to carry on alone and to maintain this building. But stepping inside, it is easy to see why.
The place is huge. Really, really big. The mind boggles at what it must cost to heat such a space.
The school – which has a stunning gym addition with soaring laminated wooden arch supports that echo the architecture of the church sanctuary – and the rectory were likely beginning to run up big maintenance bills.
It’s hard to know exactly what condition they were in at the time of closing because vandals have come in to topple and smash anything they could reach, as well as cover surfaces with graffiti and punch holes in the wall in search of copper pipe.
The rectory for a time had a squatting resident, too, who left a massive pile of trash.
I searched in vain to try and see where the church had been set up in the school building back in the old days, but I did enjoy seeing the old chalk rails, tilework and other details in what was, at the end, Mary Queen of Saints Academy. At the same time, the level of destruction was heartbreaking.
But it really is the sanctuary itself that is most impressive.
Though its design won’t put you in mind of St. Peter’s or Notre Dame, the massive scale when you step inside definitely creates a similar feeling of awe.
It’ll be sad to see it go, but it has become the reality, not just here.
“It's been vacant now for quite a while,” says Mayor Dan Devine. “Churches can always be, I don't want to say challenging, but an interesting (challenge for) reuse.
“We're trying to build our density. We're trying to bring in new people. I know there's the voice out there that thinks we don't need any more apartments, but every time we build something, it’s well over 95 percent leased out in six months, if not even before they open.
“There is demand. Granted it's not for everyone, but there's a significant amount of people that don't want to own right now.”
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.
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 be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
