H o p e H a s a H om e
known as “Big Fitz,” sailed on the Great Lakes for
the Fitzgerald’s intended, but with the addition of
17 years until her catastrophic end in a storm on
a coach house and stable at an additional cost of
the waters until it was scrapped years later.
Lake Superior on November 19, 1975. This tragedy
$4,500. This time, it was completed.
Meanwhile, Jesse Fitzgerald raised her sons and
is forever immortalized in Gordon Lightfoot’s song,
they both went off to college. One son, Edmund,
“The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”.
returned to Milwaukee and became president and
After William Fitzgerald’s death, the unfinished
The home features a façade of red brick laid Flemish bond resting on a bed of Lake Superior sandstone with white marble steps leading to the
chairman of the board of Northwestern Mutual
structure on Lafayette Hill was dismantled and
central doorway. The original columned porch
Life Insurance Co. As an investment, Northwestern
the remaining foundation and lot were sold to
existed only across the entryway but later was
Mutual Life Insurance Co. commissioned a ship to
Mrs. M.A. Reinhardt, the widow of Dr. William
expanded to stretch across the entire portico. An
be built. That ship was named after its chairman,
Reinhardt. Mrs. Reinhardt used the original
open-air porch above the entryway was enclosed,
Edmund Fitzgerald, to honor Mr. Fitzgerald and
Ferry and Clas architectural drawings for the
creating a sunroom. Tall, twin chimney stacks
his family’s heritage. The Edmund Fitzgerald,
reconstruction of the home and it was built, just as
flank the roof while a terra-cotta belt course divides the second and third levels and one also frames the entire home under the cornice. The double-hung windows, crowned by flared, flat brick lintels, are accented with decorative keystones. White marble was used for trim on the exterior windows and doors. A widow’s walk, a railed rooftop platform, was constructed atop the roof. They were often found on homes in New England Coastal towns of the 19th Century to serve as a lookout for incoming ships, appropriate for the sea-faring Fitzgerald family. The exterior entrance on the east side of the building was constructed in 1940 when the home was transformed into a duplex. The entrance features a carved marble bas relief, which was originally located above the door of the open-air porch, and is crowned with a semi-circular door canopy. Old-world craftsmanship, warmth and character can be found throughout the interior. The inviting vestibule features a floor of tile specifically shipped to Milwaukee from a monastery in Brussels, Belgium. The massive foyer is lined with rich, quarter sawn oak paneling and displays a coffered, barrel-vaulted ceiling designed by master plasterers, Maxwell, Forbes and Stillman. On the first floor, the living room, wrapped in five-foot paneled walnut wainscoting,
Brookfield Towne Centre 18915 W. Capitol Drive
contains a walnut framed fireplace surrounded by green marble, sided by two columns. The
262-781-6083
dining room’s ten and one-half foot ceiling
Mon., Fri., Sat. 10:30-5; Tue., Wed., Thu. 10:30-6
emphasizes the elaborate French mahogany
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style. The gourmet kitchen is a state-of-the-art
fireplace with its unique ornamentation and update, designed by the current owner. Paneled pocket doors, made of walnut, oak or mahogany, all with brass hardware, separate the main rooms. Early Kohler Company gold-plated brass fixtures can be found in the bathrooms.
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