Earlier this month the City of Milwaukee Historic Preservation Commission selected winners for the 2025
Cream of the Cream City Awards.
The awards, which honor individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions in the field of historic preservation and heritage education/advocacy in the City of Milwaukee, will be presented at a ceremony Thursday, May 29 at 5:30 p.m. at Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery, 917 W. Juneau Ave.
The event is free and open to the public.
The awards, said Ald. Robert J. Bauman, who chairs the Historic Preservation Commission, go to projects, “large and small which have preserved the rich history of Milwaukee found in its varied architecture from the 19th and 20th centuries.
“The work that will be recognized on May 29 is inspiring, and I encourage members of the public to attend the event and see firsthand what historic preservation truly looks like in Milwaukee.”
Here are the 2025 winners, with text from the City of Milwaukee Historic Preservation Commission:
Dubbel Dutch Hotel
817-819 N. Marshall St.
Category: Commercial Rehabilitation
Originally built in 1898 as a side-by-side mansion, the Koeffler-Baumgarten Double House now serves as
the Dubbel Dutch Hotel, a 17-room hotel within the heart of downtown Milwaukee. The German Renaissance Revival building was designed by noted Milwaukee architects George Bowman Ferry and Alfred C. Clas, known for other notable projects such as the Pabst Mansion and Milwaukee Central Library. From hand-spun balusters on the staircase to intricate brass door knobs, the detail of each square inch was deliberately gathered and strategically executed for this mansion to intrigue guests for hundreds of years.
Oriental Theater
2230 N. Farwell Ave.
Category: Commercial Rehabilitation
The Oriental Theater, an elaborately decorated Moorish Revival theater built by Saxe Brothers Amusement Enterprises and designed by architects Gustave Dick and Alex Bauer in 1927, has entertained Milwaukeeans for nearly a century. By the 2010s, the grand theater had seen numerous modifications and needed an interior restoration. Starting in 2020, Milwaukee Film began a five-phase, twenty-nine-month long restoration project that included renovation and expansion of bathrooms, a new storefront, improved projection and sound equipment, new seating, restoration of the balcony, and restoration and painting of the beautifully detailed ceiling plasterwork.
ThriveOn Collaboration
2153 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr.
Category: Commercial Rehabilitation
The ThriveOn Collaboration is the adaptive reuse of the flagship Schuster’s Department Store. The core 1907 building was designed by Charles Kirchoff and Thomas L. Rose, with a series of later additions, expansions, and remodels during its operation as Schuster’s. Now as home to the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, the Medical College of Wisconsin’s community engagement programs, nonprofit partners, and mixed-income apartments, ThriveOn King is a model for place-based and community-centered change.
Concordia 27
801 N. 27th St
Category: Back from the Brink
Near West Side Partners (NWSP) joined with Wiegand Enterprises to develop and construct the Concordia 27 project, which aims to address economic, health and social inequalities within the Near West Side community. After nearly a decade of collaboration, Concordia 27 provides a lively and inclusive place for members of the community to gather and access critical resources. The catalytic project utilized three vacant historic buildings renovated to house a wide variety of tenants, including Near West Side Partners, Center for Independence commercial kitchen, Fruition MKE, Scaling Wellness in Milwaukee, and thirty-three affordable workforce apartments.
Tannery Boutique Apartments
605-609 W. Virginia St.
Category: Back From the Brink
The project undertook the stabilization and preservation of two historic structures at the corner of 6th & Virginia in Walker’s Point. The tavern building, constructed in 1900, is a two-story structure that anchors the street corner, while a pair of rowhouses constructed in 1850 are located just to the west of the tavern. These buildings are among the oldest in Milwaukee and were in a state of partial demolition. In 2021, Braden Just saw potential in restoring these spaces to their original use and purchased the buildings. Utilizing historic tax credits as part of the successful rehabilitation and preservation effort, the
buildings were rehabilitated into 2,000 square feet of commercial space and five apartment units.
The Malt House (at Pabst Brewery)
1009 W. Juneau Ave.
Category: Back From the Brink
Renovation of the former Pabst Brewing Company Malt House has made it an asset to the surrounding Brewery Complex neighborhood; taking a formerly abandoned Italianate-style Cream City brick building, and turning it into a thriving and beautiful benefit to the community. The transformative, complex project was able to save a historically significant building from the wrecking ball and return it to a beautiful and active multi-family apartment building.
Fitz Apartments
2630 N. Hackett Ave.
Category: Sensitive Infill in a Historic District
The Fitz Apartments exemplify how thoughtful development can preserve a community’s sense of place while embracing the future. When St. Mark’s Church sought to rebuild a new parish hall, they turned to Three Leaf Partners and DeMichele Company to unlock the value of their East Side property. Completed in summer 2024, The Fitz seamlessly blends historic preservation with modern urban living. By utilizing underutilized church property, the project maintained the character of the neighborhood while introducing a sustainable, high-quality housing option to Downtown Milwaukee.
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.
