This Arts & Crafts home was designed by Robert A. Messmer and built for Henry Vogt in 1910 for $9,000. Vogt was the treasurer for the Richardson Phoenix Company, a lubricating appliance manufacturer.
Messmer, born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1870, moved to Milwaukee with his family in 1871. He graduated from Milwaukee’s East Division High School in 1887 and joined his father’s architectural firm, H. Messmer and Son, as an apprentice. After his father died in 1899, Messmer was joined in the business by his brother, Henry Jr., but maintained the firm name until 1911 when the name was changed to R. A. Messmer and Brother. The firm specialized in churches and institutional buildings but also designed many residences. Other notable examples of their work include the Neoclassical Helen Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts on the UW-Milwaukee campus (used as a synagogue until 1924) and several Arts & Crafts residences at 2140, 2351 and 2658 N. Sherman Blvd.
Interior details of the home include:
- Fireplace with a large “Grebe” tile surround;
- Quartersawn oak floors and trim;
- Stained glass pocket doors separating the living and dining rooms;
- Stained glass in the foyer and dining rooms; and
- Third-floor maid’s quarters.