The Pabst Mansion

Pictures From a Milwaukee Landmark

Dec. 10, 2009

midnight

It was a characteristic Milwaukee story from the long,dismal mayoralty of Henry Maier. The Pabst Mansion, a local landmark and jewelof Victorian architecture, was nearly torn down to make space for a parkinglot. Fortunately, the tide turned against the wholesale destruction of thecity’s architectural heritage by vandals in public office. The Pabst Mansionwas saved, restored to much of its original appearance and opened to the publicas a museum of a gilded era from Milwaukee’s past.

For many, the color photography by E.C. Landryfor The Captain Frederick Pabst Mansion:AnIllustrated History, alongwith archival illustrations from Old Milwaukee and the mansion’s years as theseat of the city’s Roman Catholic archbishops, will be the main reason forturning the book’s pages. And the pictures are a delight, displaying the beautyof the architecture, the furnishings and the partly restored Pabst artcollection.

But pictures can’t tell the entire story.Historian and preservationist John Eastberg wrote the engaging text, giving aconcise history of Milwaukee as a brewing capital and the German beer baronswho captained the industry. Frederick Pabst actually was a captain, the skipperof a Lake Michigan steamship who married into one of Milwaukee’s earliestbrewing families, the Bests.

Unlike the financial wizards of recent years whogambled with the world economy, Pabst and his brand of tycoons were moreconcerned with building than speculating. The Illustrated History of the Pabst Mansion shows just one of his manyenduring gifts to Milwaukee, the city where he made his wealth

JohnEastberg talks about the book at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 16 at Boswell Books,2559 N. Downer Ave.