Alexander C. Eschweiler

Alexander Chadbourne Eschweiler (August 10, 1865 – June 12, 1940) was an American architect, with a practice in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that built both residences and commercial structures. His eye-catching Japonist pagoda design for filling stations for Wadham's Oil and Grease Company of Milwaukee were repeated over a hundred times, though only a very few survive. His substantial turn-of-the-twentieth-century residences for the Milwaukee business elite, in conservative Jacobethan or neo-Georgian idioms, have preserved their cachet in the city.^[1]

Eschweiler was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He studied at Marquette University and Cornell University, graduating in 1890. Eschweiler opened his practice in Milwaukee in 1892. In 1923 his sons, Alexander C. Eschweiler Jr., Theodore, and Carl joined him in practice.^[2][3]

The Eschweiler Prize is made from a bequest of Alexander C. Eschweiler, Jr., ’15 in memory of his father Alexander C. Eschweiler, Sr., ’90. An annual award of approximately $3,000* is given to a student in architecture with high scholastic achievement who has been accepted in one of the architecture graduate programs at Cornell. *Amount of award may vary from year to year. .^[4]

Selected works

Eighty-one surviving commissions were noted in the exhibition "Alexander Eschweiler in Milwaukee: Celebrating a Rich Architectural Heritage" Charles Allis Art Museum, 2007.

• Edward Cowdery House, 2743 N. Lake Drive, Milwaukee, 1896.
• Milwaukee Gas Light Company, West Side works.^[5]
• John Murphy House, 2030 E. Lafayette Place, Milwaukee, 1899. A compromise with Prairie School architecture.
• Robert Nunnemacher house, 2409 N. Wahl Avenue, Milwaukee, 1906. Symmetrical Jacobethan style, brick with stone quoins.
• Charles Allis House, 1801 N. Prospect Avenue, Milwaukee, 1909, in a Jacobethan style. Now open as the Charles Allis Art Museum.^[6]
• James K. Ilsley House, Milwaukee.
• Elizabeth Black residence.
• Thomas A. Greene Memorial Museum, Milwaukee.
• Milwaukee Downer College building, now University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee.
• John Mariner Building (Hotel Metro), Milwaukee, 1937. Art Moderne in style, with curved wrap-around corners; the first commercial structure in Milwaukee to feature air conditioning.^[7]
• Wisconsin Gas Building, Milwaukee.
• Wisconsin Telephone Building, 722 N. Broadway. Ground floor remodeled for AT&T.
• Milwaukee Arena.
• Claire B. Bird House, 522 McIndoe St. Wausau, 1910.
• First Universalist Church, 504 Grant St. Wausau, 1914.
• Marathon County Fairgrounds stock judging pavilion, Wausau, 1921.
• E.K. Schuetz House, 930 Franklin St. Wausau, 1922.
• D.C. Everest House, 1206 Highland Park Blvd. Wausau, 1925.
• C.F. Dunbar House, 929 McIndoe St. Wausau, 1926.
• Horace A.J. Upham House, W9888 Hwy 13, Wisconsin Dells, WI, 1899. (Pictures:1, 2, 3, 4,5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12) (Wis Arch Inventory #6072)

Notes

External links

• Wisconsin Architectural Archive This website was down as of 5/2010The archive contains many Eschweiler drawings as well as those of other Wisconsin architects.