Astor Hotel - Hotel History

Originally known as the "Astor-on-the-lake," the Astor Hotel is a very large, eight-story building which has housed both permanent residents in apartments and transient guests in hotel rooms since its completion in 1920.

When first opened, the Astor was considered to be one of the finest hotels in the Midwest.  Located in a quiet urban neighborhood overlooking Lake Michigan, it quickly earned a reputation for offering the ultimate in luxurious appointments for visitors and a prestigious address for permanent residents.

Designed by architect Herbert Tullgren, the Astor Hotel was built by real estate developer Oscar Brachman for a Milwaukee hotel tycoon, Walter Schroeder.  In 1984, the Astor Hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Architectural Design

The Astor is a reinforced concrete and steel structure with brick and tile curtain walls and French classical details.  The original (or eastern) section of the building was constructed from 1918 to 1920 and is U-shaped in plan.  The newer, 1925 addition on the western half of the site is L-shaped, with a one-story pavilion in the corner of the L, thus making the tall building roughly E-shaped, with three eight-story pavilions projecting toward the front (south side) of the building.  Finally, the western-most wing, when viewed from the west, also appears U-shaped.  The center of this U is filled in by a one-story parking garage.

The one-story portions and the first two stories of the rest of the building are faced with a smooth, gray limestone veneer.  Windows on the first floor are tall and arched, and light rental storefronts on the Juneau Street side.  Some windows on the second level are decorated with small stone balconets.  Above a heavy stone cornice, the next five stories are of plain brown brick and are completely undecorated.  The top story is demarcated by a heavy beltcourse.   Round-arched windows, balustrades and inset stone panels trim the top story on the main facades of the building.

Inside, stained glass in a floral motif lights the dome of the entrance pavilion.  The lobby is simple, but elegantly designed, with classical details and another stained glass skylight over the reception area.  Apartments and rooms are simpler in design, with well-crafted built-ins.  Most have been little altered since construction. 

History

Walter Schroeder got into the hotel business indirectly.  He inherited his father's successful insurance, mortgage loan and bond business.  In 1912, he sold bonds for the construction of the Wisconsin Hotel in downtown Milwaukee.  Later, he took over management of the hotel when it failed to show a profit because he felt responsible to his bondholders.  Under Schroeder's leadership, the Hotel Wisconsin soon was placed on a sound financial basis. In 1920, Schroeder erected his first new hotel, the Astor. 

By the end of the 1920's, Schroeder built his pride and joy - the Schroeder hotel in downtown Milwaukee.  Designed by Holabird and Root, it was hailed as Schroeder's "most beautiful and impressive" by one biographer.  The Schroeder is probably the building most closely associated with Walter Schroeder.

The architect of the Astor Hotel was Herbert W. Tullgren, a Milwaukee designer who became the major architect in the Schroeder hotel chain.  Born in Chicago, he moved to Milwaukee with his father, an architect, and his brother, a builder.  The three formed an architectural firm in 1920.  After his father's death in 1922, Tullgren continued the firm, designing, among other things, over fifty apartment buildings throughout the state. 

At his death, he was "one of the most widely-known architects in Wisconsin" .  The Astor Hotel was one of his largest and finest commissions.

The builder of the Astor Hotel, Oscar Brachman, was remembered in his obituary as having a large part in changing Milwaukee's skyline.  He held an interest in the construction of five theatres, six of the largest hotels in Milwaukee and over thirty large apartment houses.

The Astor is one of two buildings in Milwaukee still remaining that were designed to serve as apartment house-transient hotel room combinations.  The other, the Hotel Knickerbocker, is next door to the Astor at 1028 East Juneau Avenue.  It was built in 1929-1930.  Designed by the architectural firm of Rosman and Wierdsma, it is almost an exact copy of the Astor, although it is less graceful and less refined in its details.  Both hotels have, for over fifty years, been known throughout the city as prestigious, residential addresses.  For instance, in 1930, the Astor was the home of eight corporate presidents, two vice-presidents and a circuit court judge.  Walter Schroeder himself lived here in the years before his death.  Over the years, many stars of stage and screen have stayed at the Astor while in Milwaukee.

The Astor is the finest remaining example in Milwaukee of the combination hotel-apartment building.  In addition, it is one of the finest hotel designs remaining by regionally-important architect Herbert W. Tullgren.