In the 1990s, when exaggerated gables and McMansions ruled the day, the ranch-style home seemed doomed to extinction. Now, thanks to the baby boomers contemplating old age and the prospect of someday being unable to climb stairs, these homes are hot again.
That’s been true since around 2004, says Mark Brunner, senior real estate specialist for Shorewest-Mequon. The economic downturn has only added to that popularity, he says, because homebuyers are more cost-conscious and ranches can be built relatively cheaply.
But the ranch home is only one of nine classic home styles common to Milwaukee that continues to endure. Some – like the Milwaukee bungalow and Milwaukee duplex – are indigenous. Others are adaptations from other locales, but all of them reflect the times when they were built.
1 ) Queen Anne 1880s-1905
The swan song of the Victorian era, Queen Anne homes boast gables and dormers, bays and oriel windows, balconies and verandas, chimney stacks and turrets. The style is versatile: Clapboard, shingles, stone and stucco can don the exterior. They abound on Milwaukee’s lower East Side, West Side, Walker’s Point, near South Side, Brewer’s Hill and Bay View.
2 ) Milwaukee duplex 1880s-1930
Drive anywhere in the city and you’ll see them. More than 25,000 were built by 1930, accounting for almost half the homes built during the period. What made the Milwaukee duplex different was placing the two units atop each other rather than side by side. The ability to rent out one flat while living in the other made duplexes popular with immigrants craving home ownership.
3 ) Polish flat1890s-1910
These “raised cottages” got their more colorful name because they were largely built by Polish families. Often, the original cedar-post foundations were replaced by cement blocks or bricks. Basements were rented as separate flats. Features include ground-level basement windows and separate basement entrances. Upper units generally have one or two bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen. Polish flats are concentrated between South Sixth and South 13th streets on the city’s South Side, on the lower East Side north of Brady Street, on the West Side and on the near North Side.
4 ) Milwaukee bungalow 1905-1930
Evolved from a style that began in southern California. “It was a real popular style because people could afford to get a house and have a lot of formal space on a budget,” says Desty Lorino, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker’s Glendale office. Formal living and dining rooms with built-in bookcases and buffets are common in these 1.5-story homes, usually with two bedrooms. A wide, clipped-gable roof faces the street or adorns the side of the home. Bungalows abound in Washington Heights and Sherman Park.
5 ) Cape Cod 1946-1950s
After World War II, Capes took over where bungalows left off. Unlike bungalows, “Cape Cods didn’t have fancy woodwork; didn’t have fancy anything,” says Lorino. “They were inexpensive to build and mass-produced.” Instead of separate dining rooms, builders usually opted for bigger kitchens. Known for their cross-gable roofs and “doghouse” dormers, Capes can be found in Grafton, Greenfield, Greendale, Glendale, Whitefish Bay and Bay View.
6 ) Mediterranean Revival 1915-1930
Blending Spanish and Italian architecture, Milwaukee’s version of the style is known for its red or green clay-tile roofs, and for replacing stucco exteriors with Lannon stone or textured brown brick. Arched doorways and windows with wrought-iron balconies distinguish the style. Found in Bay View and on Milwaukee’s upper East Side, West Side and South Side.
7 ) Ranch house 1945-1980
Like Cape Cods, ranches were economical and mass-produced. These one-story houses have horizontal layouts with sleeping areas separated from living areas, often accessed via a narrow hallway. Common in many suburbs, they’re easily spotted in Germantown, Grafton, Cedarburg, Glendale, Fox Point and Brown Deer.
8 ) Prairie style 1905-1920
Frank Lloyd Wright and other architects developed the Prairie style in Chicago. Because they were inspired by Midwestern prairies, earth tones dominated. Roofs are low-pitched, hipped or gabled, with eaves that spread well beyond the home’s side walls. Floor plans are open with plenty of casement windows to let in sunlight. Many Prairie gems are found on Milwaukee’s upper East Side, West Side, and in Shorewood and Wauwatosa.
9 ) Colonial revival 1960s-early 1990s
Though somewhat popular in the 1920s and ’30s, most date from the later period. They have stone or brick exteriors and aluminum or vinyl siding, front porches and sliding glass doors facing the back of the property. Many have a family room, a formal living room, two to 2.5 baths, and three or four bedrooms, says Linda Kuether, a real estate broker for Shorewest-Grafton. They’re plentiful in suburbs like Cedarburg, Grafton and Mequon.
