Boucher RentalThis two-story duplex was
built in 1906. Its long layout fits snugly in the deep, narrow lot. A broad porch spans across the front, and each flat has its own front door. A single entrance at the back
lets into a staircase which connects all the levels of
the house, from basement to attic.
The two flats are nearly identical -- each arranged with a private back half, and a more public front. Detailing throughout the residences is fairly humble and finer touches, where they do exist, are limited to the front spaces. Broad, built-in banquet hutches in the dining areas have carved arabesque brackets, bead board back panels, and moulding at various levels; but then similar cabinetry in the halls leading to the kitchens have no such detail. The division of ornamentation is even more starkly illustrated where metal doorknobs are ornate on one side of the door and then plain on the other. The attic is otherwise unfinished, but does have a small, finished room at the rear end. What looks like a gas line leads to a lamp mount, and there is a duct along the floor. The space may have been designed to serve as the sleeping quarters for a live-in servant, or some form of accommodations. Artifacts found in the space suggest that, in more recent times, it was home for a pet bird. Only one major change was made to the property in the last century, and that was the addition of a two-car garage behind the house in 1989. Look around the interior of the house, however, and evidence of incremental changes can be found here and there: move an appliance in the kitchen and many layers of flooring are revealed, a veritable survey of the shifting fashions which the house bore witness to over the decades. Modifications are being made once again, but now toilets and vanities and everything in the kitchen is getting replaced. This flat’s time for an update has clearly arrived. |
Tim Richardson, current lower-level tenant, describes the condition of the house and efforts to get it into good shape.
Historical context1st Floor 2nd Floor
Floor Plans, 2014 |
“1923: Wright's Map of Milwaukee,” Milwaukee Neighborhoods: Photos and Maps 1885 - 1992. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries, December 15 2003.
Tim Richardson, interview by Matt Lathrum, June 2014.
Tim Richardson, interview by Matt Lathrum, June 2014.