Architectural Terra Cotta of Milwaukee County

cover-image_2_origAdd this book release to your calendar at the end of May. Artist and architectural historian, Ben Tyjeski has put together this exhaustive catalog of the history of architectural terra-cotta in Milwaukee. The book is an amazing work showcasing examples of the art of ceramics used in local buildings over the last one hundred plus years.

Book Release: *Architectural Terra Cotta of Milwaukee County* by Ben Tyjeski
Thursday, May 31, 5-7pm
Var Gallery
643 S 2nd St, Milwaukee, WI 53204

Architectural Terra Cotta of Milwaukee County is a well documented and researched survey of some 480 buildings that featured architectural terra cotta in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.  The nearly 200 detailed descriptions of buildings discuss ornamental motifs, trends in design, and the development of surfaces and glaze.  In addition, this book covers the manufacturers and architects who were involved.  It also deals with the significance terra cotta had in the trade of building materials, concerns with preservation, and perspectives on its use in contemporary designs. Accompanying the text are over 350 colored photographs to marvel.

Book will be available to purchase for $59.95.
Limited quantity available.

Hidden History of Milwaukee

Join OnMilwaukee.com’s Bobby Tanzilo for a behind-the-scenes tour of Milwaukee’s past. Sail out to the Breakwater Lighthouse, scramble up the wings of the Milwaukee Art Museum and dig up the city’s roots on the corner of Water Street and Wisconsin Avenue. Seize the chance to do a little urban spelunking and explore basilicas, burial grounds and breweries. Ring the bell in the city hall tower, and take a turn around the secret indoor track at a Montessori school. No space is off limits in these untold stories of the Cream City’s most familiar places and celebrated landmarks.

This is Bobby Tanzilo’s latest book about Milwaukee’s history and it pulls together many of the stories he has told in his On Milwaukee columns. He will be on hand to talk about the book and answer questions.


Here is a recent interview from On Milwaukee.

Boswell Books
2559 N. Downer Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53211
Wednesday May 21, at 7:00 pm

About the Author: Bobby Tanzilo is managing editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he moved to Milwaukee when he was 17 and has lived in nearly every neighborhood in the city. He earned a BA-Mass Communication at UW-Milwaukee and is author of The Milwaukee Police Station Bomb of 1917, as well as three other nonfiction books. He lives in Milwaukee with his family, where he serves on the school governance council at his children’s Milwaukee Public School, and is creator of the website, SchoolMattersMKE.com.

Tanzilo

Milwaukee Brews & Booze

Author Martin Hintz has released his latest book on the history of booze in Milwaukee, A Spirited History of Milwaukee Brews & Booze.

Crack open this comprehensive history of Brew City booze. Explore Milwaukee’s “rum holes,” discover how the city weathered Prohibition and which Jones Island sported the longest mustache. Copy down the best recipe involving Sprecher Special Amber, Rainbow Trout and sauerkraut. Sample the rich heritage of Pabst, Schlits, Gettelman and Miller-the folk who turned Milwaukee into the Beer Capital of the World. And save some room for the more recent contributions of distillers and craft brewers who continue to make the city an exciting place for the thoughtful drinker.

Be sure to stop by Friday, September 30th, 7:00pm at Boswell Book Company, 2559 N. Downer Avenue to meet the author and buy the book.

Octagon House History Book

Author and historian, Ellen L Puerzer has a new book out. I’ll let her explain:

To anyone interested in octagon houses (50 were built in Wisconsin of which 27 remain)

My book has been published. It contains photos and histories of the 900-some octagon houses that were built in the US and Canada.

Information about ordering the book can be found here. Some sample pages are shown on the website and it looks like a great volume listing all of the surviving octagon houses and many that are demolished.