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Remember When...Milwaukee had a 'Newspaper Row'?
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| Title | Remember When...Milwaukee had a 'Newspaper Row'? |
| Description | During the latter part of the 19th century this scene, looking west from what is now, E. Mason st. and N. Broadway, was part of what was known as " Milwaukee's Newspaper Row." On the corner was Adam Roth's Quiet House saloon. The third floor of the building was the home of the Milwaukee Press Club until 1903. Some very interesting and unique happenings in the club's history took place in these rooms. It was here that the club's now famous "Sacred Cat" mascot of Milwaukee newspaperdom, was brought after its "adoption" by two newspapermen in 1897. They had found the cat's "petrified" body wedged between two buildings. These rooms were the scene of a very proper tea party with little pink tea cakes and bonbons which the men gave for the city's newsperwomen about the turn of the century. (Before the women were allowed to enter, the walls were carefully scrutinized for any pictures which might be offensive, and the sudden gaps left by their removal were covered with more acceptable decorative pieces.) It was here also that the club's famous autograph collection had its start. Honored guests were given a piece of chalk and invited to scrawl their signatures wherever they pleased on the room's hardwood walls. Somewhat of a problem developed, however, when the club decided to seek new quarters. The landlord, fully aware of the value of the signatures, declined to give the members permission to replace the scribbled boards with new ones. But the newspapermen, being the enterprising creatures that they are, scheduled a midnight party to which each member was requested to bring a saw and a hatchet. The result was that when they left, they carried their priceless collection right along with them on plank sized boards just right for framing. The landlord had no suspicion of what had transpired, for they had carefully replaced the original wall board with new one complete with signatures – Rameses II, Julius Caesar and Napoleon, to mention a few. Next door to the Quiet House was the building which housed two Milwaukee German newspapers, the Daily Seebote and the Milwaukee Katholische Zeitung, a weekly, both of which were published by P. V. Deuster, who was also one of the founders of The Milwaukee Journal. The Journal, founded on Nov. 16, 1882, by Deuster and Michael Kraus was first published in this building. Less than a month after its founding, the fledgling paper was at the brink of failure when it was purchased by Lucius W. Nieman, a young newspaperman who was one of the earliest exponents of independent journalism. In 1883 he moved the paper to the old Herold building, 433 Broadway, where he used the Herold's press. By 1885, the paper had grown so that another move was necessary and the Journal occupied the third of its seven homes, pictured above, at what was then 92 Mason st., where it remained until 1893. It was also during this period, in 1890, that The Journal Company was founded with Mr. Nieman as its controlling stockholder. Many other newspapers were published at this time on "Newspaper Row." The only survivor, other than The Journal, is The Milwaukee Sentinel, which at the time was published across the street at 91 Mason st. The third flag you see pictured above belonged to the Milwaukee Abstract association, not a newspaper. (Pictures courtesy of The Milwaukee Journal and information from the local history collection of the Milwaukee public library.) |
| Library of Congress Subject Headings | Milwaukee Journal; Newspaper publishing -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Newspaper buildings -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Horse drawn vehicles; Mason Street (Milwaukee, Wis.); Broadway Street (Milwaukee, Wis.); Milwaukee Press Club; Streets -- Wisconsin -- Milwaukee; Quiet House (Milwaukee, Wis.); Roth, Adam |
| Publisher | Milwaukee Public Library |
| Contributor | Milwaukee Journal |
| Date Original | 1885 |
| Source | Milwaukee Journal |
| Newspaper Publication Date | 1966-06-15 |
| Date Copyrighted | 2005 |
| Type | Image |
| Has Format | Photograph |
| Relation | RW 271 |
| Collection | Remember When, F. P. Zeidler Humanities Room, Milwaukee Public Library
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| Rights | All rights reserved © Milwaukee Public Library |
| Order form | http://www.mpl.org/coldfusion/email_digital_rw.cfm |
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