Pabst pavilion tapped for rebuild as a porch
Key portion of mansion would be deconstructed
A key portion of Milwaukee’s historic Pabst Mansion that’s falling apart would be dismantled, with parts of it preserved for an eventual reconstruction, under a new proposal seeking approval from city officials.
At issue is the mansion’s pavilion, which was added in 1895 − three years after beer baron Frederick Pabst completed his home on Milwaukee’s near west side.
Pabst Mansion Inc., the nonprofit which now operates the mansion as a historic attraction, wants to deconstruct the pavilion and preserve its salvageable elements to help with rebuilding it as a freestanding porch − its earlier use.
That plan needs Historic Preservation Commission approval because the mansion, 2000 W. Wisconsin Ave., is designated by the city as a historic site. The proposal is to be considered at the commission’s May 1 meeting.
The pavilion, which once housed the mansion’s gift shop and main entrance, has been closed to the public since summer 2022 due to safety concerns.
The pavilion’s condition “was a huge liability” for the mansion, which hosts 40,000 guests annually, said Mame McCully, interim executive director of Pabst Mansion Inc.
The mansion shifted its visitors center from the pavilion to space it leases on the ground floor of The Marq, a neighboring student apartment building at 2040 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Advanced technology will help restore the pavilion, which includes several stained glass windows as well as decorative terra cotta elements, museum officials said.
Plan calls for elements to be salvaged, rebuilt
The organization plans to carefully deconstruct the pavilion’s salvageable elements for scanning, documentation and preservation until it can be rebuilt, McCully said.
Pabst Mansion Inc. is working with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Historic Preservation Institute to create a 3D scan of the pavilion, using laser scanning tools and recording techniques.
That scan will make it possible to use 3D printing technology to recast missing and deteriorated pieces.
Museum officials believe roughly 25% of the original structure remains viable. But there’s a lot they don’t know about its condition until deconstruction occurs, McCully said.
The reconstructed pavilion will include a proper back-up structure, movement joints, weather proofing and insulation.
It was built as a temporary interior structure, the Pabst Brewing Co. pavil