First Ward Triangle Historic District
The First Ward Triangle Historic District is a listing in the National Register of Historic Places for a collection of 11 historic residences adjoining a triangular park—Burns Triangle—located in what is now the Yankee Hill neighborhood in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. These upper class residences, many of which are now businesses, were erected between 1855 and 1910 and designed by several leading architects in high style Victorian domestic architecture. The houses are located near where and meet and The district gets its name from Burns Triangle, which the historic houses partially surround. Burns Triangle is a small park named for the bronze statue of Scottish poet Robert Burns erected there in 1909.
History
The district is built on land that was originally part of the area known as "Rogers' Addition", named for James H. Rogers—one of Milwaukee's earliest settlers. The area was platted in 1847.The oldest house in the historic district is the Edward Diederichs House, built in 1855, just nine years after the city of Milwaukee was incorporated. Diederichs was a wealthy German immigrant entrepreneur, and in that early era his classical revival home was unique among Milwaukee's housing stock. The home was designed by one of Milwaukee's first architectural firms, German-trained Mygatt and Schmidtner, the house was inspired by German villas of the early 1800s. The home was later converted for non-residential use, and was at one time the headquarters of the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.
Master builder Stephen A. Harrison designed his own home in the district, a Cream City brick Italianate mansion constructed in 1866.
Wisconsin Supreme Court justice Jason Downer commissioned a home at in 1874, from architect in the Gothic Revival style. It sits next door to the George and Laura Miller House ; a wedding gift to Laura from her father, department store owner Timothy Chapman, it is believed to be the work of Chicago architect August Fiedler. Nearby, the Horace Rublee House, a cream brick Queen Anne style house was also attributed to ; it was built in 1884 for the prolific newspaper editor and Republican partisan. The William Prentiss House, a painted cream brick Italianate house, was built in 1874 for former Milwaukee mayor William A. Prentiss.
The Charles Forsythe House is a wood clapboard house, built in the 1880s. Next door, the Joseph Friedberg House was built in the same time-frame using similar materials, but has had most of its exterior replaced. The Mary B. Hawley and Francis Bloodgood Houses were both designed by Howland Russel in 1896.