Even the Shades

Even the shades on the many windows of the Pabst Mansion were intricate, interesting, and clearly expensive. Interior photos were not allowed in the dark, wood-panelled home, but the visit to the symbol of the past was well worth the road trip.

Details, Details

The mansion is a magnificent relic of a bygone time, and many of the details are impressive. The decor over the entrance to the gift shop, for instance, is clearly a perfect example of the World's Fair building it had been. Other details, of course, are showing every one of nearly 120 winters in Chicago and Milwaukee.

Pabst Mansion

A spring break road trip day sent us to Milwaukee for a tour of the Pabst Mansion. Built around 1890, it is a wonder of Victorian woodwork and space. Here we see the gift shop in an annex that looks like a chapel. That portion was added to the mansion after the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. It was the upper level of the Pabst exhibit, dismantled and moved to be rebuilt here.

After the death of Capt. Pabst and his wife, the family sold the building to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, which used it as the headquarters and home of the Archbishop for 60 years. It was at that time that the annex was converted to a chapel.

Milwaukee is a pleasant one-day road trip from anywhere in the Chicago area.