Martin Drive History -- Building of a Neighborhood

1910s--The building era for Martin Drive began in about the late 1910s.  Original plats of the area allowed commercial building on what is now State Street, with two brewers located in that general area adjacent to the Martin Drive Neighborhood.  The Gettleman brewery and Plank Road Brewery.  Additionally there was development of the area around the park  and west into Wauwatosa.  Much of the early development begins with platting of Highland Avenue

1920s-1950s-City boundaries at the time ended at 27th Street.  The Town of Wauwatosa ran from what is now 27th Street to 124th Street.  Ads began to run in the daily papers or on posted bills.  An example of two ads from the period marketing property around Washington Park are pictured here. The plotting of lots were completed and many houses were constructed during the period of 1920-1929.  The Sanborn fire maps were created and fire insurance risks were calculated for this region.   Most homes were of  frame construction. The  subdivision developments of the Martin Drive Neighborhood were the Park Front, Highland, Schmoldts, Menomonee and Angermeirs plats. 

Park Front: This development includes land north of Juneau on 46th Street in the 1200 to 1300 blocks, as well as on 45th Street from the  1100 block  to Vliet Street. The homes in this development were primarily frame and were a mix of duplex and single family construction.  Few brick home were found in this development.

Highland Heights: The homes and lots south of Juneau on 46th, 45th,44th and 43rd Streets are in the Highland Heights subdivision plat, including 46th Street to State Street.  Many of the homes on 46th and 45th Streets in this development were duplexes of frame construction.  

Schmoldt's: The 1200 and 1300 block of 43rd Street are in the Schmoldt's development plat. This includes some of the Vliet Street properties adjoining these streets.   

Menomonee: The 1300 block on 42nd Street, including the west side of Highland Boulevard are part of the Menomonee subdivision. Many of the units on Highland Ave are larger Victorian style brick faced homes. You will also find multi-unit buildings of concrete and brick.

Angermeirs's Subdivision was located on 47th Street between State Street and ended where the freeway on-ramp is today, but it didn't connect to Martin Drive.

1960s--Washington Park was home to the Milwaukee Zoo.  The zoo was relocated to its current location when Washington Park lost an 18 acre parcel of park property for the freeway expansion in the early 1960's. 

1970s-- As housing trends changed, development continued to the west, south and north of Milwaukee. During this period, many owners of city homes elected to relocate to suburban areas.   Demand for property in the city continued to dwindle during this decade and this trend continued into the next decade.  Resident owners in these neighborhoods during this time saw a general decline in maintenance and a shift in the economic makeup of these neighborhoods. 

1980s-- Owner occupied units continue selling as population ages and suburban move continues.  Concerns about public education during this period fuel some of the family moves.  This move of households out of the city led to a decline in property values as houses were sold below value to ease the financial strain that owners faced because of new suburban construction, property taxes from two properties and maintenance of two or more properties.  Unfamiliar with rental responsibilities and tenant concerns, many formerly owner occupied dwellings became investment properties.

At the end of the decade there is a shift in the attitudes about city property. As new owners purchase property in the neighborhood, they see value in the craftsmanship and these owners start small efforts to improve properties while maintaining the character of  the original construction. These positive attitudes and the affordable value of the housing stock begin to help residents start to organize block watch and community organizations to offset problems in the neighborhood.   The city sees the erosion of the tax base and begins to work on solutions to help neighborhoods stabilize.  Some government programs are devised and the crime rate begins to decline around the end of the decade. Fortunately, crime was never a major problem in the Martin Drive neighborhood.

1990--  Neighborhood improvements and neighborhood housing services start the formation of an organized block club in the surrounding neighborhoods.  Revitalization efforts and corporate neighbors raise concerns and begin to improve housing stock in the area.  Small cleanup efforts, some use of block grant funding for paint and fix up programs gain support.  Neighborhood cleanups improve the appeal of the neighborhood and new owners are drawn to dwellings in the Martin Drive neighborhood. 

The value of a home compared to the  money spent for it becomes a big benefit to new homebuyers at this time.  The new owners discover the convenient location saves time and  helps to improve their quality of life.  Other efforts by neighboring groups such as West Side Development, Habitat for Humanity, the Marquette improvements, and the efforts by nearby Miller and Harley Davidson have positive economic effects on Martin Drive and other west side neighborhoods.

2000--  Improvements and updates continue as the city and neighborhood group focus on quality of life concerns.  This partnership has really paid off.  Many of the housing units have installed new windows, replaced siding, improved landscaping and fencing, added driveways, and replaced roofs.  In addition, the neighborhood is seeing a growth in business on Vliet Street.  Property values continue to rise because of the high quality housing stock.  The neighborhood seems to have stabilized and owner occupancy continues to be a bonus for this area. Neighbors still see benefits in the annual neighborhood cleanups and many families participate in the Halloween Trick or Treat and other neighborhood activities.. The neighbors are more active and have more dialog within the community, primarily at the monthly neighborhood meetings, but also are  using the Internet and e-mail to facilitate these neighborhood communications.