Waukesha in the 1890s
Grover Cleveland returned in 1893 and William McKinley took office in 1897. The Panic of 1893 brought a severe depression, and the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago the same year made the classical civic style the national fashion. The war with Spain in 1898 left the country with overseas territory. What Waukesha kept from the decade leans to Queen Anne style, the label the records put on 6 of these stops.
Every stop carries a construction date in the 1890s. The route covers 10 of them and runs 2.1 miles end to end.
Distances are straight lines between the coordinates in the National Park Service Register data, so the walk on the street will be longer. Nobody has walked or checked this as a route, and a listing does not mean a place is open to visitors. Stops last changed Oct 1, 2026.
All walking tours in Waukesha → · Every listing in Waukesha →
Map
Coordinates come from the National Park Service National Register spatial data, or from Wikidata where the spatial data has no point. The solid line joins the stops in walking order and is not a street route. Listings with a restricted address in the Register are never mapped and never become stops. Data refreshed November 02, 2026.
Walking order
- 1First Methodist Church121 Wisconsin Ave.Building · built 1895 · listed 1983start
- 2Nickell, William, A., House511 Lake St.Building · built 1892 · listed 19830.2 mi from stop 1
- 3Charles Merten House929 Rosemary St.Building · built 1890 · listed 19950.3 mi from stop 2
- 4Becker and Schafer Store Building1002--1004 White Rock Ave.Building · built 1895 · listed 19950.4 mi from stop 3
- 5Patrick J. Buckley House1101 Buckley St.Building · built 1894 · listed 1991390 ft from stop 4
- 6Yanke, Louis, Saloon200 Madison Ave.Building · built 1892 · listed 19830.4 mi from stop 5
- 7First German Reformed Church413 Wisconsin Ave.Building · built 1891 · listed 19910.2 mi from stop 6
- 8William G. Mann House346 Maple Ave.Building · built 1897 · listed 19830.2 mi from stop 7
- 9Northwestern Hotel322 Williams St.Building · built 1894 · listed 19950.1 mi from stop 8
- 10Dr. F. C. Elliot House501Dunbar Ave.Building · built 1891 · listed 19830.2 mi from stop 9
2.1 straight-line miles over 9 legs.
Taking it along
- Download the route as GPXFor a handheld GPS or a phone app
- Open all 10 stops in Google MapsSet the mode to walking once it opens
- Open the first stop in Apple MapsThe Apple Maps web link carries one destination, so this is stop 1 only
Other walks in Waukesha
- Queen Anne houses in Waukesha10 stops · 2.2 milesQueen Anne is a late Victorian manner of irregular plans, steep roofs, turrets, bay windows and wrapping porches. The Waukesha examples on this route went up between 1881 and 1897.
- Houses and mansions in Waukesha15 stops · 1.8 milesThe route links houses built between 1841 and 1901. Many are private homes and the stops are meant to be seen from the sidewalk.
Local history books for Waukesha
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Guidebooks to historic places and travel in Wisconsin
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.