In fact Fred, better known as Capt. Frederick Pabst, went in the exact opposite direction, commissioning a Flemish Renaissance Revival Mansion that was to be one of Milwaukee’s finest residences.

"Capt. Pabst and his wife, Maria, lived next to the brewery for many years in a wood Victorian home, which is long gone," says Dawn Hourigan, executive director for the Pabst Mansion. "He actually built the Pabst Mansion as more of a ‘retirement’ home."

For those new to Milwaukee, Frederick Pabst was one of the city’s beer barons, and the namesake of Pabst beer, though he wasn’t the founder of the brewery that eventually bore his name.

"Capt. Pabst was a Victorian with money and, like present day ‘boys who like toys,’ he built a home with every modern-day convenience of the time," says Hourigan.

Pabst was 53 the year he’d commissioned the architect; Maria was 47. They’d had 11 children, but only five survived into adulthood.

"While the mansion was built with rooms for the Pabst children, they were at an age where they were really in and out of them," Hourigan explains. "A granddaughter did live with them, but for the most part, the house was built for Frederick and Maria."

And what a house it is, with its 37 rooms and 14 fireplaces. When it was built, the Pabst Mansion was known for its modern conveniences, including electrical wiring, plumbing for nine full bathrooms and a state-of-the-art heating system by a Milwaukee company now known as Johnson Controls.

"The mansion was built during a time when construction wasn’t done with heavy machinery," notes Hourigan. "Everything was done by artisans, from the wrought iron and woodwork to the terra cotta and pressed tan brick."

Inside, the furnishings were also custom- crafted, and when the Pabst family took occupancy in July 1892, the home soon became known for its aesthetic, which was retrained for the time, and how its overall décor harmonized from room to room.

"The mansion also held Capt. Pabst’s art collection, which was quite impressive," says Hourigan. "He was typically Victorian in his tastes in that it was a collection of different subjects. Victorians were interested in anything exotic, but they also enjoyed scenes of America’s frontier."

The Pabst collection included a nod to Pabst’s nautical interests as well as scenes from his homeland of Germany.

When it was complete, the Pabst property included the mansion, a large stable, a servants’ duplex and a utility building that helped provide power to the property.

After Frederick and Maria Pabst passed away in the early 1900s, the Pabst heirs put the mansion up for sale and in 1908, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee purchased it as a residence for the archbishop. "That’s actually the only reason it is still standing," says Hourigan. "There were larger, grander mansions along the street."

But it was a new era, from a change in economic times to the style of architecture that would soon be in vogue. Large homes were difficult to maintain, and as the grand homes of Milwaukee’s former Grand Avenue aged, they were eventually torn down.

It almost happened to the Pabst Mansion. In the mid-1970s, the Archdiocese put the Pabst Mansion on the market, hoping it would be purchased by a preservation group. "The mansion nearly became a parking lot," when funding initially failed to materialize, says Hourigan.

A local entrepreneur served as the interim owner while a fledgling preservation group, Wisconsin Heritages Inc., pursued funding. With 23 mortgages and a large state grant, they acquired the mansion in 1978 and opened it to the public shortly thereafter.

Since then, extensive work and research has helped restore the mansion and return many of its original furnishings to the home.

As for visitors, each year they continue to delight in a trip back in time.