The architectural firm of Mildner and Eisen drew the plans for 22864 Poplar Beach.
Richard Mildner
The Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada 1800-1950 reports that Richard Mildner was born in Germany in 1871. The book states that the firm of Mildner & Eisen specialized in the design of brewery buildings.
The book Fantastic Water Towers: An 1880 Design Competition has an entry beginning on page 60 for a young Mildner (age 19) winning 8th place for his concept drawing of a tower titled "Don Quixote."
Mildner's active career in architecture spanned 40 years. He was a director of the Michigan Society of Architects and the Detroit Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. He died in Detroit on 4 February, 1934.
Adolph Eisen
The 1915 book, History of Michigan, Volume 2, by Charles Moore, has a biography of Adolph Eisen. It states that he was born in Switzerland on 18 March 1878 and was about five years old when the family came to America. He "entered upon the study of architecture in the offices of Mueller & Mildner, well known Detroit architects. In 1906, Mr. Mueller withdrew from the firm, and the remaining partner and Mr. Eisen then formed the present firm of Mildner and Eisen."
The History of Michigan biography reports he was married to Lettie (Wackenhut) on 15 October 1905 and had two children, Marguerite (7) and Elizabeth (4).
In the 1920 book, The Michigan Architect and Engineer Vol 2, Adolph Eisen is reported as being Secretary of the Michigan Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
According to the book The Vortexian (Volume 10 of 1928), Richard Mildner "...was a member of the firm Mueller & Mildner and Adolph was employed by them for seven years. After a year with Albert Kahn, Adolph and Richard formed their present partnership which has continued for twenty years, and at the same location."
Eisen died in Detroit on 31 August 1944.
Mildner and Eisen
The firm is listed as having offices at 1017 and 1018 Hammond Building at Fort and Griswold in 1909; and 924-927 Hammond Building from 1919 to at least 1921. The Hammond Building was demolished in 1956.
Breweries
Four brewery buildings have been found to be designed by Mueller & Mildner, or Mildner and Eisen:
- John J. Saltzmann Palace Hill Brewery, 1903, Oil City PA
- Akron Brewing Company, 1903, Akron OH (Demolished in 2016)
- British American Brewing Company, 1911, Windsor, Ontario CA (photo)
- Kuntz Brewing, 1912, Waterloo, Ontario CA (info and photo)
A Mildner & Eisen advertisement in the Brewers Journal, Volume 31 of 1906:
The Brewer's Journal has this entry also:
"Mr. Richard Mildner, formerly of the well-known firm of brewery architects, Mueller & Mildner, has associated himself with Mt. Adoplh Eisen and opened offices at 1017 and 1018 Hammond Building, in that city, under the firm name of Mildner & Eisen. They will make a specialty of brewery work. Both gentlemen have had wide experience in this line and they are prepared to make plans for any character of work kin the brewery trade. We wish them success in their new undertaking. Their advertisement appears on page 69."
Herman Schweim's Home on Poplar Beach
Plans for the home at 22864 Poplar Beach were drawn by Mildner & Eisen titled:
Residence for Mr. Herm. Schweim
Lake Shore Drive - Mt. Clemens Mich
Mildner + Eisen - Architects
Job 581
(Unfortunately, no date exists on the set of plans and there is no Lake Shore Drive in Mt. Clemens. There is a Lakeshore Drive in Harrison Township. The home at 22864 Poplar Beach matches the plans.)
A Prominent Firm
An exhibit of "recent architectural works" was held on May 12 and 13, 1909 at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The exhibit catalog, Architectural Exhibition, Detroit Architectural Club and the Society of Arts and Crafts, Under the patronage and in the Galleries of The Detroit Museum of Art is held in the collections of the DIA. Included in the active members of the Detroit Architectural Club are Adolph Eisen and Richard Mildner.
A photograph (below) chosen for inclusion in the catalog is "Residence at Detroit, Mich., Mildner and Eisen, Architects, Detroit."
The pair are also listed in the index to the exhibit with twelve other drawings, renderings, plans and photographs. The exhibit was quite extensive, with 476 items listed from architects in Boston, Chicago, New York and Detroit.
In the 1920 book, The Michigan Architect and Engineer Vol 2, the firm is reported working on plans for a bank, a factory, houses, a store and a warehouse.
HistoricDetroit.org reports on five homes and buildings by the firm:
- The Eisenberg House of 1913 at 1796 Burns
- The Schmidt House of 1921 at 500 Arden Park Boulevard
- The Goeschel Building of 1914 at Mack and Gratiot
- The Schaeffer House of 1917 at 3465 Burns (recorded as the Bliemaster house of 1917 by Wikipedia)
- The Pochelon Building of 1923 on Bates
More Lovely Homes
A fine article by HigbieMaxon.com features not only a Mildner + Eisen home for Herman Kreit built in 1907 at 16004 East Jefferson but also photos of several other buildings the firm designed.
HigbieMaxon.com also features a superb Spanish Colonial Revival style home at 189 Cloverly in Grosse Pointe. The truly unique home was completed in 1927 for Julius H. Haass. The article has many photos of the original interiors taken in 1932 when the home was quite new.
The Detroit Yes! forum shows a lovely Mildner + Eisen home at 874 Chicago Boulevard built in 1913.
The Taliaferro House at 1115 Eton Cross in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan was built in 1925. It is listed in the National Register of historic Places.
Buildings, Public Spaces, a Creamery and Theaters Too
A fine image of the Goeshel Building on Gratiot is in the digital collections of the Detroit Public Library
The Ginsburg branch of the Detroit Public Library at 91 Brewster Street is also designed by the firm. It was new in 1915 and closed in 1927 when it was turned over to the Detroit Recreation Department.
The Grosse Pointe Farms Municipal Building, 90 Kirby Road, was built in 1913.
An interesting article about the 1921 Belle Isle Coach Station they designed can be found here.
See also a 1926 design built for the Fairmont Creamery Company at 608 E. Milwaukee in Detroit.
The Superintendent's House/Office of Gethsemane Cemetery at 10755 Gratiot is listed as a Mildner and Eisen building bat the Detroit Yes! forum.
The Bethel Evangelical Church on West Grand Boulevard is shown in this Flickr photostream.
See interior photos for the Edelweiss Cafe's dining room, grill room, bar room, delicatessen at Heritage Images.
An article on Metro Detroit Theatres and their Pipe Organs lists 4 theatres by Mildner (with Mueller or Eisen):
- Casino Theater, 4858 East Davison, 1930 (This building does not appear to be in the style of the firm and no other documentation exists)
- Cent Odeon (aka Bijou, New Gayety and Cine X), 62 Monroe, 1906
- Gratiot, 2306-12 Gratiot, 1910
- Iris, 2314 E. Grand Blvd., 1916