A Wisconsin Humane Society Fundraiser
As the Pabst Mansion celebrates Captain Pabst’s 180th birthday, help continue his legacy of giving back to Milwaukee with a fundraiser for the Wisconsin Humane Society. In 1879, along with several Milwaukee leaders, Pabst was involved with the founding of WHS. A lifelong love of horses led him to donate funds that made it possible to lift injured horses onto a WHS ambulance.
A Grand home on a Grand Avenue
When Captain Frederick Pabst, Milwaukee’s famed beer baron, began construction of a new mansion for his family in 1890, he could not have anticipated that it would survive and thrive into the twenty-first century as a testament to America’s Gilded Age. Designed by George Bowman Ferry and Alfred Charles Clas, construction at 2000 Grand Avenue lasted two years and was completed in July of 1892 at a cost of just over $254,000 — including the house, furnishings and artwork. As leading figures in Milwaukee society, Captain Pabst and his wife, Maria, became consummate art collectors, filling their mansion with priceless treasures. During the years of the Pabst family’s ownership, the house was the scene of many fine parties and receptions, a wedding and, in the end, Captain and Mrs. Pabst’s funeral.
After the Pabst descendants sold the house in 1908, it became the archbishop’s residence and the center of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee for more than sixty years. When it was sold in 1975, the mansion was nearly torn down to make way for a parking lot. After a three-year crusade for its preservation, it was spared demolition and went on to become an award-winning house museum. The Mansion was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Open to the public since 1978, revenues for the Pabst Mansion’s continued success and ongoing restoration are garnered from admissions, sales, events, grants, donations and memberships.
On March 28, 50% of every general admission will go toward the Wisconsin Humane Society. As an added promotion, for the entire week (March 28-April 2), anyone who brings in an in-kind donation from the Wisconsin Humane Society Wish List will receive 10% off merchandise in the Pabst Mansion gift shop.
Tours start on the hour at 10, 11, 12, 1, 2, and 3. No reservations needed. Adults $12, Seniors/College Students: $11, Children 6-17: $7, Children under 6: Free
