The historic Pabst Mansion cleaned out its attic, basement, and kitchen for a first-ever outdoor estate sale and cookout on June 8, and the Milwaukee Independent got a preview look at the items for sale.
The event will be held rain or shine immediately across the street from the Pabst Mansion at 2000 W. Wisconsin Avenue, in the Pabst Mansion parking lot.
The public can expect to find unique items for purchase, including architectural fragments parceled from lost Milwaukee buildings, antique furniture, framed artworks, decorative objects, Christmas décor, glassware, and breweriana. Avid antique collectors, Milwaukee history buffs, and fans of estate sales will have various treasures to choose from in an assortment of price ranges.
A Milwaukee favorite, Crafty Cow, will be heating up the grill for shoppers, and will donate a portion of the proceeds to support the Pabst Mansion. None of the items for sale are original to the Pabst Mansion, nor are they part of the Pabst Mansion collection.
“We’ve selected things for sale from within our broader collection, so nothing is original to the Mansion or original to the Pabst family,” said John Eastberg, Historian for the Pabst Mansion. “These are things that have accumulated over the years from past exhibitions we’ve produced, or things that we used to have on display in the house before we received original pieces back from the family.”
Over the past 15 years, the Pabst Mansion has received close to 700 original objects back from the Pabst family for display at the historic site. That pushed the non-original placeholder items into storage, until the decision was made that it was time to share the object with the public and let them continue their usefulness.
“Space is at a premium for us. We have a mansion that is 20,000 square-feet and it’s pretty full,” added Eastberg. “So this actually helps us in a number of ways. Not just by opening up some needed room, but also we hope with some economic benefit that will go towards restoration work and the maintenance of our collection.”
Eastberg said that the public has been very excited about the estate sale opportunity, and he even got a phone call from someone in Oklahoma who is planning to drive up for the event. Along with the fine art, decorative objects, and furniture are holiday displays like the mechanical Dickens characters from the Christmas windows of Milwaukee’s Gimbels Department Store.
The Pabst Mansion, Milwaukee’s most legendary residential landmark, was built by the famed brewing family between 1890 and 1892. It remains one of the largest and most expensive houses to have ever been constructed in the city. Filled with rich details executed in wood, stained glass and wrought iron, the Pabst Mansion contains original furnishings and an exceptional collection of fine and decorative arts.
“There will be a certain amount of crowd control because we do expect there is going to be quite a few people coming to this event,” said Dana Hansen, Events Manager for the Pabst Mansion. “We have the collection setup in case of rain, which will limit how many people can be inside shopping due to the space. But if the weather holds and stays nice, we hope to move things outside for better access.”
These images were taken across the street from the Pabst Mansion at the estate sale site, and features a selection of the object that will end up in homes around Milwaukee, and perhaps Oklahoma too.
© Photo
Lee Matz
