But Charles and Sarah Allis are not the only Milwaukeeans key to the museum’s story. As they contemplated the building of their residence, the couple was drawn to English design, a nod to their English heritage. This led them to Alexander Chadbourne Eschweiler, a prominent Milwaukee architect who designed many lavish city residences — some in carefully executed Tudor style.

Eschweiler was born in Boston in 1865, the son of a German-born engineer. The family moved to Northern Michigan, where his father worked in the copper mining industry. They moved to Milwaukee when Alexander was 17 years old. He attended Marquette University for a year before transferring to Cornell University. After earning his degree in architecture there in 1890, he returned to Milwaukee and began his career with the Henry C. Koch architectural firm, designing the atrium roofs of Milwaukee’s iconic City Hall and the Pfister Hotel among other early commissions.