Haunted House - Brumder Mansion

Address:

3046 W. Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53208.
Web-Site * 866-793-3676

Join HAUNTED TIMES MAGAZINE at the beautiful Brumder Mansion on May 9th & 10th 2008.

Location:

Brumder Mansion B & B can be found  on W. Wisconsin Street, a main street that runs from downtown Milwaukee, past Marquette University, parallel to the 94 hwy.  Brumder Mansion is on the corner of N. 31st and W. Wisconsin, in a neighborhood of other old Victorians, some of which have been converted into apartments, while others remain as private homes or used for a commercial purpose, like a B & B.  While the front door faces W. Wisconsin, thus giving it an address on this street, the mansion also sits on N. 31st Street.

W. Wisconsin Street originally was known as Grand Avenue, a street which was lined by huge, glorious Victorian mansions. Around the turn of the century, it was commonly believed that it was healthier to live away from Lake Michigan, so areas about 20 minutes from downtown Milwaukee became the places to build luxury mansions. Though many mansions have been torn down and replaced with apartments and commercial buildings, some grand buildings and Victorians, such as the Pabst Mansion still grace this neighborhood.

DESCRIPTION AND HISTORY:

This grand, 4 story, 8,000 sq ft., 1910 red-bricked Victorian / Gothic / English Arts and Crafts style mansion surely makes a glorious bed and breakfast. Tom and I stayed here for a night during our 2007 road trip to Wisconsin, and fell under its spell. We wound up buying it later in 2007, when Tom learned from the owner, Carol, that she was going to sell it.  

The house has been restored to its former glory, and the decorum and furnishings make one feel that one has traveled back in time, visiting an early 20th century family. The first floor has all the rooms deemed necessary for a 1910 upper class family, including a parlor, living room, foyer, dining room, billiard room, library, large kitchen etc. The crown jewel in the dining room is the stunning, handcrafted stained glass tile fireplace, designed by Neideken; an interior designer who worked with Frank Lloyd Wright.

The main massive Gothic oak staircase takes the visitor up to the second floor and landing. Another staircase found on the second floor leads up to what was the servants quarters on the third  floor and then up to the attic area which has rooms  on it as well. There are a total of 6 guest bed rooms which are used for visitors to the Brumder Bed and Breafast.

Many of the suites have beautifully wood-carved fireplaces. The Gold Suite, located on the second floor, is named for its gold and yellow decor. The suite features a Victorian parlor set of furniture, an antique Queen-sized bed, rich draperies and a tall oak ornamental fireplace with fluted columns.

We first stayed in one of the newer, lovely, third floor / attic room suites, Gyneth, which has a whirlpool bath tub, a private bathroom, a fireplace along with some lovely furnishings and detail from the past; wooden floors, lovely wood paneling and some handsome antique style furniture.

Instead of putting the customary 1910 Victorian ballroom on the third floor, Mr Brumder had the foresight to place the Victorian ballroom area in the large basement, which has helped to make this building an attractive property throughout the years. This basement area, which has it's own outside entrance, has been put to good use throughout the years. It has been a 1920's-'30's party place, a billiards / recreation room, a cafe with live music, and a licensed, 75 seat theater for dramatic and comedic productions, started by former owner, Carol. Currently, the basement is now rented out for special events and other small group activities.

Small weddings and receptions are held in this mansion as well. In the future, theatrical film projects and musical endeavors destined to be featured on The Web Network internet sites; (such as Murdermysteries.com) will be produced and filmed here.

Business leader, George Brumder, who made his fortune publishing German language newspapers, reading material and sheet music, built this lovely, stately mansion for his son, George Jr. in 1910, which was enjoyed by the Brumder family for at least 10 years, before it was put on the real estate market, sometime in the 1920's-'30's.

The Brumder family sold their mansion to a fellow, Sam Picks and his family. Sam Picks was said to be part of one of the Chicago gangster organizations, and needed a place away from his work, to raise his family and perhaps party with the hard stuff in safety, probably in the large basement.

The upkeep on Victorian homes is high, so it is not surprising that the Brumder Mansion was eventually put to work to earn its keep. As with many Victorian homes, it was turned into a boarding house, probably in the late '30's, for a nearby company's workers.

Big changes were in store for Brumder Mansion during the 1960's. It was bought by the Lutheran Church, only two doors down, to be used as a parsonage and church activities. A psychedelic youth chapel was created on the second floor, rooms were turned into offices, and the ballroom was put to good use in the downstairs ballroom.

The ballroom basement was transformed into a coffee house, complete with live music for entertainment, called The Catacombs, part of the church's outreach program. Being close to Marquette University, and located on a main drag, it was a good idea.

By 1997, the upkeep, let alone the repair work, needed for this 1910 mansion became too much for the Lutheran Church to deal with, causing this now long in the tooth, fixer-upper opportunity to be put back into the real estate market once again.

In 1997, Brumder Mansion was bought  and rescued by Carol Hirschi, representing a different breed of homeowners, who are willing to move sometimes into a marginal / slightly funky neighborhood, buying a type of home which takes a huge commitment of time, money, passion and perseverance, with the goal to rehabilitate the Victorian in question to its former glory. Other people have also moved into this neighborhood, as well as other Milwaukee neighborhoods, fixing up the old Victorians. The neighborhood surrounding Brumder Mansion is now quite nice as of 2008!

Carol began the painstaking task of transforming and restoring the Brumden Mansion back into its pristine state of being; something she loves to do. To finance this courageous endeavor, Brumder Mansion became a bed and breakfast, opening in 1998. Also, the stage in the basement ballroom became a place to see professional theater and take acting classes, with the Cornerstone Theatre Company, which was another love of Carol's.

Besides the Bed and Breakfast income generated by its 6 guest rooms, and the income brought in by the basement rental opportunities, small weddings and events continue to bring in income needed to keep the Brumder Mansion in fine condition.

Tom and I have always loved old Victorians and are thrilled to be the new owners of this fabulous Victorian mansion. We have already made contributions to the decor, lighting and upkeep, determined to make the Brumder Mansion even better! The Brumder Mansion to me has a welcoming, friendly aura and atmosphere about it, which one feels immediately upon entering the foyer. As paranormal activity happens, I will keep you all up to date!

HISTORY OF MANIFESTATIONS:

The Entity known as Aunt Pussy

One of the Brumder children was a daughter, called Pussy, which was a family nick name. As a young woman, she fell in love with a young man, who stood her up at the altar; something she never quite recovered from.  She spent her whole life living in the Brumder Mansion. As her siblings married and had children, she was known as Aunt Pussy. She loved simple furnishings, and followed a simpler way of life.  Her room was on the second floor, now known as the Gold Room.

MANIFESTATIONS:

There have been a finding that three entities reside here; (The Haunted Times Magazine), though only the strong-willed, proper entity of Aunt Pussy has been identified for sure. Aunt Pussy still considers Brumder Mansion to be her home.

Carol Hirschi Years......

After a delicious breakfast, our inn keeper, Carol Hirschi took us and the other guests down into the basement theater and told us the following stories about her known resident entity, Aunt Pussy.

Carol spent her first night in Brumder Mansion in Aunt Pussy's room, with her dogs in bed with her.  Uh oh! She not only felt a strong presence, but she heard a voice in her head, telling her to GET THE DOGS OUT OF THE BED!

The door bell would not work for no apparent reason when guests would come to stay at Brumder Bed and Breakfast. Otherwise, it worked just fine for anyone else.

Silverware which had been laid out on the dining room table the night before, were found all turned around on the table the next morning.

Guests and patrons of the little theater in the basement began seeing the entity of a woman, dressed in attire which was popular in the early 20th century, walking around the area there.

Guests staying in the Gold Room sometimes have intense dreams.

If they had a dog in the room, they had a dream, featuring a woman sternly lecturing them to get their dog out of the room, threatening to hurt the dog. Waking up, they were filled with a strong desire to remove their pets.

People who stay in the Gold Room have had the tendency to have intense dreams, which is how Aunt Pussy gets her chuckles! 

When we stayed at the Brumder, during our 2007 road trip mentioned above, a woman who was staying in the Gold Room, had an intense dream about trying to save a drowned child, which she shared at the breakfast table with all of us.  Coincidently, that same evening of the dream, there was a TV show that Carol was watching in her room in the mansion. As this guest didn't see this TV show on her room's TV, because she was out enjoying the Milwaukee night life, perhaps Carol had company - Aunt Pussy, who was inspired to recreate a similar scenario in a dream!

A psychic who was in town for a convention stayed in the Gold Room and was contacted by Aunt Pussy.

This psychic passed on Aunt Pussy's message to Carol. Aunt Pussy told the psychic, that at first she didn't like all the changes.  The new decor was too fancy, and there were too many people coming  in because of the bed and breakfast business and because of the theater in the basement. However, she had begun to enjoy the theatric performances, organized by Carol in the basement theatre. She would learn to exist with the fancy decorum, all the guests, but had requested that Carol keep her dogs and dogs in general out of the Gold Room and keep the room's shades up, because she liked the light coming into her room.

So far, Aunt Pussy has been quiet in 2008, perhaps studying the new folks involved with the Brumder Mansion. It seems that this entity is still willing to be a good sport and go with the flow, as long as dogs are kept out of the Gold Room, and light comes in through the windows. As we don't have any pets or dogs in the Brumder Mansion, she seems to be happy for the moment. However, I suspect that staying in the Gold Room will sometimes still result in intense dreams, courtesy of Aunt Pussy, who needs to have a little fun once in awhile.

Recent Paranormal Activity... in 2008.

Marion's Room:

Recent activity reported by guests. Some think an entity of a young girl haunts this room. It is theorized that an entity of a young girl haunts this room, and the mansion itself, perhaps a victim of a disease.

Recently, one of our visiting friends who slept in Marion's Room, was awakened by a presence who playfully bounced the bed a little to wake her.

Another guest was in bed, watching TV, when the towel which was hanging securely on the hook, lifted itself off and fell to the floor. The gas fire place was also on very low, but suddenly roared up and then down, as if some little rascal was playing with the gas control.