Incorporated in 1892, Whitefish Bay is a pleasant, verdant village that
is home to more than fourteen thousand people. More than half of its
five thousand houses and other structures have been deemed historic or
architecturally important. Even casual passersby can attest to the
architectural significance of these buildings, and while the personal
history attached to them is less apparent, it is no less dramatic. Their
walls retain the stories of their remarkable inhabitants, from the
outhouse where the first village president disappeared in 1899 with
$20,000 in public funds to the lakeside Beaux-Arts mansion built by a
Schlitz Brewing Company heir with eight varieties of Italian marble.
Jefferson J. Aikin and Thomas H. Fehring examine these landmark
treasures and the legacy of the residents they help preserve.