Van Ells Drug Store

The Van Ells Drug store was built in 1903. The building is designed in in the Flemish Renaissance Revival style. This building was highly interesting to me, not because of its history, but because of its design and its unique composition containing limestone and sheet metal work. It is considered to be ethnic architecture. I was a little confused as to what 'ethnic architecture' truly meant. It means that the building that was built reflects the heritage of its original owner and serves the state as visual evidence to who settled the state and their building traditions brought over from Europe or other countries. Their were many other buildings listed on the milwaukee website that contained more historical value compared to the Van Ells Drug store but the craft of the building is a great example of aesthetic reasoning for preserving a building. The building has a similar effect to the victorian houses called painted lady. The same way the multiple types of paint and structure attract the eye, this store's various materials mixed with both linear and organic shapes also seem steer the eye in that direction. The building has two stories, first level was for retail sales and the upper level served as a living space. The store now is known as the Family Dental Care owned by Robert Wellenstein. For any renovations that have been done have occurred on the interior of the building compared to the exterior.