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April 1936. "Group of houses in 600 block on East Detroit Street. Milwaukee, Wisconsin." Plus: One kid, one cat and the Joseph D. Frinzi meat market. Photo by Carl Mydans for the Resettlement Administration. View full size.
The area of the former Detroit St., now E. St. Paul Ave., was in the Third Ward in what was known as Commission Row, a district of grocery commission warehouses. Many Italian immigrants lived in the neighborhood. Frinzi's Meat Market would have been located near the intersection of E. St. Paul Ave. and N. Jackson St. (about the 600 E. block). The area has, in recent years, seen the renovation of many of the old warehouses which now house numerous apartments, condos, shops and restaurants.
Frinzi Market was started by Giuseppe Frinzi. When he became ill in 1936, his son, Joe, took over the market, which had, by this time, relocated near the Milwaukee River at N. Broadway and N. Water St. In 1956, Joe and his wife, Pat, brought another building on Milwaukee's East Side on the corner of N. Murray Ave. and E. Locust St. This store continued operation until Joe and Pat retired in 1989.
East Detroit Street was renamed St. Paul Avenue and is now dominated by a freeway spur. In 1936, the neighborhood was largely Italian. Urban redevelopment in the '60s and '70s led to the demolition of nearly all the housing in the area. What was left behind is one of the largest collections of turn of the century warehouse buildings in the country. The last decade has seen the area, now known as the Historic Third Ward, evolve into a vibrant shopping and dining destination with many small businesses and converted condo buildings - a far cry from 1936.
The building in the center of the group seems to be tilting to the right. The elaborate decoration under the eaves is similar to many houses in Norway.
Also in the photo, the old worn sign for Fels Naptha laundry soap.
Even though it is early spring; there doesn't appear to be a single tree, flower, blade of grass or weed.
Assuming my information on the street renaming is correct, this "block" is now occupied by the on and off ramps of the Lake Freeway.
I see two cats - one with the kid and one sneaking under that treacherous overhang.
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