William Plankinton Mansion

The William Plankinton Mansion (also William Plankinton house) was built in 1876 as a wedding gift for William Plankinton. It was at 1529 W. Wisconsin Avenue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and designed by a well known architect of the time. The house was sold in 1918 to Marquette University who used it for classroom teaching facilities for decades. In the 1970s the house was torn down to make room for new developments at the University.

The mansion was financed by his father, John Plankinton, and given as a marriage present when William married Mary Ella Woods. It was built in 1876 and designed by architect Edward Townsend Mix, who designed many buildings in Milwaukee. Plankinton's house was next door just west of his father's mansion. It was a Victorian style house. One of its notable features was a lion's head on its external marble faced construction. The interior had ornate woodwork and in the stairwell was a stained glass window.

Plankinton's descendants moved to another location after William died in 1905 since Wisconsin Ave was no longer considered an upscale neighborhood as before and they wanted to live in a prestigious area for social status. Wisconsin Ave was originally called Spring Street. After several mansions were built on the avenue, including the 3 Plankinton mansions, the street was renamed "Grand Avenue" since it became a prestigious residential area of palatial houses for the wealthy. The Plankinton property was between Fifteenth and Sixteenth Streets on Grand Avenue. The William Plankinton mansion house was directly adjacent to the John Plankinton mansion (also known as 625 N. Fifteenth Street). The Elizabeth Plankinton House (also known as 1492 W. Wisconsin Avenue) was across the street from William's house. This land with the three mansions was originally all owned by John Plankinton. It was eventually sold in 1918 to Marquette University. Marquette University eventually used the property that William's house was on for new buildings of their Gymnasium (built in 1922), Cramer Hall (built in 1933) which was their College of Health Sciences, and Haggerty Hall (built in 1941) which became their College of Engineering. The mansion across the street of William's sister, the Elizabeth Plankinton house, was used by the Knights of Columbus as their local facility for club gatherings and events.

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