Wisconsin Tower

The Wisconsin Tower, also known as the 606 Building, is a striking Art Deco high-rise in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Standing 22 stories and 280 feet (85 meters) tall, it was built between 1929 and 1930 and, when completed, was the tallest skyscraper in the city to have been built in the 1920s. It was designed by the Chicago architecture firm Weary & Alford Company, which at the time designed a number of office buildings and banks across the Midwest, many of them distinguished by Bedford limestone facades and set-back upper floors. Originally conceived as an office building, the tower was converted into 74 condominiums in 2005, with the renovation completed the following year.

Visitors can experience the building's historic character in the lobby, which has been largely preserved in its original condition. The walls are clad in Italian Levanto marble, while the elevator doors, signals, and directory are typical examples of Art Deco design. The brown marble entrance is framed by an ornate grillwork of birds and flowers, which continues along the south and east exterior walls. This metalwork is the creation of architect Edwin Weary, who also designed the frieze on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Building. Atop the roof stands a steel mast that originally served as an aircraft beacon and is now purely decorative, though it is illuminated at night by LED lights.

The building's history is closely tied to developer John W. Mariner, who acquired the site from the well-known theater entrepreneurs Thomas and John E. Saxe. Until 1939, the building was called the Mariner Tower, before it was renamed to avoid confusion with another downtown building. Over the decades, the tower housed a variety of tenants, including medical and legal offices, a restaurant, and at times a police station and the headquarters of a local radio station. After a period of declining occupancy rates in the 1990s, the building was eventually purchased by a developer and converted into the residences you see today, combining historic character with modern living comfort.