Alexander Chadbourne Eschweiler (August 10, 1865 – June 12, 1940) was an American architect with a practice in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He designed both residences and commercial structures. His eye-catching Japonist pagoda design for filling stations for Wadham's Oil and Grease Company of Milwaukee were repeated over a hundred times, though only a very few survive. His substantial turn-of-the-20th-century residences for the Milwaukee business elite, in conservative Jacobethan or neo-Georgian idioms, have preserved their cachet in the city.
Eschweiler was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He studied at Marquette University and Cornell University, graduating in 1890. Eschweiler opened his practice in Milwaukee in 1892. In 1923 his sons, Alexander C. Eschweiler Jr., Theodore, and Carl joined him in practice.
Eighty-one surviving commissions were listed in the exhibition "Alexander Eschweiler in Milwaukee: Celebrating a Rich Architectural Heritage" at the Charles Allis Art Museum in 2007.
Summer home
The Eschweilers had a second home on North Lake in the village of Chenequa, Wisconsin He did not design the residence. It was originally a 100-acre parcel he had purchased in the early 1900s, which included a small cottage from the 1870s. It was eventually torn down and the land was subdivided to settle the estate. The property was split into a 2.8-acre parcel and an 8.3-acre parcel, but six of the acres in the larger parcel are along the lake and are placed in a conservation easement that prohibits development.
Eschweiler was instrumental in the incorporation of the village of Chenequa. He was one of a handful of notable residents that testified in court that it was his residence.
Death
He is buried at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, North Lake, next to his wife and daughter. His plot is near St. Teresa of Calcutta Church, "so he could overlook his 'masterpiece.'"
Legacy
The Eschweiler Prize, made from a bequest of Alexander C. Eschweiler, Jr., in memory of his father Alexander C. Eschweiler, is an annual award of approximately $3,000 given to a student in architecture at Cornell.
Selected works
Works include (with attribution): (by year)
Edward Cowdery House, 2743 N. Lake Drive, Milwaukee, 1896.
Milwaukee Gas Light Company, West Side works.
John Murphy House, 2030 E. Lafayette Place, Milwaukee, 1899. A compromise with Prairie School architecture.
Robert Nunnemacher house, 2409 N. Wahl Avenue, Milwaukee, 1906. Symmetrical Jacobethan style, brick with stone quoins.
Charles Allis House, 1801 N. Prospect Avenue, Milwaukee, 1909, in a Jacobethan style. Now open as the Charles Allis Art Museum.
James K. Ilsley House, Milwaukee.
Elizabeth Black residence.
1919, St. John Church in Monches and St. Clare in North Lake, which together make up Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
Milwaukee-Downer "Quad", now University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, NW corner of Hartford and Downer Aves. Milwaukee, WI (Eschweiler,Alexander C.), NRHP-listed
John Mariner Building (Hotel Metro), Milwaukee, 1937. Art Moderne in style, with curved wrap-around corners; the first commercial structure in Milwaukee to feature air conditioning.
One or more works in East Hill Residential Historic District, roughly bounded by North Seventh, Adams, North Tenth, Scott and North Bellis Sts. Wausau, WI Eschweiler, Alexander), NRHP-listed
Marshfield Senior High School, 900 E. Fourth St. Marshfield, WI (Eschweiler & Eschweiler), NRHP-listed
Karl Mathie House, 202 Water St. Mosinee, WI (Eschweiler,AlexanderC.), NRHP-listed
Milwaukee County School of Agriculture and Domestic Economy Historic District, 9722 Watertown Plank Rd. Wauwatosa, WI (Eschweiler, Alexander C.), NRHP-listed
Painesdale, Area encompassing Painesdale streets and the Champion Mine Painesdale, MI (Eschweiler, A.C.), NRHP-listed
