Garden Homes

Garden Homes. A Public Housing Milestone. , The Garden Homes Historic District was the first municipally sponsored housing project in America. Safe, decent, and affordable housing for working-class families had long been a goal of the Socialists who came to power in Milwaukee in 1910. Mayor Daniel Hoan (in office from 1916 to 1940) made public housing a priority, and a severe housing shortage following World War I enabled him to put the party’s ideas into practice. , In 1921, the Garden Homes Company bought 29 acres of farmland one mile beyond Milwaukee’s northern limits, a semi-rural location still close enough for residents to commute to work. The planned community was inspired by England’s garden city movement, which sought to maintain a healthy balance between humans and nature. , Architect William Schuchardt, who doubled as president of the Garden Homes Company, designed an ensemble of modest English cottages built of wood and clad in stucco. A total of 93 houses, including 11 duplexes, were constructed between 1921 and 1923. Curving streets, ample yards, and a central park distinguished Garden Homes from more conventional neighborhoods. , The community was launched as a cooperative. Instead of house payments, residents made monthly purchases of stock in a company that owned the homes in common. Bulk material purchases, production-line construction techniques, and the absence of a profit motive kept the units affordable. , Demand was robust; there were 900 applicants for the first 60 homes completed in 1922. Garden Homes was so desirable that in 1925 residents voted to abandon the cooperative plan in favor of individual ownership, enabling them to take advantage of rising property values. , Although its original approach lasted only a few years, generations of Milwaukeeans have benefited from what Mayor Daniel Hoan called “a splendid plan” to provide sound housing for working families.