A 22-story Art Deco high-rise on West Wisconsin Avenue, completed in 1930 as the second tallest building in Milwaukee and converted to condominiums in 2005.
At a glance
Also known as the 606 Building, Wisconsin Tower rises 280 feet (85 m) above Milwaukee’s West Wisconsin Avenue. Its stepped profile and vertical emphasis mark it as a product of the late Art Deco era. The tower held the rank of Milwaukee’s second tallest building upon its completion in 1930, and it kept that position for more than three decades until the Chase Tower overtook it in 1961. A residential conversion in the mid-2000s turned the former office floors into 74 condominiums.
History
The building came to life at the close of the 1920s building boom. Its completion date of 1930 placed it squarely in the years when American cities competed to raise their skylines. Milwaukee was no exception. For thirty-one years, only one tower in the city stood taller. That changed in 1961, when the Chase Tower surpassed it.
The building served as an office tower for most of its life. In 2005, a developer purchased the tower and began reworking its upper floors into housing. The renovation finished in 2006, leaving the building at 606 West Wisconsin Avenue with 74 condominium units. Its original name, Wisconsin Tower, survives alongside its address-derived nickname, the 606 Building.
What you see
The tower is a straightforward vertical composition of stone and steel, typical of Art Deco design in Midwestern commercial architecture. Its height of 280 feet is spread across 22 floors. The scale is imposing on the street. The exterior relies on proportion rather than heavy ornament, with the upper stories stepping back in the manner common to tall buildings of the period.
The interior has been reshaped for its current residential use. No offices remain, and no original floor plans from the 1930 tower survive in the public record. What remains is the exterior form: a tall, narrow slab on a downtown corner.
Cultural significance
Wisconsin Tower tells a quiet story about Milwaukee’s growth and adaptation. It stood near the top of the city’s skyline through the Great Depression, World War II, and the postwar years. Its later conversion from offices to condominiums reflects a wider shift in American downtowns at the start of the twenty-first century, when older commercial high-rises found new life as housing. That change preserved the tower and kept it occupied, even as its original function disappeared.
Key facts
- Name: Wisconsin Tower (also 606 Building)
- City: Milwaukee
- Country: United States
- Completed: 1930
- Height: 280 ft (85 m), 22 stories
- Coordinates: 43.0390656, -87.9193448
Practical information & getting there
The tower stands at 606 West Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Milwaukee. You can reach it by car, bus, or on foot from the city center. It is a private residential building, so the interior is not open to the public. You can view the exterior from the sidewalk at any time.
Sources & resources
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