There is another state with at least 100 found Meskers. The 100th facade identified in Wisconsin is a two-story building on Main Street in Alma. Despite storefront alterations, the building retains a galvanized sheet-metal cornice, window bay and hoods manufactured by George L. Mesker & Co. The facade may have been originally purchased/installed by J.A. Fretsch …
On Father's Day, I took a quick jaunt from Beloit to Elkhorn, Wisconsin, to photograph the numerous—thirteen to be exact—surviving galvanized sheet-metal cornices made by Mesker Brothers Iron Works. Just cornices. No full fronts, window hoods, or storefront columns, which also means there are no maker's marks to inform the onlookers about their provenance. I …
A quick jaunt to Wisconsin during Thanksgiving week and voila! - plus ten Meskers just like that. Burlington and Lake Geneva were my two stops and they were not chosen at random. George L. Mesker & Company testimonials catalog from 1905 provided a building owner's name for each town. And since I was already in Kenosha …
Last week I received an e-mail from a building owner in Wisconsin, who wanted to let me know about his Mesker facade. Although the order in which I’m cataloging the Meskers is essentially irrelevant—since it is not connected in any way to original dates of construction—it is still nice to arrive at a milestone. Or …
Mesker Brothers 