Mary Stedry House

This Queen Anne Style house was built in 1888 by Polish-born, Milwaukee architect Bernhard (Bernard) Kolpacki for the widow of John Stedry. Bernhard Kolpacki was born in 1854 and came to America at the age of 17. He lived on Milwaukee’s Polish South Side and worked in Stevens Point and Milwaukee. He became an architect in 1884 and also served as a Democratic Alderman from 1884-1886. SS. Cyril and Methodius Roman Catholic Church (1893) and St. Vincent DePaul Roman Catholic Church (1900) are two of his Milwaukee designs. His appointment as the superintendent of construction of the Federal Building in Milwaukee in 1893 was considered a great honor for Milwaukee’s Polish community. The position came with a salary of $3,000 per year for four to six years. He died unexpectedly at the young age of 46 on December 27, 1900. He is buried at St. Adalbert’s Cemetery.

The house’s irregular plan, variety of surface materials and multi-gabled roof are characteristic of the Queen Anne style. The projecting bays, tall windows, the variety of colors on the facade and trefoil on the porch gable are indicative of the proliferation of details the newly-moneyed class used to display their wealth. “Queen Anne style is almost the quintessential style of Norman Rockwell’s America,” according to John Milnes Baker, AIA and author of American House Styles, A Concise Guide.

Mrs. Mary Stedry was born Marie Simon in Germany in 1845. She married John Stedry (b. 1839 in Bohemia) in 1863. John Stedry worked as a baker and confectioner from the age of 13. He came to Milwaukee in 1867 and operated a bakery at 1208 Walnut St. The family resided at that address until John’s death in 1887 at the age of 47. Although the 1910 Census lists Mary as having 18 children, John Stedry’s 1887 will lists only nine surviving children. Mary Stedry died March 11, 1912 at the age of 67. She is buried with her husband at Calvary Cemetery.

This City-owned property was purchased in 2019 by the current owner. The Emem Group completed the extensive interior and exterior remodel.

Learn more about the process of renovation of this home - click here to read the Journal Sentinel Article about the home.

Researched by Jean Straub