Title

Elizabeth Andrews's Residence at 947 N. Van Buren St. (543 Van Buren) in 1883

Description

In 1883, the City Directory for Milwaukee listed a woman with the profession of "Type-Writer" for the first time. Elizabeth Andrews lived at this location at the southwest corner of what is today State St. and N. Van Buren St.

At this point in the early 1880s, women made up only about ten percent of all secretaries. Fifty years later, they would amount to about ninety percent of all secretaries. Little else is known about Elizabeth Andrews, but in Milwaukee she was at the forefront of women's entry into the white-collar workforce, a development that would transform the American workplace in the twentieth century.

The links below show what is likely the building where Andrews lived, a wood-frame mixed-use row building characteristic of the second half of the nineteenth century. The photograph at the first link is from the mid-1960s, by which time many wooden buildings of this age had been replaced by brick structures. In the 1880s, the downstairs would have been commercial space, and the upstairs residential.

The two links to the Sanborn maps help confirm that this structure was there as early as 1894, and given its style, likely before that. In the 1894 map, the yellow color confirms that the building is wood, not masonry. The stairway at the rear leading to State St. corresponds with the boarded-up doorway on the photograph. The 1910 map confirms that the same buildings remained in place: the adjacent building added to the west, shown in pink to indicate its masonry construction (the brick foundation is visible in the photograph), has a bay window on State St., which is also visible in the photograph.

Photograph of the building where Andrews formerly lived, likely taken in the mid-1960s

1894 Sanborn Map of Milwaukee showing Andrews's residence at the corner of Van Buren St. and State St. (then Martin St.).

1910 Sanborn Map of Milwaukee showing Andrews's residence at the corner of Van Buren St. and State St. (then Martin St.).

Coordinates (Decimal Format)

43.043717976557744, -87.90346875985567 

Location (Addresses)

Old Address: 543 Van Buren
New Address: 947 N. Van Buren St.

Tag

women typists, labor, professional typists

Number

24-CC-0037

Creator

Rachel Zembrowski