Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin – The Wisconsin Historical Society announces the listing of the Underwriters Exchange Building in the National Register of Historic Places on March 10, 2023.
The Underwriters Exchange Building was constructed in 1924 with a 1926 ninth floor addition by the architectural firm of Rosman & Wierdsma. Designed in the Gothic Revival style, the exterior features brick wall cladding, double-hung windows, low parapet with decorative stone details, defined first floor, decorative tracery, and symmetrical design. The building continues to retain many of its original finishes and features including its wood flooring, terrazzo flooring, mail chute, ornamental plaster crown molding within the building lobby, and marble stairs adjoining the lobby.
The building is notable as a part of a national trend that saw insurance exchange buildings constructed across the United States. The development of insurance exchange buildings involved creating a center for insurance activity by housing a number of insurance firm offices in a single building. More than 40 Milwaukee insurance firms, most representing national organizations, leased office space within the building. The Underwriters Exchange Building would continue to serve as a center of insurance activity into the 1950s.
Additional information for the Underwriters Exchange Building is available at:
https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/NationalRegister/NR2764
To learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin, visit: https://wisconsinhistory.org/hp/register/
