Laacke & Joys sign hanging history This undated photo shows the R. Laacke Co. store in Milwaukee. In 1887, Richard T. Laacke, an 18-year-old steeplejack, sign hanger and awning manufacturer started R. Laacke Co. The company expanded from signs to canvas products in the 1910s. It wasn’t until 1957 that R. Laacke Co. purchased Joys
Laacke & Joys sign hanging history
This undated photo shows the R. Laacke Co. store in Milwaukee. In 1887, Richard T. Laacke, an 18-year-old steeplejack, sign hanger and awning manufacturer started R. Laacke Co. The company expanded from signs to canvas products in the 1910s. It wasn’t until 1957 that R. Laacke Co. purchased Joys Brothers Co. and merged the two to create Laacke & Joys. Joys Brothers had started in 1844 as G.D. Norris & Co., a ship chandlery and sail loft on the Milwaukee River, before a name change in 1885.
Marking a century of camp on Booth Lake
This 1920s photo shows the lodge at Girl Scouts of Wisconsin’s Camp Alice Chester. Located on 100 acres on Booth Lake in East Troy, the camp first opened in 1924 following a fundraising campaign and donation from its namesake. Alice Chester was the first president of the Milwaukee Girl Scout Council. In its first year, the camp hosted 60 campers in its first summer of operation. The lodge in the picture is still in use today.
The start of Northwestern Mutual’s North Office Building
This 1988 photo shows the initial stages of construction for Northwestern Mutual’s North Office Building at the company’s downtown Milwaukee headquarters campus. The 18-story building was originally completed in 1990. In early 2023, the company announced a $500 million plan to renovate the building, matching its exterior to the Northwestern Mutual Tower nearby and upgrading interior amenities. Work on the renovation project started in October 2023.
[caption id="attachment_589656" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Submitted photo. To submit your company’s historic photos, visit biztimes.com/glance[/caption]
The first new company truck
This 1933 photo shows Roman Rozmarynowski (second from right) with his entire crew and a 1932 Ford, the first new truck he bought for his business, Roman Electric Co. Rozmarynowski started the business (today based in West Allis) in 1929, just a month before the stock market crashed.
[caption id="attachment_586981" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Public Library / Historic Photo Collection[/caption]
Aerial view of the Lakeside Power Plant in St. Francis
This undated photo shows the Lakeside Power Plant in St. Francis. Opened in 1921, it was the first power plant to burn only pulverized coal. The plant was retired and demolished in the 1980s. We Energies is in the process of transitioning its Wisconsin electricity generation away from coal by 2032. Two of its coal units in Oak Creek will be retired in the coming months, two more will be retired in late 2025 and the others will transition to natural gas.
[caption id="attachment_585651" align="alignnone" width="1280"] — Submitted photo[/caption]
More restoration work planned at Soldiers Home
This historic photo shows the Ward Memorial Theater (built in 1881) at the Milwaukee Soldiers Home complex near American Family Field. The theater, along with the Soldiers Home Chapel and the Governor’s Residence are part of a $25 million rehabilitation plan recently announced by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and Madison-based developer The Alexander Co. The large square on the building’s exterior is a stained-glass portrait of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant on horseback. It was removed in 2011 for safekeeping and will be returned as part of the restoration process.
[caption id="attachment_585650" align="alignnone" width="1280"] — Accessed through Wisconsin Historic Aerial Imagery Finder[/caption]
1930s downtown Milwaukee from the air
This August 1937 aerial photo shows the downtown and Historic Third Ward areas in Milwaukee. The photo was taken as part of Agricultural Adjustment Administration land surveys.
[caption id="attachment_592467" align="alignnone" width="1280"] — Photo courtesy of the Harley-Davidson Museum.[/caption]
Gliding off the assembly line in 1949
This photo from May 4, 1949, shows one of the first Harley-Davidson Hydra-Glide motorcycles coming off the assembly line at the Harley-Davidson factory. Prominent industrial designer Brooks Stevens helped Harley-Davidson design the motorcycle, one of the most iconic models in the company’s history. Harley-Davidson and Brooks Stevens collaborated on more than 200 projects over the years. This photo is part of the Harley-Davidson Museum’s newest exhibit, “Creating a Legend: Art & Engineering at Harley-Davidson.” The exhibit opened in May.
