Auf Wiedersehen, Gallun

A.F. Gallun and Sons north building; Demolition began Tuesday January 11, 2011

On Tuesday demolition of the vacant Gallun Tannery building began. I had the opportunity to watch some of the first anti-climactic blows that took apart the southwest corner of the building as each muffled crack of the wrecking ball sent a cluster of bricks and mortar to the ground.

A portion of the buildings south facing wall was blown off in a wind storm of sorts that came through Milwaukee this past October. Though the Gallun family had hoped that the complex would see restoration and reuse, the north building’s wall collapse sealed the fate of the remaining tannery. The complex was closed in 1993 after which time the Gallun office building across the street was converted to apartments around 2000; however, the other buildings have remained vacant. These buildings along the 1700 and 1800 blocks of North Water Street are pieces of a history that dates back to the early decades of Milwaukee’s founding, pieces of an industry that established Milwaukee as a leader in leather production around the world.

Gallun North Building Jan. 11, 2011

Tanning became a prominent industry in Milwaukee on account of several resources; tan bark, shipping and rail lines, an abundant water supply, and the availability of hides from meat packers. Moreover, Milwaukee’s tanning industry was dominated by German immigrants. In 1858 Albert Gottlieb Trostel and August Frederick Gallun partnered to form Trostel and Gallun leather tannery. With the onset of the Civil War, the tanning industry in Milwaukee boomed producing leather goods for boot, belts, and harnesses. The partners split the company around 1885 at which time Trostel formed Albert Trostel and sonse while August Gallun continued as A.F. Gallun and Sons. By 1895, August Gallun passed management of the tannery to his son, Albert J. A. Watrous. The company rose to be one of the four largest leather tanneries in the nation specializing in the production of calf leather and continued operation as the sole U.S. producer of calfskin until the 1980s.

Initially most tanneries were small factories with mostly wood frame buildings and few of brick. The factories clustered around the Milwaukee River and the Menomonee Valley for the water supply and proximity to shipping with the largest concentration along the Milwaukee River.

A.F. Gallun and Sons; south buildings to be razed.

The tanning industry again experienced significant growth between the 1880s and World War I, ranking second in Milwaukee production in the 1880’s. In 1890 Milwaukee was the largest producer of plain tanned leather in the world earning a renowned reputation for its leather industry. During this same period, many of the tanneries replaced older facilities with the large masonry complexes still seen today. The stretch of river between the old Zohrlaut/Pfister and Vogel complex at Water and Pleasant Streets and Gallun Tannery was dominated by the large masonry tanning complexes Zohrlaut (later purchased by Pfister and Vogel), Trostel and Gallun. The prosperity and significance of this industry was imbued in the articulated forms and details of the architect designed complexes which incorporated cornices, towers, and the height of architectural design aesthetics.   

Similar to breweries in the 1890s, the number of tanneries began to decrease while production increased as larger companies bought out their smaller counterparts. Tanning peaked around WWI with production of belts, harnesses, boots and other leather goods, but dropped drastically after the war. Introduction of the automobile and the electric motor did away with horse-driven transport, belt machinery and a predominantly pedestrian society which meant less leather for harnesses and belts while shoes and boots were made lighter weight as people began walking less.

Even fewer tanneries survived the Great Depression and World War II with the exception of Gallun, Trostel, and Pfister and Vogel. The majority of their complexes have since been razed with Gallun Tannery as the last remnants of the tanneries clustered along the Milwaukee River. Like the Gallun office building, Pfister and Vogel’s complex in Walker’s point near the Menomonee Valley has also seen restoration and reuse.