2/19/23, 5:59 PM
Collections from Milwaukee's Landmark 1850, Joseph Halser on auction
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2023/02/16/the-unique-milwaukee-collections-of-joseph-halser-are-up-for-auction/69893786007/
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MILWAUKEE COUNTY
Massive and eclectic collection of the late
Landmark 1850 Inn owner Joseph Halser
is up for auction
Published 6:01 a.m. CT Feb. 16, 2023 Updated 11:39 a.m. CT Feb. 16, 2023
Bill Glauber
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Joseph G. Halser III, who died last April, was an educator, visionary, inventor, tinkerer and
owner of Landmark 1850 Inn and The Terminal beer garden out by Mitchell International
Airport.
Throughout his life, he collected lots of stuff, so much material that he would buy buildings
to store and use it all. He had everything from old radios to high-end audio equipment, beer
memorabilia to big architectural items like two light fixtures from the Plankinton Arcade that
were once sitting in a family's garden.
"He had a knack for saving things," said Halser's oldest son, Joseph IV, who goes by Joe. "He
would see how these things that would be thrown away could be used."
The whole collection, some 3,000 lots, is now for sale in an online auction that concludes
next week.
For the beer crowd, there are such things as neon signs from Gettelman, Schlitz and Blatz, a
door from a 1949 vintage Schlitz brewing kettle, and thousands of tap handles collected over
the decades that Halser owned the Landmark.
Light fixture from St. John's Cathedral, clock from Allen-
Bradley are some of many unique items
There are plenty of architectural gems.
2/19/23, 5:59 PM
Collections from Milwaukee's Landmark 1850, Joseph Halser on auction
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2023/02/16/the-unique-milwaukee-collections-of-joseph-halser-are-up-for-auction/69893786007/
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(Keep in mind, Halser salvaged bricks from old County Stadium and wrought iron railings
from a cemetery to create a wall at the Terminal and retrieved bathroom fixtures and other
items from the original Blackstone Hotel in Chicago and reinstalled them in Milwaukee.
None of that material is for sale.)
But you can find those light fixtures from the Plankinton Arcade, large metal lights from the
old Hotel Wisconsin, a hanging light fixture from St. John's Cathedral, even a four-sided
clock that was used in the executive offices at Allen-Bradley.
There are cash registers, pool tables, train whistles, and a vintage Vendo 39 Coke Machine,
from a time when a bottle of Coca-Cola cost a dime.
Two companies leading multi-day auction
Wandering through all the stuff is a bit overwhelming, like taking a trip into the city's largest
attic. Two auction companies are involved in the sale.
"This is one of the largest collections of memorabilia in the Milwaukee area," said Mike
Boerschinger, of The Sell It Now Store, an auction house in Waukesha. "It's the end of an era.
Very few people were into collections as Joe was."
Hartland-based Gerlach Companies is also involved.
The physical properties of Landmark 1850 Inn, once a stagecoach stop between Milwaukee
and Racine, and the Terminal Beer Garden, are not part of the auction.
Joseph Halser's sons amazed by their dad's collections
For Halser's three sons, it's a bittersweet moment. There's some relief that the material is all
organized and ready to go. But sadness, too, as a last chapter in their father's story.
"The collection is impressive," said Halser's youngest son, Jim.
"The one word I'd describe him as is just driven," said Halser's middle son, Jeff.
That drive is exemplified in one of the largest parts of the auction, a massive collection of
audio equipment that Halser built from scratch.
As a child, Halser collected old radios and that soon grew into a fascination with amplifiers
and turntables. Even into his final years, he'd work on his amplifier collection in the
basement of the Landmark.
2/19/23, 5:59 PM
Collections from Milwaukee's Landmark 1850, Joseph Halser on auction
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2023/02/16/the-unique-milwaukee-collections-of-joseph-halser-are-up-for-auction/69893786007/
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The auction includes dozens of audio amplifiers with vacuum tubes, items apparently highly
coveted by collectors. There are boxes and boxes of tubes as well.
"He never got rid of the stuff he loved the most," his oldest son Joe said. "He would just move
it down the line."
And now, it's headed out the door.
The public can inspect the items at 5917 S. Howell Ave. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday,
Feb. 16, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 20.
More information on the auction can be found at gerlachauctions.com.
