Brandeis Millard House

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Below you will find:

1. Short History of Brandeis Millard House
2. Interview with Mark Maser
3. Long History of Brandeis Millard House
4. History of the Brandeis Dept Stores
5. About Emil Brandeis - who perished on the Titanic


Brief History

In the two decades before World War I, magnificent new mansions expressed Omaha’s arrival as a first-class city, particularly in the Gold Coast on its western edge. It is remarkable that two families in the first rank of area entrepreneurship—Brandeis and Millard—lived in one of the grandest examples of Gold Coast architecture and craftmanship. The 32-room home on the southwest corner of 38th and Dewey Streets—now called the Blackstone Neighborhood—was designed and built 1904-1905, and serves as an excellent example of Jacobethan Revival-style design. Its interior and exterior are remarkably intact and the mansion stands as a worthy companion to its contemporary cousin, the Joslyn Castle.

Arthur and Zerlina Brandeis, members of the family that built and operated the J. L. Brandeis & Sons Department Store in downtown Omaha, commissioned young German immigrant Albert Kahn to design the home for them. Kahn was only in his early 30s and had no homes to his credit at the time. Later he would design the home of Edsel Ford, and he was destined to become internationally famous as the architect of many factories and scores of other noteworthy buildings, particularly in Detroit and Michigan.

Arthur Brandeis was the oldest son of the department store’s founder, Jonas L. Brandeis, who arrived in Omaha in 1883. Jonas died in 1903, leaving sons Arthur, Emil and Hugo well prepared to operate the Brandeis family’s extensive investments. Tragically, all three would die in the next 13 years. Just a few years after occupying the architectural treasure, Arthur and Zerlina sold the house, choosing instead to live in New York while keeping an office in Omaha to run the business interests.

In 1909, Jessie Millard purchased the home from Brandeis and moved in with her aging father, former US Senator Joseph H. Millard. Joseph and his brother Ezra were among Omaha’s earliest entrepreneurs. Using real estate profits, Ezra founded the Omaha National Bank (acquired by US Bank) which Joseph served as president. Joseph also built a large Omaha hotel, organized the streetcar system, and served as a director of Union Pacific Railroad. He was briefly mayor of Omaha (1871) and served in the U.S. Senate from 1901-1907. Just as Joslyn Castle’s integrity as a home was maintained by George Joslyn’s widow Sarah from 1916 to 1940, the Brandeis-Millard mansion was home to Joseph’s daughter Jessie alone from the Senator’s death in 1922 to her death at age 86 in 1950.

From 1950 forward, it served as a real estate office (Switzer Realty), day-care facility (Children’s Corner), event center (LePlace 38) and once again, a home. In the 1980s, owner Rose Erato and her husband David Russell began the revival of the landmark. From 1999 to 2008, owners John and Janel Sunderland worked lovingly to restore the home. Al and Delores Maser of LeMars, Iowa, purchased the residence as their future retirement home in 2008. Their son, Mark, president of the Blackstone Neighborhood Association and a member of the Joslyn Castle Trust Board of Directors, contributed the home as the 2009 ASID & Joslyn Castle Trust Designer Showhouse.









LUNCH with MARK MASWE
from Inspired Living Magazine

I ring the bell at the landmark Brandeis Mansion, and within seconds Mark Maser greets me with a firm handshake and a broad smile. I haven't been inside this 9,500-square-foot gem since the 2009 Designer Showhouse event. Maser gives me a quick tour. I feel as if I'm in a museum amid Maser's period pieces. I could look for hours but lunch awaits in the formal dining room.

You said lunch would be “no big deal.” I know that's a fib when the table is set with china, silver and crystal, and wine clearly is accompanying the meal.I have dishes “maximus” and lots of table toys. I suspect it's more than that.Gracious living doesn't seem unusual to me because I've been doing it since I was born. We were the banker family in town. My mom was in PEO, Junior League and church circles. We always set the table for meals.”

You love to cook?
I'm like a short-order cook. I use whatever happens to be on-hand. I take inventory and search online for recipes by those keywords. The china is gorgeous. You have a good eye for pattern play. I like to mix it up. The china is Royal Worcester. I bought it at an estate sale when I moved into the neighborhood 20 years ago.

You're known for your sterling.
Yes, I collect all manner of gorgeousness in silver.

What got you started?
Joella Cohen at the Omaha Auction Center had a set of Wallace Grand Baroque (sterling, 1941) flatware. I left a $1,000 bid but didn't expect to get it ... But it was Sally Maxwell (from Maxwell House Antiques) in Sioux Falls (S.D.) who really drew me in.

You bought her collection?
Eventually, yes. And now I have every piece of Grand Baroque ever made. China and stemware don't have the same power over you? "I'm a boy. I won't break silver.”


***
Maser's silver inventory includes Versailles, the same pattern in Sarah and George Joslyn's estate. Maser also has an impressive inventory of Georgian by Towle, Wedgewood, Tiffany, Rose Point by Wallace, Richelieu, Royal Danish, Strasbourg by Gorham and Reed & Barton.

MASER'S SILVER-CLEANING METHOD
Mark Maser cleans his silver inventory every 18 months. It takes him about a week to make his way through the flatware drawers in his showroom. His pointers:

Place flatware in hot, hot, hot sudsy water in a sink. Allow to soak several minutes to loosen dirt. Rinse flatware with fresh water and roll a few pieces at a time in paper towels to dry.

Try Hagerty silver polish or Wright's Silver Cream over a liquid polish to minimize waste. Apply cleaner with a damp sponge. Use a circular motion to work cleaner into a paste. When paste turns chalky white, buff with soft cloth. “Never use Tarn-x metal cleaner; it's too strong for silver. It's especially dangerous with silver-plated pieces.” Ditto for baking soda and hot water.

Store sterling flatware in a felt-lined box. Plastic wrapping traps moisture and hastens tarnishing.

Maser's advice on re-plating silver sets: “It depends on what it is, why you have it and what you want to do with it. If it's a family piece, OK. But re-plating is expensive. If the silver set is ever resold, you are not likely to recoup your money.”

If a silver piece no longer works properly (i.e., has a broken hinge), fix it because you're not going to find a replacement at a tag sale.
















NOW FOR THE LONG VERSION of the Brandeis Millard House History

Brandeis Mansion Detailed History



Brandeis Mansion from the corner 1920s

Omaha’s Gold Coast was a beehive of construction activity in the decade before and after the turn of the Twentieth Century.

Within the developing area that is now known as the Blackstone Neighborhood resided many of the “Who’s Who” of Omaha. One author evaluated the area by calculating the percentage of Ak-Sar-Ben queens who lived there—more than 58% between 1902 and 1909.

On the Gold Coast at the beginning of the Twentieth Century, many maids, butlers, cooks, seamstresses, gardeners, stable hands and other servants enabled the mistress of the house to carry on an active social calendar, replete with a steady diet of lavish parties.

In the first 25 years of Ak-Sar-Ben, the venerable Omaha civic club, 11 kings and 15 queens came from the Gold Coast area. Each year, after the black-tie coronation and ball, groups would gather and party till dawn at Gold Coast homes.

The Brandeis Estate’s Architect
The Arthur Brandeis family—Arthur, wife Zerlina and children E. John, Leola and Ruth—moved into their new four-floor, 9,450-square-foot, 32-room estate at 500 South 38th Street about 1905.

There were few if any “off the shelf” architectural plans behind the Gold Coast mansions. Several distinguished architects designed homes in the area. John McDonald, architect of the Joslyn Castle, for example, designed a home virtually across the street from the new Brandeis mansion.

Albert Kahn
Arthur’s new family home was the product of a bright young man named Albert Kahn, lately of Detroit, Michigan. Though he was destined for greatness, at that moment Kahn had just a handful of commissions to his credit.


Brandeis Mansion looking NW 1960s

He came to the United States from Rhaunen, Rhineland Palatinate–now Germany– in 1880 at age 11. The son of a rabbi, Albert worked for an architectural firm while still a teenager. He won a scholarship allowing him a year in Europe and toured the Continent with another student, Henry Bacon, who would soon design the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

In 1895, when he was not quite 25, he opened the firm of Albert Kahn Associates. His early commissions included the Detroit Racquet Club (1902), the Palms Apartments (1901-1903) and Temple Beth El (1903), his home synagogue.

Kahn’s residential designs were never groundbreaking; they always expressed an existing architectural style. He chose the Jacobethan Revival style in the case of the Brandeis Mansion; for the Edsel Ford family, he expressed the style of an English manor house.

Kahn would become famous as an architect for several reasons: It was his innovation to use reinforced concrete for factory walls. The idea came to him just as Detroit was becoming the manufacturing model for the world. He had an eye for classic architectural beauty even when designing offices and factories; not only did he design the famous Willow Run complex for Ford, but also General Motors headquarters and several buildings on the University of Michigan campus. As of 2006, Kahn reportedly had approximately 60 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Brandeis commission. Also, his design team was very prolific. According to one source, Kahn’s firm was responsible for 20 percent of the architect-designed factories in the U.S. by 1938. Kahn died in 1942.

The Brandeis Home
The Jacobethan Revival style is expressed in the home in several ways. Brick walls, stone trim, red tile roof, stucco and half-timber work, exposed frame projections, tall chimneys with each flue emphasized, and a two-story bay window are typical.


Switzer Realty Office in home 1960s

Wood and marble are used extensively on the interior. The entrance, living room and main stairway are paneled in oak wainscoting and oak beams enhance the ceiling. The living room’s marble fireplace is inscribed with a Scottish welcome. The solarium on the landing of the main staircase features stained glass of vines and leaves on two walls and the ceiling. Green marble is used to emphasize the desired “outdoor” feeling.

The dining room features mahogany paneling and ceiling cross beams surrounding a bay window of leaded glass surrounded by glass-door cabinets. The music room is notable for classical bay-leaf garland moldings and leaded glass sliding doors.

While there is a carriage house on the property, it is not related to Kahn or the Brandeis family and has been managed as a separate piece of real estate through most of the home’s history. The carriage house was built by Jessie Millard

Here is the official description of the interior from the nomination for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places:

“The Jacobethan Revival influence is reflected in the exterior of the house and the carriage house. Brick and stone are usually the basic materials in this revival style. It is carried out here by the brick walls and stone trim. Other materials are also used, such as the red tile roof, the shingled dormers, the wooden side porch, the stick style stucco, and the exposed frame projections. These provide a wide variety of textures to the house. The gables are designed in two Jacobethan modes. One type of gable has no projecting eaves but is finished by a stone edging with a finial on the point of the gable. The other gable is constructed of exposed framing and stucco and has an overhanging roof. In keeping with this style, the chimneys are tall and each flue is emphasized. The two-story bay window on the east side is another common feature of this style and helps to create a striking street-side façade. The porte-cochere is on the north side of the home and is approached by a semi-circular drive. Cast-iron Corinthian columns form the shafts of two lamp posts placed at the entrance to the drive.

“The beautiful wood and marble is an impressive feature of the interior. Leaded glass doors and oak wainscoting is the first view one receives on entering the house. The living room and main stairway repeat these features. The wainscoting covers the wall to a height of six feet. Oak beams enhance the ceiling. Marble covers part of the fireplace and a Scottish “welcome” is inscribed on the mantle.


Dining Room 1960s – Switzer Family Collection

“The woodwork and glass in the dining room is one of the most beautiful effects in the house. The rich mahogany paneling covers the walls, leaving a small area above it for the wallpaper which is hand-painted French cloth. The west wall holds a bay window made of leaded glass, with cabinets and a window seat built around it filling the entire wall. The cabinet doors are of leaded glass with mirrors lining the inside of the cabinet to emphasize the glass. Behind the mahogany doors at the base of the cabinet is a guilt-in Yale safe. The ceiling is cross beamed with stenciled geometric designs in each square. The bronze chandelier and wall lighting fixtures are original.

“The music room and dining room are to the left of the main entrance. The music room is noted for its bay window and for its classical bay-leaf garland moldings. Sliding doors separate each room from the entryway. One side of the doors is oak and the other side is mahogany, to match the woodwork in each room. Between the music room and the dining room, a leaded glass sliding door is placed, as are similar ones from each of these rooms to the adjoining sun room.

“The solarium on the landing of the main staircase is made of stained glass and green marble. The roof and two walls are covered with vines and grape cluster designs in the stained glass. The mullions, the floor, and the other two walls are faced with green marble to enhance the outdoor garden effect. The small light fixtures repeat the fine theme with curling tendrils of metal.

“The most striking objects on the second floor are the different kinds of marble and tile. Green marble and gray and white marble covers the various bathroom walls. The family’s area on this floor consists of three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a study. Large antique medicine cabinets with Doric entablatures and located in each bathroom. The study has a fireplace covered with bright blue tile and a safe built into the closet.

“The carriage house retains much of its Jacobethan exterior; however the interior has been completely remodeled. Originally there were two entranced with one approaching from 38th Street entering on to the first floor of the carriage house and the other coming from Dewey Avenue and entering the basement. The carriage house is large with two full stories and a basement.”

The Brandeis Family
Jonas
Jonas L. Brandeis came to the U.S. from Prague, Austria (later Czechoslovakia) in the early 1850s. He settled in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and there opened the Brandeis Stores, which he operated from 1860 to 1881.

Why Jonas moved to Omaha was not reported; however, some suggest that with the development of the railroad and the continuing Western migration, Brandeis saw an opportunity for unparalleled growth. In any event, in 1881 he moved to Omaha with his wife Fannie and four children, Sarah, Arthur, Hugo and Emil (sometimes spelled Emile).
The first retail Brandeis Omaha store, a small building at 1207 Farnam Street, was called The Fair. A directory published in 1886 mentions wholesaler J. L. Brandeis & Sons.
By 1888 he had all three sons in business with him as full partners. When the store had a sale, Jonas sent his sons up and down the city’s streets, hawking the items.

The family later operated The Boston Store at 16th and Douglas Streets in downtown Omaha, and put the name J. L. Brandeis & Sons over the doorway. The new store, a rented space, was across the street from the site that would become the J. L. Brandeis & Sons Department Store. Just three years later, the store wasn’t big enough. They built a new store in 1891, a four-story building on the northwest corner of 16th and Douglas. That incarnation of The Boston Store burned in 1894. The circumstances were harrowing. Saturday night shopping was at its peak when a window display caught fire. Arthur and Hugo assured that every customer was safe and then escaped the inferno by jumping through a window. In 3 ½ hours, the bustling store was a pile of rubble. More than a building and merchandise was lost. Most of the Brandeis family jewelry and silver was destroyed, too.
The fire was on February 3. The announcement that the family would rebuild was made on February 8, the day that The Boston Store reopened in rented space. By October of 1895, a new store was open on the site of the fire. It even had a crude escalator, though it functioned for only a short time.

Jonas died in 1903. He had mostly withdrawn from the business by that time, having prepared his three sons to manage his enterprises under the name J. L. Brandeis & Sons.

Jonas’ Children
The “Sons” in the company name were Arthur, Emil and Hugo, and all had willingly and effectively assumed responsibility for the Brandeis retail and investment empire even before their father’s death. (Following the custom of the times, daughter Sarah was not part of the management team. Instead, she married Herman Cohn and they had two sons, Walter and Loyal.)

The empire that Arthur Brandeis, his two brothers and sister inherited in 1903, worth $1.4 million, would have been considered significant in any city and they did nothing to diminish it.


Arthur, George, E. John – OWH 1951 Section

Arthur took the lead, serving as president from some time after his father’s death until his own death in 1916. However, the three brothers formed an effective team and each had a specialty.

In 1907, Arthur, Hugo and Emil agreed to build what was at the time the largest construction project in Nebraska history: the million-dollar, 8-story J.L. Brandeis & Sons store on the southeast corner of 16th and Douglas Streets. Three of its floors would be devoted to retail sales with the remaining five floors occupied by offices. As the store grew, offices would be converted to sales space.

When the brothers succeeded their father as operators of the business, there were already large real estate holdings apart from the The Boston Store. Yet, the department store at 16th and Douglas Streets in downtown Omaha was the largest such store west of Chicago. And, when the new building was opened, the “old” Boston Store didn’t close. Instead, it was linked to the new store as the men’s wear department.

Intrigued by the new medium of silent films, Arthur built three motion picture theaters. The Brandeis Theater was located across the street from the retail outlets and was joined to them by an under-street tunnel. It was lavish, befitting the style of the day. In addition, the theater building had an office tower above it. Other Brandeis properties included the Grand Hotel (1905), and the Loyal Hotel (1908), the latter named for Sarah Brandeis Cohn’s son Loyal.

When the million-dollar Fontenelle Hotel was planned a few blocks west of the department store, Arthur’s contribution as an investor was the site itself, which belonged to the Brandeis family.

Despite their investment in Omaha, the three brothers’ roles in Omaha would be short lived because of a string of unexpected developments.


Front Entrance 1960s - Switzer Family Collection

Emil
The youngest of the three brothers was Emil (Emile on some documents). His specialty was acquisition of real estate and supervision of construction for the Brandeis family. When Arthur had a construction project the brothers wanted to complete, he sketched the idea and handed the project to Emil to manage to completion. In addition, Emil was the designated brother to attend charitable and civic events. On the retail side, he managed the toy department at the downtown Omaha store.

Emil, a bachelor, traveled to Europe every year. In 1912, at age 48, he visited Arthur’s daughter Ruth, by now Mrs. Irving Stern, who was living in Italy, and joined the recently married couple to tour Spain, Egypt, Rome and Vevey, Switzerland, where his sister, Sarah (Mrs. Herman) Cohn, was staying. In May, he changed his return plans by two weeks in order to sail on the Titanic. He booked one of the most expensive cabins on the B Deck for the Titanic’s maiden voyage, paying the equivalent of more than $50,000 for the five-day crossing.

He was dining with friends, the Harrises, when the ship struck an iceberg. Later, Mrs. Harris was put aboard a lifeboat and Emil promised the two men would follow soon. Mrs. Harris remembered seeing Emil and Mr. Harris joining in the hymn “Nearer My God to Thee” as the orchestra played on deck

When the Titanic sunk, Emil was the only Omahan to die. He was one of the 1,517 who went down with the ship. His gold watch, recovered with his body, is now the property of the Durham Museum in Omaha, donated by Mrs. Loyal Cohn before her death.

Hugo
H. Hugo Brandeis was also co-manager of the Brandeis enterprises. Hugo was considered the master merchandiser and promoter. His father had released helium balloons with coupons awarding the finder a new suit, and Hugo built upon such ideas. He placed newspaper ads with pictures in them when others didn’t, and he was generous in the use of discount coupons and other promotions.

In 1912, he began to suffer weight loss and his doctor ordered a rest in Europe. Following the trip, he returned as unhealthy as before. He became ill and died of complications from surgery said to be for appendicitis in 1912. He died within three months of the death of his brother Emil. Hugo and his wife Lyela had no children together.

Arthur
Arthur, the oldest son, was the Brandeis family’s leader after Jonas’ death.

Arthur was 41 when his father died. From 1903 until his death in 1916, he led the department store’s management, but he also led his brothers into real estate, organizing the Brandeis Realty Company, The Boston Store Realty Company and the Arthur Realty Company.

In 1907, the brothers agreed to build the J. L. Brandeis & Sons department store across the street from The Boston Store. Arthur’s young son E. John helped lay the cornerstone for the eight-story building.

The silent films intrigued Arthur, and he built the Brandeis Theater and topped it with an office tower. He also owned the American Theater Company and the Empress Theater.
He held other business leadership positions, too, including a directorship at the United States National Bank of Omaha.


Front Stairway 1960s - Switzer Family Collection

In 1912, when the Brandeis companies lost two-thirds of their top leadership to illness and tragedy, Arthur’s son E. John was still a teenager.
Arthur urged his cousin George, an experienced Chicago retailer, to assume co-management of the Brandeis interests. Arthur granted George a substantial amount of family stock, and George agreed.

George proved capable of managing the entire enterprise without help, and Arthur turned his attention to new business interests and family developments that were growing in New York City.

From 1910 to his complete departure from Omaha in 1914, Arthur commuted by train, living in an apartment while in Omaha, and with Zerlina on Fifth Avenue in New York. He also purchased an estate in New Jersey.

Soon, Arthur invested in Stern Brothers Department Stores and joined the Stern management team as the newest vice president.

His role in the partnership would be relatively brief. Though he maintained his investment in Stern, he withdrew from active management shortly before he died in 1916.
The cause of his death at age 53 was reported to be the same as Hugo’s—complications following surgery for appendicitis.

Arthur’s widow, Zerlina, was awarded $50,000 per year from the Brandeis estate. She married Joseph Helfman of Detroit at a New York wedding attended by son E. John in 1917. The couple moved to California and she died in San Francisco at age 72.

Arthur and Zerlina’s Family
When Arthur and his family had moved into the Gold Coast mansion, Arthur’s daughters Ruth and Leola, and son E. John were adolescents. The expectation among the wealthy in Omaha (and other cities) was that their daughters should attend “finishing school” in the East.


Living Room 1960s – Switzer Family Collection

By January 1909 the home in the Gold Coast was sold; the Brandeis family was relocating to the East Coast. E. John attended Cascadilla School in Ithaca, New York. He then attended one year at Cornell University where his greatest investment in time and effort, he later confessed, was the rowing team. He spent some time working at the Stern Brothers Department Store in New York.

Leola attended Vassar from 1912-1916 where she studied journalism. She married Dr. A.B. Baer and the couple raised three sons, Alan, David and Robert. Alan Baer would serve as the final president of the Brandeis retail chain, selling it to Younkers.

Ruth had married Irving Stern by 1912. Ruth’s new husband was a member of a small family-led group that operated Stern Brothers Department Store in New York and her father would soon join that group.

Several years later, she is reported to have opened a popular salon in Paris, France. In Paris, she is said to have met and, in 1924, married Armand Massard, an Olympic fencing champion and Paris sports writer.

E. John Brandeis
E. John, actually named Jonas L. Ervine Brandeis, was born in 1895 and was not yet 21 when his father died in 1916. He would eventually lead J. L. Brandeis & Sons, but for many years was willing to hold the title of president and play a supporting role. He finally assumed the reins upon the death of his uncle George in 1948.

Perhaps no one expressed E. John’s life better than the Rev. Carl M. Reinert, S.J., president of Creighton University, at Brandeis’ funeral: “E. John believed that the God-given pleasures of the world are to be enjoyed with zest.”

Some of E. John’s summers as a youth were spent as a ranch hand in Wyoming. He convinced his father to visit the ranch with an eye to having Arthur buy it; however, his father didn’t like the ranch and refused to make the investment.


Living Room 1960s – Switzer Family Collection

E. John served in the Army in World War I, soon gambled and won on wheat futures, and before long was able to buy his own 500-acre ranch near Chatsworth, California. The ranch proved to be a popular site at which to film Western movies, and E. John hosted parties for Hollywood figures.

While Uncle George managed the store, E. John maintained his own active role in the family business. They agreed to add two floors to the Brandeis building in 1917, and then devoted all ten floors to retail sales. E. John frequently stopped at the offices his father had established in New York, Paris and London. He made at least 24 trips to Europe.
News accounts report E. John had four wives. He married and had a child, Marie, with Madeline Frank Brandeis.

Madeline would become a noted author of children’s books. She divorced E. John in 1921, winning a judgment of $400,000 in alimony, a record in Nebraska and a sum found worthy of comment by the New York Times. Another of his wives was, according to the New York Times, the recent ex-wife of J. F. Colman of London. Mr. Colman was known as “the Mustard King,” and the brand survives to this day.

At last, Brandeis married Marjorie Boismier. She was his wife for 34 years.

Brandeis’ interest in Western art led to an article in Architectural Digest. In 1996, E. John’s penthouse atop the Brandeis building was opened to an art dealer who discovered the apartment to be entirely furnished with esteemed Thomas Molesworth hand-made rustic furnishings and with Native American art purchased by Molesworth. To maintain the integrity of the collection, all of the contents were sold to one individual in Wyoming.

The penthouse is thought to have been furnished during World War II. E. John served as an officer in the war, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

His zest for life led him to unusual places. For example, he was the producer of a Broadway play in 1937. It was set in the living room of a Nebraska farmhouse and entitled “Thirsty Soil.” It ran for 13 performances.

He loved big game hunting, bagging a Bengal tiger in India, an elephant in Africa, and a grizzley bear in Alaska. His 17 exotic hunting trips around the world also led him to play a role in wildlife preservation.

In 1960, he was raising Mouflon sheep, endangered animals typically found in and around the nation of Iran. He kept the sheep at his ranch in California on behalf of the Friends of the World Zoo, a project planned for Los Angeles.

In 1948, upon the death of his uncle George, he finally took the reins of J. L. Brandeis & Sons, though an experienced team of managers had the store functioning smoothly. An early decision was to add escalators and air conditioning to the store. With the advent of suburbs, he decided to add more stores. He grew the business from the flagship store to a chain of 11 locations with two more under construction when he died in 1973.

His seemingly extravagant “zestful” living didn’t drain his bank account—he left an estate of $12.7 million.

The Millard Family
The Brandeis home in Omaha was purchased in January 1909 by Jessie H. Millard (Mill-LARD) for her father and herself. Jessie’s father, Joseph H. Millard, was one of Omaha’s earliest entrepreneurs, making his fortune primarily in real estate and banking.

Joseph Millard’s obituary credits him with forming the Banking House of Barrows, Millard & Company in Omaha. Joseph, 20, and his older brother Ezra, 25, armed with dollars from investors (including Barrows, an Iowan), arrived in Omaha by covered wagon in the summer of 1856.

Their goal was land development, and their timing was perfect. They became established before the building boom that accompanied Nebraska statehood, working to secure land and then resell it in development parcels.

With a portion of his early profits, Ezra invested $50,000 to capitalize the Omaha National Bank, which would compete for regional dominance with the rival First National Bank. Ezra also is credited with developing the town of Millard, about 10 miles from Omaha.

Joseph and his wife Caroline had two children, Jesse and Willard. Jesse did not marry. Willard married twice, to Frankie Barton and Louise Bennett. He had four children, Barton, Joseph II, Willard, Jr. and Henry.

Joseph followed the gold rush to Virginia City, Montana, in 1863, and Caroline insisted on accompanying him. There he opened a bank to buy gold from prospectors. The enterprise was highly successful. When he returned to Omaha in 1865, his share of the profits was said to have been 125 pounds of gold.

Joseph was mayor of Omaha in 1872, and reportedly acquired the appellation of “Senator” years before actually becoming a member of the U.S. Senate.


Sen. Joseph Millard

According to press accounts, “in Omaha’s early days, Senator Millard was a prime mover in the street railway line and bridge to Council Bluffs, and in the building of the Omaha & Southwestern, and Omaha & Northwestern railways.”

His selection to the Senate was voted by the Nebraska Legislature, as was the practice at the time, and he took the train to Lincoln the following day to personally thank the lawmakers who voted him into office.

Jesse accompanied Joseph to Washington, his wife Caroline having just died. She assumed the role of social secretary and hostess.

Back in Omaha after a term in Washington, he gave up politics in favor of a return to his favorite business interests, on a schedule that was light, compared to his prime years in Omaha.

He was attending a board meeting of the Nebraska Power Company when he suffered a fatal heart attack in 1922.

According to his obituary, “His most important service in the Senate was as chairman of the Inter-ocean canal committee, and it was largely due to his effort and the then Secretary Taft that the lock-level type of canal building was decided upon for the Panama Canal.”

Joseph’s son Willard, a Yale graduate, would become Omaha National Bank’s fifth president in 1949, serving as president or chairman for 20 years. Willard was named king of Ak-Sar-Ben in 1941 and held the title until 1945 as the coronations were suspended during World War II.

The family ended their interest in the bank after Willard’s death.

Jessie remained in the Gold Coast mansion until her death at age 86 in 1950. In 1928, she had contributed $75,000 as a memorial to her parents for a Sunday school addition to First Presbyterian Church.

She is said to have had at least a dozen servants and neighbors noted that a team of them washed the windows after every rain.

In 1919, she hired Walker and Kimball architects to build a two-floor carriage house to the west at 3815 Dewey. The carriage house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Her 40 years as a resident of the Brandeis-Millard mansion helped to maintain its design integrity; however, changes did take place on the interior following her death.


Children’s Corner at the home in the 1970s

After the Millards
Because Jessie Millard had no will, her nephews inherited the mansion on her death in 1950. They sold it the same year to Mrs. Eva Pasko, widow of Vincent, for $37,500.
She occupied the home for three years and made some changes. Soon after the purchase, she divested the adjoining lot to the south, and she also converted the carriage house to apartments, where she is reported to have lived after she sold the mansion itself.

The lot to the south of the home was vacant, because Jessie had purchased the home next door in 1919, and had the house moved a block west. At its new location, the home eventually became the Alumni House for the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The vacant lot served as a garden during the Millard years; it was sold to Lyda Martin at approximately the same time that the mansion was sold by Mrs. Pasko.

In 1953, the mansion and its grounds were sold to Switzer Realty Co. The business used two main-floor rooms for offices. The remainder of the house was the residence of the Switzer family, which included two children. The realty-investment firm continued to utilize the home for offices until 1970 after which the Children’s Corner pre-school, nursery and day care center operated there for 14 years.

During its use as an office and day care center, extensive changes were made to service areas, the kitchen and upper levels; nevertheless, all of its users respected the basic integrity of the design.

For two years, from 1985 to 1987, the building was owned by Dr. Charles Golden and Heather Phillips. After use as a day care center, the building was in need of intensive care. They began to return the interior appearance to that of the original residence. They repaired the roof, updated the plumbing and had the mansion rewired. The kitchen was replaced. When Dr. Golden, a psychologist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, moved from the community in 1987, he placed the home on the market with an asking price of $229,500. His real estate agent was Mrs. Jackie Hofacre, one of the two Switzer children who lived in the home.

Finding a buyer of a 32-room home was not easy. In time, Rose Erato, an interior designer, purchased the home for $187,000 as a business venture. Before long, she had an apartment in a third-floor penthouse that she developed from both servant quarters and an unfinished ballroom. She developed a handsomely furnished public area for events on the first and second floors called La Place 38. Her interior design firm was on the lower level.

Once she decided on a plan of action, contractors were given 60 days to bring the mansion back to life. A significant number of events were held there, and the second floor was available as a bed and breakfast.

One Christmas season she had parties booked there virtually every day for several weeks. While it was La Place 38, Rose estimated 48,000 people attended events there.
There were changes in Ms. Erato’s personal life, as well as her beloved mansion. She married David Russell, a senior vice president of Applied Communications, who had moved to Omaha from the East Coast. She met him when she decorated his west Omaha home. After a wedding in the mansion, the couple took up residence there. They added a four-car garage and a 13-foot connecting tunnel to link it to the house. From the exterior, the detached garage appeared always to have been a part of the property. Inside, an unusual two-story design was used because of the steep slope on the west side of the house. Two cars can be parked on one level and two more on a second level.


Fall 2005 at the Brandeis Mansion

After living for some time in the Brandeis mansion’s penthouse, the commercial nature of the home’s first and second floors began to intrude on the Russell’s home life. They rented a home in west Omaha while the future of the mansion was being resolved.

A San Diego couple showed interest in buying the mansion and Rose leased it to them for a year while they arranged financing. The lessee was Ryan Patterson, who married Shanti Maglione in Omaha. They held their wedding reception at La Place 38 in August 1992.

On New Years Eve 1992, fire broke out in the basement. It caused little structural damage but left extensive smoke damage. The Pattersons moved out and terminated the sale. After more than a year of painting, refurbishing and refurnishing, the Russells moved back in, this time occupying the first and second floor while Rose managed her decorating business from the third.

In 1999, John and Janel Sunderland purchased the property and began a labor of love to restore the entire home to its original beauty. A new roof, return to original landscaping, and a brick-by-brick reconstruction of the porch with a new basement space beneath it were seen as part of a broader restoration of the Blackstone Neighborhood. Inside and beneath the lawn and porch, the Sunderlands installed a geothermal heating system to reduce the expense of operating the two furnaces that the large home required. That move saved 80 percent on heating/cooling bills.

Eleven years later, in 2008, the home was once again sold as a residence. This time the purchasers were Al and Delores Maser of Le Mars, Iowa. The Masers made the purchase as a retirement home, guided there by their son, Mark, who is president of the Blackstone Neighborhood Association.

With his parent’s permission, Mark, a member of the Joslyn Castle Trust Board of Directors, has provided ASID and the Joslyn Castle Trust the 2009 Designer Showhouse.

Show House website:
http://brandeis.omahadesignershowhouse.com/





History of the Brandeis Department Stores in Omaha.

J.L. Brandeis & Sons, commonly referred to by Midwesterners as Brandeis, was a chain of department stores located in the Omaha, Nebraska area started by Jonas L. Brandeis in 1881. It was purchased by Younkers for $33.9 million in 1987, when the stores were converted to the Younkers name.

The Brandeis flagship store was completed in 1906. Retail space occupied the first three stories and the basement until it was expanded in 1917, which added two more stories. By the 1950s Brandeis took up the whole facility. The store strived to carry every item possible, including furniture.
Developing the mall
By the late 1950s, Brandeis was looking for a way to expand and modernize. One way to do this was by creating malls, anchored by Brandeis. In 1959, Brandeis Investment Co. developed the Crossroads Shopping Center in Midtown Omaha. The mall was also anchored by Sears (which still remains today). Crossroads was the 9th enclosed shopping mall in the United States and became the place to be in Omaha. The simple mall design, connecting the three story anchors by an "arcade level", soon proved to be successful when Brandeis opened Southroads Mall in southern Omaha in 1966. Southroads was designed after Crossroads, but was anchored by Brandeis and JCPenney.

Merge with Gold's
Brandeis acquired Gold and Company, a Lincoln based department store in 1964. The Gold's flagship store, in downtown Lincoln, was the only store in the company but took up a large portion of the Lincoln market. Gold's kept their name but operated as a division of J.L.Brandeis until it was phased out of the chain and closed in 1981.

Golden age of Brandeis
At the top of its game, Brandeis had around fifteen department stores in its chain. The flagship store downtown had become one of Omaha's most prized symbols of modern culture. Brandeis was Nebraska's department store. The chain had its peak in the early 1970s with 3,000 employees and $100 million dollars in sales. The Crossroads Mall store opened in 1960 with mixed results but soon took off and proved to be one of the best stores in the chain, earning an average of $38 million. Crossroads proved to be extremely successful for Brandeis, despite the risk of opening the first new Brandies in 50 years. Locations opened across the entire state, downtown (Columbus and Hastings) and in the malls (Conestoga in Grand Island, Southroads & Westroads in Omaha, and Gateway in Lincoln). Soon locations were developed into Iowa.

Downfall and acquisition by Younkers

Brandeis lost its major store and much of its public approval when the flagship store closed in 1980. The downtown Lincoln (former Gold's) location followed soon after in 1981. It was the end of an era. The Crossroads anchor became the new flagship store, but had lost its power over the Omaha and Nebraska markets. When plans came for a new Dillard's at Crossroads Mall in the mid-1980s, Brandeis executives knew that there was no chance of competition. They made a deal with Younkers, another department store based out of Des Moines, and sold its chain to Younkers in 1987. Younkers kept 11 of the stores and converted them to the Younkers name.




About Mr Emil Brandeis
Brother of Arthur Brandeis
who perished on the Titanic

Mr Emil Brandeis, 48, was born in Manitowoc, Wisconsin on March 15th, 1864. Attending public schools, he graduated from the grammer classes at age twelve, and mastered the commercial college course in two years in Milwaukee. Coming back home he entered his father's store.

Emil's father, Jonas L. Brandeis, moved to Omaha, Nebraska in 1881, bringing his family with him. Here, Jonas founded the Brandeis Department Store. In 1885, at age 21, Emil became a member of the firm, where he eventually directed the planning, building and maintenance of the Brandeis buildings. He was also responsible for the general oversight of the men's goods department.

Emil was the second of three brothers, the oldest Arthur, the younger Hugo. There was also a sister. Emil never married and lived in Omaha, Nebraska, in the Kennard Apartments on Dodge Street between Eighteenth and Nineteenth Streets.

He travelled to Europe every year. He left Omaha in late January 1912, visiting his Arthur's daughter. His niece Ruth was now Mrs Irving Stern in Italy. He travelled with them through Spain, Egypt and Rome to Vevey, Switzerland, where they visited with his sister, Mrs Herman Cohn.

Due to return in May, he altered his plans in order to sail two weeks early, he boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg as a first class passenger (ticket number PC 17591, £50 9s 11d, Cabin B-10).

On the Titanic, he met with two old friends, Mr and Mrs Henry B. Harris.

Brandeis died in the sinking, his body was later recovered by the MacKay Bennett

(#208):

NAME - EMIL BRANDEIS
NO. 208. MALE - ESTIMATED AGED 50 - GREY HAIR AND MOUSTACHE
CLOTHING - Dark suit; brown shirt, blue striped; black shoes; silk socks.

EFFECTS - Diamond cuff links; gold knife; platinum and diamond watch chain; gold pencil case; gold ring; gold cigarette case and match box with initials; pearl tie-pin; gold watch; 500 francs note; £15; $15.00; £2 10s 3d.


After the disaster, his sister-in-law, Mrs Arthur Brandeis travelled to New York to question the survivers from the Carpathia. In a telegram dated April 19, she said that she found no one who had seen or spoken to Emil. She then met with Mrs Henry B. Harris and wired to the brothers from New York on April 19 that:

'Emil and Mr and Mrs Harris enjoyed hearty dinner together Sunday night, Emil proudly telling them of his niece and nephew, Ruth and Irving Stone, promising Mr and Mrs Harris they should meet them in New York. The men all stood together on deck as the women were lowered in lifeboats. When Mrs Harris was ten minutes out at sea she saw the steamer sink with all those fine men aboard. They remained without fear'.

Emil was a past governor of Ak-Sar-Ben, and active in its work. The following statement was issued and signed by Charles H. Pickens, president of the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben, G.E. Haverstick for the Commercial Club and A. L. Sale for the Ad Club:

in the The Omaha World-Herald
April 20th, 1912

To the citizens of Omaha: In the consideration of his distinguished services in the upbuilding of Omaha and in appreciation in the loss of his loyal devotion to her interests that his home city has sustained in his tragic death, we as presidents of our respective organizations have called a public meeting in memory of our late fellow citizen, Emil Brandeis, to take place in the Brandeis theater Sunday morning, April 21, at 10 o'clock



More about Historic Homes in the Gold Coast Historic District.
here:
http://www.omahahistoricdistrict.org/houses.htm