Commercial Locksmith in Milwaukee, WI

Third Ward buildings and their doors

The Historic Third Ward is bounded by the Milwaukee River, East Clybourn Street and Lake Michigan. It now holds more than 450 businesses, the Milwaukee Public Market and loft apartments in former warehouses. A fire on October 28, 1892 destroyed 440 buildings, and rebuilding continued for 36 years, so the district's buildings did not all go up at once, and their doors may not match. Today 70 buildings make up the district listed on the National Register in 1984.

A converted warehouse can layer entrances. Inside one building you may find a shop door at street level, a former loading entrance and a shared residential lobby, and each can be keyed or controlled differently. A request should name the entrance, the tenant and who the door belongs to: a tenant's shop, a shared lobby or the building. Storefront and loading doors may have been replaced along the way, so confirm what is on the door before ordering hardware.

Turnover and keys

Every departure changes who can enter. When a tenant moves out, a shop changes hands or an employee leaves, ask who still holds keys. Rekeying the doors that person used is often more practical than replacing hardware, and separate keys for shop, back and loading doors mean staff carry only what they need. A key log with names and dates makes the next change easier.

In a mixed building, a business changing its own door should get the owner's approval first, and a shared residential lobby belongs to the building, so its owner or manager decides.

Details for a business request

• The street address and which entrance: shop, loading, side or lobby.
• The door type, such as glass storefront or steel back door, and the current lock if you know it.
• What happened: a departure, a new tenant, a broken key or a break-in (call the police first).
• Whether you are the tenant or the owner or manager.

Related pages: commercial locksmith for the service, lock rekeying for turnover, and Milwaukee for the rest of the city.