the C rown Jewel OF WAUWATOSA

THIS VIBRANT 19TH CENTURY two-story, locally-sourced cream city brick and wood mansion, also known as the Jenkins Austin Day property, is a National Historic Landmark, and is also listed as a designated landmark on the National Register of Historic Places. The land on which the home stands was originally purchased in 1864 for $425 by Wauwatosa’s “most prominent citizen,” Dr. Fisk Holbrook Day. Here, in about 1874, Dr. Day had his “Sunnyhill Home” constructed, likely by friend and family architect James Douglas.

Dr. Day is well known both for his work as a busy physician (he sometimes took one of his daughters with him on his medical rounds, and also sent his daughters up to the home’s five-story tower to watch for the signal white flag at the County Hospital about whether he was needed for emergency cares there.) This striking feature of the home—the impressive tower—also served to further Dr. Day’s interest in astronomy; he owned two telescopes, and used the tower as an observatory.

In addition to Dr. Day’s medical and astronomical interests, he was passionate about geology, and

by Anne Kaiser

amassed a sizeable collection of Silurian fossils, considered the finest in Milwaukee. He earned the distinction of having two fossils named after him. He studied and was familiar with the geology of the area, and even encouraged his patients to keep watch for fossil specimens and sites for him. In the “Cabinet Room” of this exquisite home, Dr. Day housed his extensive glass and wood display cases filled with his fossil collections.

Part of Dr. Day’s fossil collection—an impressive 8,265 pounds of material—was eventually sold to Professor Alexander Agassiz, son of renowned naturalist Louis Agassiz, and moved to Harvard University.

Dr. Day’s varied and extensive collection spanned beyond fossils, including such treasures as Phillipine Island corals, Lebanese cedar, gemstones, expensive Chinese and Japanese treasures, and valuable pictures. Some speculate that the size of his collection was one factor that prompted Dr. and Mrs. Day to eventually leave their home and move around the corner to an even larger space.