This Lyle Oberwise image captures the view looking northwest of this viewer location circa 1959. This stretch of North Avenue is the southern border of the Murray Hill neighborhood and serves as one of the areas main commercial arteries. The building facing North Avenue and wrapping around Murray Avenue was at various times throughout its history, home to the Six Point Pharmacy, as well as a hardware store, law offices and a cobbler. Other points of interest include the iconic East Side tavern, the Murray Tap, a fabulous 1959 Ford Thunderbird automobile, and a billboard advertisement for Milwaukee’s only independent television station at the time, WXIX.
The Murray Hill neighborhood owes its name to Scottish immigrant and land developer, James Murray. After Murray’s death in 1873, the street that ran through his land was renamed Murray Avenue. Famous residents of the Murray Hill neighborhood include famed architect, and designer of the Oval Office, Eric Gugler, and Medal of Honor recipient Ben L. Salomon. Salomon received the award posthumously after being killed defending his field hospital from a Japanese attack in 1944.
