The Pfister begins $20 million renovation project

As The Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee celebrates its 130th anniversary, the hotel will undergo a series of renovations aimed at giving the hotel a more contemporary look while honoring its storied history.

Marcus Corp., which owns and operates the AAA Four Diamond hotel at 424 E. Wisconsin Ave., announced the renovations Tuesday.

The $20 million project will include a full revitalization of the ballrooms and meeting spaces, followed by new guest rooms in the hotel’s historic tower and conclude with enhancements to the lobby, lobby bar and Café at the Pfister.

“This is the grand dame of Milwaukee,” Michael Evans, president of Marcus Corp., told BizTimes. “It’s held countless events, big galas, weddings, big business events. It’s really an important part of the fabric of Milwaukee and we feel like stewards, maintaining it not just for the company but for the city.”

Planning for the renovations began back in 2018 with construction beginning in June. The Imperial Ballroom on the hotel’s seventh floor was finished recently and hosted its first wedding last weekend.

The renovated spaces opt for a cooler color palette with grey drapes and carpet and white walls replacing the warmer color palette that the spaces had before. The Imperial Ballroom’s original gold-plated chandeliers will be refurbished, and its gilded ceiling will retain its original detail following a restorative cleaning.

The Grand Ballroom, which is down the hall from the Imperial Ballroom, will have a similar design and its crystal chandeliers will be kept.

Key pieces of the hotel’s Victorian art collection, the largest of any hotel worldwide, will remain on the walls, and new gold-plated fine china designed to replicate the historic fine china once used at The Pfister Hotel many years ago will be used for events.

“We didn’t want it to look modern, we just needed to have a fresh take on the hotel’s historic nature,” Evans said.

Renovated spaces will be outfitted with new audio-visual technology, as well as lighting to enhance event experiences, Evans said.

Additionally, all restrooms are being renovated, along with an expanded women’s restroom and the construction of a new unisex restroom.

“People like the historic feel, but they want all the modern amenities,” said Evans.

In addition to the ballrooms and meeting spaces, the pre-function area on the seventh floor will complement the renovations with added functional nuances, a press release says. For example, the seventh-floor bar will feature stone and woodwork details with a moveable wall to transition from daytime to nighttime events.

Behind the scenes, The Pfister’s renovations will include enhancements to its professional catering services, including top-of-the-line commercial appliances, according to a press release.

“For over a century, The Pfister has been our city’s enduring mainstay, holding as much of Milwaukee’s history as its own,” said Brandon Drusch, managing director of The Pfister Hotel.

Following the completion of the seventh-floor renovations in fall 2023, the hotel will begin renovations to the guest rooms in the hotel’s historic tower.

The 122 guest rooms will be restyled to include new carpet, new furnishings, updated window treatments, select new bar areas for entertaining and entirely new bathrooms with updated lighting fixtures, tile showers and mirrors with built in lighting.

“Guests’ expectations are higher than they’ve ever been, hotel rates are higher than they’ve ever been historically, so people have high expectations,” Evans said.

Renovations to the lobby and first-floor public spaces will begin in early 2024 and will include new carpet, new luxurious furnishings, and updated color palettes to complement the domed ceiling. Marcus is still working on the final design details for the lobby portion of the renovation, Evans said.