Get to know the MPA Board!
John Rothe
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I was born and raised in Appleton, Wisconsin, and as a little kid I was fascinated by the historic homes around City Park and the Hearthstone house museum on the Fox River. Growing up, my family’s preferred vacation spots were the highlights of Europe, so by the time I was a teenager I had been to Paris, London, Rome, Cork, Vienna, amongst many others. Although as a kid I didn’t always relish spending half of my vacations in museums and symphony halls, in retrospect I was breathtakingly fortunate to have been able to visit many of the prime destinations in western classical history.
When I went off to UW-Madison I initially entered the college of Engineering, but soon switched tracks to History and specialized in the early Renaissance. In 2010 I was accepted to the Architecture graduate school at UWM and moved to Milwaukee, and eventually achieved a Masters in Architecture with certificates in Historic Preservation and Ecological Design. After school I took a brief sabbatical to live aboard a sailboat in Honduras and Guatemala, and came back to Milwaukee to work for ZS Architectural Engineers. Over the last 7 years with ZS I’ve been fortunate enough to work on a wide variety of fascinating projects including the restoration of the inner quad buildings at the University of Chicago, the repair and restoration of the Fisher Building in Detroit, and countless historic structures in Milwaukee including the Mitchell Park Domes. I’ve been involved with MPA since my final year of school, when I worked as an intern at the city Historic Preservation Commission, and before long I was invited to serve on the Board. Milwaukee has such a wealth of historic buildings and a vibrant, tangible connection to a rich and diverse history that simply doesn’t exist in many other cities. Historic preservation not only helps us connect to the continuing stories of our community, it is also the most sustainable and ecologically responsible path for development, and we have a wonderful opportunity in Milwaukee to preserve places that are important to all of us and build a more sustainable future at the same time. |
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1. What is your guiding principle?
If it's worth doing, it's worth over-doing.
2. What is your favorite book? Movie?
The Lord of the Rings has to top the list, I don’t think I could choose just one of the three.
Master and Commander and The Big Lebowski are tops for completely different reasons, and I’m not sure I could do without either of them.
3. What’s one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
I've been playing underwater hockey for 11 years, and I helped start the Milwaukee Underwater Hockey club.
4. What is your favorite free time activity?
Definitely sailing. I race on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays on Lake Michigan all summer long, and I go sailing just for fun whenever I can. We're so lucky in Milwaukee to have the lake right on our doorstep.
5. What is one of your favorite places in Milwaukee? Outside of Milwaukee?
There are so many wonderful spots in Milwaukee that are special and unique, it’s so hard to choose. I spend most of my summers at South Shore Yacht Club, and I love every chance I get to be on the campus of the Soldiers Home or at the System Built Homes. But the place I always can’t wait to get back to is out on Lake Michigan.
The place outside of Milwaukee I love and can’t wait to get back to is the Philosopher’s Walk in Kyoto, Japan
6. If you could become a fictional character for a day, who would it be?
The answer has been and always will be Darth Vader.
7. What inspires you and why?
I'm always inspired by people who do everything they can to make their community a better place for others. I love seeing talented and hardworking people using their time and skills to make the world a better place to live for everyone.
8. What do you see as the future of historic preservation?
Historic preservation has always been the more ecologically responsible option as compared to demolition and new construction, but I feel this hasn’t been nearly as discussed or studied as it should be. Especially at this time when climate change needs to be at the forefront of our local and national policies, and the carbon impact of the construction industry is a key piece of that puzzle, the better way forward is to preserve our historic buildings rather than trying to build new with the latest technology and materials.
9. Why should people support MPA?
Part of what makes Milwaukee so special is the wide variety of historic buildings from the entire history of the city that are still here for us to see and connect with firsthand. MPA does everything we can to make sure that these special places remain tangible and visible for generations to come.
If it's worth doing, it's worth over-doing.
2. What is your favorite book? Movie?
The Lord of the Rings has to top the list, I don’t think I could choose just one of the three.
Master and Commander and The Big Lebowski are tops for completely different reasons, and I’m not sure I could do without either of them.
3. What’s one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
I've been playing underwater hockey for 11 years, and I helped start the Milwaukee Underwater Hockey club.
4. What is your favorite free time activity?
Definitely sailing. I race on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays on Lake Michigan all summer long, and I go sailing just for fun whenever I can. We're so lucky in Milwaukee to have the lake right on our doorstep.
5. What is one of your favorite places in Milwaukee? Outside of Milwaukee?
There are so many wonderful spots in Milwaukee that are special and unique, it’s so hard to choose. I spend most of my summers at South Shore Yacht Club, and I love every chance I get to be on the campus of the Soldiers Home or at the System Built Homes. But the place I always can’t wait to get back to is out on Lake Michigan.
The place outside of Milwaukee I love and can’t wait to get back to is the Philosopher’s Walk in Kyoto, Japan
6. If you could become a fictional character for a day, who would it be?
The answer has been and always will be Darth Vader.
7. What inspires you and why?
I'm always inspired by people who do everything they can to make their community a better place for others. I love seeing talented and hardworking people using their time and skills to make the world a better place to live for everyone.
8. What do you see as the future of historic preservation?
Historic preservation has always been the more ecologically responsible option as compared to demolition and new construction, but I feel this hasn’t been nearly as discussed or studied as it should be. Especially at this time when climate change needs to be at the forefront of our local and national policies, and the carbon impact of the construction industry is a key piece of that puzzle, the better way forward is to preserve our historic buildings rather than trying to build new with the latest technology and materials.
9. Why should people support MPA?
Part of what makes Milwaukee so special is the wide variety of historic buildings from the entire history of the city that are still here for us to see and connect with firsthand. MPA does everything we can to make sure that these special places remain tangible and visible for generations to come.
