← Back to Explore
The Boat House on North Cambridge Avenue, Milwaukee, is a 72-foot house built in 1922 in the shape of a motor yacht, with a miniature lighthouse on the front lawn. The city's Historic Preservation Commission called it in 1985 the only known such 'boat house' in Wisconsin.
Private to your Passport.
PLAN YOUR VISIT
No recommended arrival yet
We have not checked a recommended place to arrive or stop here yet.
This takes you to the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.
© Stadia Maps © OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap contributors
Boat House 72-foot landlocked yacht
This pin marks the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.
Site-level location · 43.0756° N, 87.8912° W
FIELD GUIDE
The story
On Milwaukee's East Side, a house shaped like a motor yacht sits on dry land, complete with portholes and a miniature lighthouse on the front lawn.
TMJ4 reported in 2026 that the Boat House was built in 1922 with the help of a Green Bay shipwright, is 72 feet long and 18 feet wide, and is modelled on a 1910 gasoline motor launch. Urban Milwaukee gives the construction years as 1922 to 1926. Its first owner, a manager at a Milwaukee tank company, called it the Landlubber, and the building permit described it as a 'Yacht Bungalow'. Urban Milwaukee lists no architect: it was built to nautical plans.
Add a photo
PRACTICAL
Plan your stop
WHAT TO EXPECT
A boat-shaped private house on North Cambridge Avenue, across the street from the Milwaukee River, with a rebuilt miniature lighthouse on the front lawn (TMJ4, 2026). Please view from the public street.
ACCESS
Private property. The exterior and lighthouse can be seen from the public street; please respect the residents.
COMMUNITY
Visitor Log
WHAT'S NEXT
Find another Big Thing nearby
TRANSPARENCY
Sources & research
Something not right?
If this Big Thing has changed, moved or gone, telling us keeps the guide honest for the next traveller.