Julius Andrae

Julius Andrae was a German immigrant who arrived in Milwaukee in 1855. In 1860, he opened a small blacksmith, ironworking, and locksmith shop on West Water Street. In 1880, while manufacturing mechanical bell pulls, Julius wondered if he could utilize the emerging field of electricity. He sent his 21-year-old son, Herman, to East Coast cities like New York and Philadelphia to study the latest "electrical wonders." Herman returned with the expertise that transformed the family business from a local metal shop into Andrae Electric, an electrical parts supplier, jobber, and eventual assembler of telephones.