Director

"I find the naming of this alley to be a fitting tribute to my grandfather and grandmother who came to the city in 1919. Throughout my lifetime, in recollection of my contact with them they were very humble, caring and nurturing individuals." Joseph A. Melendes, former Waukesha city attorney &amp; grandson of Joseph &amp; Antonia (Toni) Melendes. The honorific was a fitting tribute to a founding family of the Mexican, and broader Hispanic community that arrived into the city. They, and members of their family, along with countless new immigrant borders, lived a home abutting the alley for the majority of the 20th century.Alleys or alleyways became a hallmark feature of many working class US neighborhoods in the 20th century. The majority of home abutting Calle Melendes were built by 1911.The use of alleys reoriented the primary entry to the back door of the home, often leading directly into a kitchen with a warm meal to offer. It also created a bounded public space that recalled shared public spaces of the villages, towns, and cities that Italian and Mexican immigrants were familiar with. Too, the higher density of housing owing to smaller lot sizes both in width and depth, created a higher need for sharing the alley spaces.

"For many Hispanic immigrants, the alley behind The Strand leading to the door of Joseph and Antonia Melendes was a path to a new life."[1]This alley served as a starting point for many, and also the main artery into the surrounding Strand neighborhood. Shielded from traffic cutting from Main St. to Perkins Ave (formerly Wisconsin Central Ave.) it was a space for gatherings and picnics. It was renamed in 2006 in honor of Joseph and Antonia (Toni) Melendes.

Calle Melendes

Situated with two industrial sites on to the north and west, this neighborhood became a starting point for hundreds of new immigrants to the city of Waukesha in the early 20th century. Many of the homes and businesses within the street were developed and built for the new immigrant families. It is particularly well remembered as the centers for both the Italian and Hispanic immigrant communities. 

For nearly a century this corner has been an anchor point for new immigrant communities to the City of Waukesha. This property and building have been home to a number of taverns and restaurants through the generations and is well rembered as The Strand Tavern.Taking it's name from the street along one side of the corner, The Strand Tavern was first run by Italian Immigrants to the city of Waukesha, from the 1920's - 19##'s. By the ####'s the Hispanic population in the surrounding neighborhood had shifted the menu towards more Mexican and Puerto Rician inspired menu selections. The business is directly across the street from the former General Malleable (later International Harvester) one of the major industrial plants that attracted new immigrant laborers into the city during the 20th Century.

The Strand Tavern

Antoinette and Joseph Caracci raised seven children on the Strand, part of the Italian immigrant community to settle in the neighborhood in the early 20th century. Like other immigrant groups before them, war service became a way for their US born children to express their new national identity. Sons Albert, Lawrence, James, Louis, Rocco, and Dominic each served for the US in World War II: Albert and James in France; Lawrence and Rocco in Italy; Louis in the South Pacific, and Dominic remaining stateside[1] . All six sons returned home to Waukesha, though they moved away from the Strand neighborhood as they married.Joseph Caracci appears as a tavern owner in the city directory by 1940[2] and sons Lawrence and Lewis are each recorded as bartenders on their Waukesha County WWII Service records[3]. To create separate spaces for the business and residence, the interior floorplan is an upstairs-downstairs duplex, with separate front facing entrances. The large pane glass window surrounding the tavern entrance are a typical feature of Wisconsin tavern buildings.

Joseph and Antonio Caracci immigrated to the United States from Frizzone Italy, eventually making their home here at 1220 the Strand. With increasing labor demand from area foundries, this neighborhood developed quickly from 1920-1940, the home here part of the Glasgow subdivision development.Each of the six Caracci sons served in WWII, with daughter Marie Louise dubbed the family secretary at home keeping track of her brothers movements overseas. After the war the home took on a new identity as the Caracci Tavern, operating under the family name until the late 1960's. It remains in operation as a local tavern today, with the interior space largely unchanged from the improvement made by the Caracci's when they first opened the business.

Caracci Home | Caracci Tavern

George and Frances Dequardo immigrated to Waukesha in the early 20th century, one of the earliest Italian families to settle in the city. George started in the grocery business by selling flour and dry good from his front porch. He eventually built the home and market here on the Strand, just a few doors down from where he first settled with his family. Three generations of the Dequardo family worked at the market including son Dominic "Butch" who learned sausage making, and along with daughter Rose Dequardo LaMere, and finally grandson Bill LeMere.The Strand Market's stock reflected the immigrant community that surrounded it, and was the first to bring many international products into the city. There you could find Italian imports including Parma ham, mortadella, and sopressata. Chili powder, Spanish Camino flour, and fresh chorizo where added to the shelves and cases as Mexican and later Puerto Rican immigrants arrived in the neighborhood. It was one of the first groceries in town to carry whole cinnamon sticks, avocados, pomegranates, and a variety of whole chili peppers.George build the structure to house his family as well as the market between 1927-29. The style reflects the more utilitarian construction of mixed use retail and residential buildings. The front of the building features an extended façade that open the building face to the road. An extended awning over the first floor entry, shading the open pane display windows are likewise details typical of commercial design. The separate side door at the front allowed private access into the residential portions of the building.

While the city of Waukesha had several food markets to choose from by the 1920's new immigrant communities from Italy and Mexico could not find the ingredients they needed to keep their food cultures alive. George DeQuardo, an Italian migrant himself, began selling groceries from his front porch, before constructing the building here in 1929 as The Strand Market. Three generations of the family including son Dominic DeQuardo, daughter Rose DeQuardo LaMere and his grandson Bill LaMere, operated the market through the early 1990's.

The Strand Market

Joseph and Antonia Don Diego Melendes immigrated to Waukesha in 1919, and purchased their home by 1928. They became an anchor point in The Strand neighborhood for hispanic immigrants looking to build a life in the city of Waukesha.Five of nine Melendes siblings, including Joseph, immigrated to Waukesha during the early 20th Century. Joseph and his brother Primitivo (Primo) had migrated to the midwest, working as day laborers laying sewer pipe for Moore Sieg Construction Co. in Iowa. Antonia and Joseph met and were married in Clinton, Iowa, later moving their young family to Minnesota before Joseph found work in Milwaukee and relocated the family briefly to the South Side. By 1919 the Joseph, Antonia, and their children Leonard (Pro), Alex, and Carmen moved to Waukesha and settled in this home, 1105 The Strand. Their youngest son David was the first Wisconsinite of the family, joining in 1936.Joseph was a founding member of the Sociedad Mutalista Hispano Azteca, a group dedicated to helping new Mexican immigrants transition into their new home. Antonia (Toni) was a matriarch to a growing Hispanic community, as many new arrivals rented a room in the Melendes home as they settled and found work in the city.Successive generations of the extended Melendes family would touch all aspects of life in the city of Waukesha, especially as community leaders. The alley behind their home was an informal community gathering point, as the Waukesha Freeman wrote "For many Hispanic immigrants, the alley behind The Strand leading to the door of Joseph and Antonia Melendes was a path to new life."

This house was home to the first Mexican migrant family to settle in the city of Waukesha, between 1919-1920. Although day laborers had begun commuting into the city on train, the Melendes family were the first to reside in the city permanently. The neighborhood surrounding their home was already a magnet area for new immigrants throughout the 20th century as Waukesha's industries created a demand for a new labor force. The family home was a starting point for countless new immigrants who rented a room in the Melendes home.

The Strand Neighborhood

Calle Melendes

Introduction

Backstory and Context

Sources