Twindominiums

Reading in last month’s issue about the new condos being constructed on Humboldt at the east end of Center Street, I was struck by Vince Bushell’s photo of the dramatic view looking west from the windows on the top floor. I was also struck by the selling price of the new condos.

A little background about that property. Until 1978, 2684 N. Humboldt was the address of the Montoto family with seven children. The father was raised in Milwaukee, attended Boys’ Tech High School and married his sweetheart from the state of Nuevo Leon in Mexico. Their seven children spoke Spanish in the home and English in school. They attended Pierce Elementary School and Riverside High School. The family belonged to St. Casimir parish.

As adults, four of the Montoto sons formed a partnership and opened the El Camino Real restaurant, originally at 26th and National and later expanding to a second location at Oakland and Edgewood. At the present time, they have sold off their restaurants but still have two concessions at General Mitchell Airport and several businesses on the south side. Another brother is a social worker. Both of the girls went into education, drawing on their bilingual background. Guadalupe is Asst. Principal at Kosciuszko Middle School and Graciela is Principal at Greenfield School (K-8).

For eighteen years, this enterprising Mexican-American family lived at the intersection of Humboldt and Center. The price that Mr. and Mrs. Montoto paid for their four bedroom house when they bought it in 1960? Seven thousand dollars. When I think of the “twindominiums” going up on the same lot for a total price tag of over $400,000, I shake my head.

The times, they are a-changing.

Jackie Reid Dettloff