The neighborhood fits snugly into the geography of today's West Side, but its roots reach back much farther--all the way to the heart of the city. It was here, in the mid-1800s, that Milwaukeeans of ample means--some of extravagant means--developed one of the city's first mansion districts. The plutocrats built their way west for generations. The result was a new link in the long chain of middle- to upper-income settlements that would eventually reach the western limits of Brookfield. In a neighborhood filled with success stories, Washington and Hi Mount boulevards attracted people who were more successful than most.