| Among the principal objectives of an
intensive survey is the identification of the designers
and the builders responsible for creating the resources
in the area being surveyed, followed by the compilation
of an inventory of the work associated with the persons
in each of these groups. This objective is central to the
primary intent of intensive surveys which is to provide
information that will help determine which resources are
potentially eligible for inclusion in the National
Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and it is embodied in
National Register Criteria C which states that "The
quality of significance in American history,
architecture, archeology, and culture is present in
districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that
possess integrity and that embody the distinctive
characteristics of a type, period, or method of
construction or that represent the work of a
master." One result of the many intensive surveys
done over the last decade has been a redefining of the
term "master" to make it broader and more
inclusive than it was previously when the term was
usually assigned exclusively to architects. Now we
recognize that many of the resources we study and
preserve were designed by the craftsmen who built them
and that the buildings and structures created by these
largely unsung designers are as worthy of inclusion in
the National Register as are the works of many more
formally trained designers. This more sophisticated view
of the historic development of the built environment has
resulted in a much deeper and richer understanding of our
surroundings and has provided a richer context within
which to view the works our most important designers. It
has also made it possible for far more buildings to be
considered eligible for listing in the National Register
than was possible in the past. Two of Port Washington's best known buildings have long been known to be architect-designed: the Ozaukee County Courthouse (109-121 E. Main St.), designed by Milwaukee architect Fred Graf; and St. Mary's R. C. Church, designed by Milwaukee architect Henry Messmer. But if these two NRHP-listed buildings are known to many, few if any others in Port Washington are, and only a few have ever been identified as the work of an architect. Thus, one of the most pleasant surprises associated with the research portion of the Port Washington Intensive Survey was finding out that Port Washington in fact has a number of architect-designed historic buildings. While no architect is known to have practiced in Port Washington prior to the end of World War II, the roster of outside architects employed by Port Washington clients prior to World War II is an impressive list of Wisconsin and especially Milwaukee architects. In addition, the names and work of a number of the more active and historically important builders in Port Washington have been identified as well, and all of the known work of these architects and builders will be listed in the short biographies that follow. The principal resources employed by the Port Washington Intensive Survey to identify architects and builders who practiced in the community were published local histories and local newspapers, and it was the newspapers that provided the great majority of the information. Even so, the most important resources that remains to be systematically searched for relevant information are still the local newspapers. While the survey used newspapers as one of its principal research tools, a complete search of the Port Washington newspapers available on microfilm was beyond the scope of the survey's resources. Such work as was done, however, showed that newspapers are the single best resource for identifying the work of the designers and builders who worked and practiced in Port Washington after 1835 and it is to be hoped that the work done by the survey will provide a starting point which others can use to undertake additional research in the future. The following is a summary of available information on the architects who are known to have designed buildings in Port Washington. The earliest architect whose work in Port Washington has been identified is Henry Messmer (1839-1899) of Milwaukee. Messmer was born in Rheineck, Switzerland in 1839 and he studied at Zurich University and practiced architecture in that country before coming to Milwaukee in 1866. Upon arrival in Milwaukee, Messmer went to work in the office of L. A. Schmidtner for three years, then moved to Madison and worked in the offices of Col. Stephen V. Shipman until 1873, when he returned to Milwaukee and opened his own office. In the following years Messmer built an excellent reputation and was noted especially for the buildings he designed for the brewing industry in Milwaukee and in Appleton, for residences, and for churches.(1) Messmer's sole identified work in Port Washington belongs in the last group. This is the splendid limestone-clad Gothic Revival Style St. Mary's R. C. Church (ca.431 N. Johnson St.), completed in 1884, listed in the NRHP in 1977, and one of the city's most visible and cherished landmarks since it was built.(2) Messmer's sons, Robert and John, later joined the firm and continued for some years after their father's death in 1899.(3) Bibliography 1. Andreas, Alfred. History of Milwaukee. Chicago: 1881, p. 1499. 2. St. Mary's Church, Port Washington, Wis.: 1853-1978. Port Washington, 1978, p. See also: Port Washington Star, April 1, 1882. 3. Architect's Files. Division of Historic Preservation, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. Frederick A. Graf was born to German-born parents in South Germantown, Wisconsin in 1859. Trained as a carpenter, Graf moved to Milwaukee in the early 1880s and continued to work at this trade. In 1888, Graf entered the office of pioneer Milwaukee architect James Douglas as a draughtsman and apprentice architect. In 1892, Graf opened his own architectural office and advertised himself as a specialist in "fine residences." In 1898, Graf won one of what would be the most important commissions of his career; the Ozaukee County Courthouse in Port Washington. This commission culminated in the excellent limestone-clad Richardsonian Romanesque Revival Style courthouse building (109-121 E. Main St.) that was completed in 1902 and which is still in use today and was listed in the NRHP in 1976.(1) Perhaps on the strength of this highly visible commission, Graf went on to complete several residential commissions in Port Washington in the next two decades as well, which are listed below, as well as many commissions of all kinds in the Milwaukee area. Graf continued to practice until his death in 1938, by which time he was a member of the AIA and the State Assn. of Wisconsin Architects (WAIA).(2) Bibliography 1. Architect's Files. Division of Historic Preservation, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. 2. Milwaukee Journal, April 9, 1938, p. 8. Obituary of Frederick Graf. Extant Buildings Surveyed:
William F. Hilgen (1864-?) was born in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, in 1864. Hilgen attended Spencerian College in Milwaukee, then went to work in the office of the prominent Milwaukee architect H. C. Koch. After about five years, Hilgen spent a year in Los Angeles working for architect Joseph C. Newsom. In 1888, Hilgen returned to Milwaukee to work for the family-owned Hilgen Manufacturing Co., which he continued to work for even though he established his on architectural practice in Cedarburg in 1889. In 1908, Hilgen was well-established in Cedarburg and he left the Hilgen Manufacturing Co. in order to devote himself full-time to architecture. He was still in practice there as late as 1917, by which time he had been responsible for a large share of the architect-designed buildings built in that community around the turn-of-the-century.(1) Hilgen's only identified building in Port Washington is his excellent Neoclassical Revival design for the First National Bank of Port Washington (122 N. Franklin St.), built in 1910.(2) Given his proximity to Port Washington, however, it would be surprising if this were his only design in the city. Extant Buildings Surveyed:
Bibliography 1. Architect's Files. Division of Historic Preservation, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. 2. Ozaukee Press, September 5, 1985, Part 6, p. 24. Shows a copy of the blueprint of the facade. John Topzant was born in Milwaukee in 1890 and was educated in the public schools of that city. From 1908-1910, Topzant worked as a draughtsman in the office of Fred Graf , after which he left to work in the office of Henry Rotier from 1910-1912, following which he returned to Graf's office and worked there again until 1919. In 1919, Topzant opened his own office in Milwaukee, which he continued to operate until at least 1955, at which time he was a member of the AIA.(1) During this time, Topzant designed buildings of many different types, including two fine examples in Port Washington, the fine Mediterranean Revival style Port Washington Fire Engine House (102 E. Pier St.), built in 1929; and the excellent Neoclassical Revival style Masonic Temple building (504 W. Grand Ave.), built in 1923-24). Extant Buildings Surveyed:
Bibliography 1. American Architects Directory. New York: R. R. Bowker Co., 1955, p. 562 2. Port Washington Herald, October 3, 1928, p. 1; October 10, 1928, p. 3. 3. Port Washington Herald: June 20, 1923, p. 1. Foeller, Schober & Berners has been one of the most important architectural firms in Wisconsin since it was founded in Green Bay in 1895. The founding partner was Henry Foeller (1871-1938), who was born in then French province of Alsace in 1871, the eldest of 17 children. He came to Wisconsin in 1885 and lived with an uncle in Oshkosh who put him through high school and Oshkosh teachers college. During this time, Foeller was apprenticed to Oshkosh architect William Waters (1843-1917), the most prominent architect in that city and one of the most prominent in the state. In 1895, Foeller came to Green Bay where he formed a short-lived partnership with James E. Clancy under the name Clancy & Foeller. Two years later, Foeller was practicing on his own and he continued to do so until 1907, when he took on Max W. Schober (?-1965) as his partner, who had begun his Green Bay career as a draughtsman in Foeller's office. The new firm, Foeller & Schober, soon became the most important one in Green Bay, a position it maintained long after the death of the original partners. A major reason for this success was the skill the firm showed in attracting new personnel who had the ability to design conservative versions of the latest architectural styles and fashions. This task was made easier because by the prominence of the firm, which made it the logical place for newly arriving architects and engineers in Green Bay to begin their careers. Among these persons was Edgar Berners, (1898-?), who was born in Port Washington and raised and educated in that community. Berners subsequently became an engineer and came to Green Bay in 1925, where he was promptly employed in the offices of Foeller & Schober. By 1929, Berners had been made a partner in the firm, which was renamed Foeller, Schober & Berners. Berners eventually became certified as an architect and was eventually honored by being named a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. The firm of Foeller, Schober, & Berners designed a number of commissions in Port Washington between 1930 and 1954. The first and largest of them was the Tudor Revival Style original portion of the present Port Washington High School located at 427 W. Jackson St., which was built in 1930-1931 and subsequently enlarged and altered by others.(1) A second and far more intact school building designed in this style by Foeller, Schober & Berners is the Port Washington Elementary School located at ca.419 Holden St., built in 1951. Other buildings in Port Washington designed by this firm are listed below, among them being the William F, Schanen house, the plans for which are listed by name only in the Foeller, Schober & Berners archives and which need to be seen in person for a definite attribution is made.(2) Extant Resources Surveyed
Bibliography 1. Port Washington Star. August 7, 1930, p. 1and October 9, 1930, p. 1. See also: Port Washington Herald, October 1, 1930, p. 1 (illustration). 2. Berners & Schober Archives, Green Bay, Wisconsin. This archives, which is kept by the still extant firm, is one of the most extensive architectural archives in the state and the listings in this archives are the source of attributions for their Port Washington projects. 3. This Modern Movement Style jail was not surveyed individually, but it is part of the larger Ozaukee County Courthouse complex and it was photographed as part of the documentation of that complex. Very little is known about this obviously competent Milwaukee architect. In 1925, Papenthein was a partner with Roland C. Velguth in the architectural firm of Velguth and Papenthein, but by 1932 he was practicing under his own name in Milwaukee. His only known Port Washington project is the very fine Tudor Revival Style W. D. Poole Funeral Home at 203 n. Wisconsin St., built in 1941.(1) This outstanding building is clad in limestone, has a flat tile roof, and is by far the best example of the style in Port Washington Extant Resources Surveyed
Bibliography 1. A copy of his original presentation drawing of this building is located in the waiting room of the Poole Funeral Home. The great majority of the historically and architecturally significant buildings in Port Washington and elsewhere were designed either wholly or in part by the persons who built them. These designers played an important role in the creation of the built environment and the best of them are now considered to be fully deserving of the term "master" as it is used in National Register Criteria C. Consequently, an important goal of the Port Washington Intensive Survey was the identification of the most important builders who lived in Port Washington. These persons possessed widely differing skills and design capabilities but were generally distinguished from those persons calling themselves architects by their less formal education and design training and by their greater degree of physical involvement in the building process. The first builders were usually skilled or semi-skilled carpenters and masons whose design sense developed out of the direct experience they acquired working with traditional building methods and designs. Prior to 1850 this experience was much the same for both builders and for those persons then calling themselves architects in Wisconsin. As a result, builders proved to be more than adequate designers for the vast majority of buildings built in this early period of Wisconsin's history, a period whose chief need was for shelter and functional utility. Even as the needs of society became more complex and buildings larger and much more numerous, builders were still able to satisfy the great majority of client's requests by resorting to pattern books for design ideas and to an ever-growing number of mail order catalogs which made available an endless variety of increasingly complex architectural details. In its essentials this system continues to exist today and most residences in particular are still built "from plans" much as they were in the nineteenth century. The earliest builders in Port Washington were probably mostly itinerant craftsmen whose portable skills gave them great flexibility in choosing where to locate. Many of these persons probably stayed in Port Washington just long enough to finish a job and get paid. As Port Washington grew, however, it became possible for some of these men to move from job to job within the village and become permanent residents. For many of these men, part of the attraction of the work was the independence they enjoyed and such men did not often form lasting business associations with others. The associations that typical occur were between different generations of the same family, a pattern that gave a definite family feeling to the building trades. The principal resources employed by the Port Washington Intensive Survey to identify builders who practiced in the community were published local histories and local newspapers. In order to expand the known list of builders and in order to identify the buildings they constructed, census tracts and local newspapers will need to be systematically searched for relevant information, both of which are projects that lie outside the scope of an intensive survey. Never-the-less, the survey did manage to identify a significant number of builders and their projects. The following is a roughly chronological listing of the names of the builders identified so far and each name is then followed by a biography, if possible, and by a list of their known projects, when such could be identified, and by their address, when known. Philip Eckel (1824-?) was born in Germany in 1824 and emigrated to the United States in 1832. Here he learned the mason's trade, which he continued to follow after coming to Port Washington with his wife in 1854. Eckel continued in this trade until 1860, after which he became a grocery store owner, this new occupation being one which he followed until at least 1881.(1). By 1900, however, Eckel was again working as a mason.(2) None of Eckel’s works have yet been identified. Footnotes: 1. History of Washington and Ozaukee Counties, Wisconsin. Chicago: The Western Historical Co., 1881, p. 789. 2. Krause's Directory of Ozaukee County. Port Washington: W. B. Krause, Publisher, 1900, p. 17. Richard Holt is listed as a carpenter and joiner under the heading "Carpenters and Builders" shown in the Business Directory of Port Washington that was printed on the Map of Washington and Ozaukee Counties printed in 1873-4.(1) None of Holt’s works have yet been identified. Footnote: 1. Nash, G. V. and M. G. Tucker. Map of Washington and Ozaukee Counties. Milwaukee: 1873-4. Lewis Teed is listed as a mason and builder under the heading "Carpenters and Builders" shown in the Business Directory of Port Washington that was printed on the Map of Washington and Ozaukee Counties that was printed in 1873-4.(1) Only two buildings in Port Washington are currently attributed to Teed; the very fine Greek Revival style John Bohan House, and the Byron Teed house at ca.302 W. Grand Ave.(2) Building List
Footnote 1. Nash, G. V. and M. G. Tucker. Map of Washington and Ozaukee Counties. Milwaukee: 1873-4. 2. Early Ozaukee County Historical Sketches. Ozaukee County Historical Society, 1967, p. 29. H. J. Berners is listed as a contractor and builder in Krause's Directory of Ozaukee County, published in 1900.(1) None of Berners’ works have yet been identified. He was probably related to Edgar Berners, the architect. Footnote 1. Krause's Directory of Ozaukee County. Port Washington: W. B. Krause, Publisher, 1900, p. 10. Louis Mehrens is listed as a carpentry contractor in Krause's Directory of Ozaukee County, published in 1900.(1) None of Mehrens’s works have yet been identified. Footnote 1. Krause's Directory of Ozaukee County. Port Washington: W. B. Krause, Publisher, 1900, p. 30. Understanding the listings in this directory will also have to await more comprehensive research. For instance, there are ten masons and twenty-four carpenters listed bedsides the names of H. J. Berners and Louis Mehrens listed above, but which if any of these men should be considered builders has not yet been ascertained. By 1910, Ubbink was perhaps the most prominent masonry contractor in Port Washington as well as its principal dealer and manufacturer of blocks, sills, sidewalks and sidewalk plates made of cement. A notice published in 1910, states that "As a contractor and builder he [Ubbink] is often employed outside of his city on big jobs like the round house at Abbot's Ford, Wis. He is now [1910] doing the mason work on the splendid new Boerner Brothers' store. William J., his son, is associated with him in his work and is a promising young man."(1) This last building is his only identified Port Washington project, however. Building List
Footnote 1. The Jobber & Retailer Magazine. Milwaukee: June, 1910, p. 12. In 1910, E. B. Stone was a carpenter and contractor who came to Port Washington from Ohio in 1881 and began his building career in Port Washington four years later. In a notice published in 1910, Stone is possibly self-described as a "designer and erector of buildings" and the notice goes on to state that "Most of the city's best buildings have passed under his supervision. He is now [1910] building the fine Congregational church and the mammoth Boerner Brothers' store."(1) These last two buildings are his only identified projects, however. Building List
Footnote 1. The Jobber & Retailer Magazine. Milwaukee: June, 1910, p. 10. Thomas E. Gahan was a carpentry contractor who came to Port Washington ca.1926 from Minnesota and rapidly became one of Port Washington's most successful contractors. One of his first contracts in Port Washington was the renovation of the Grand Theater in 1926 and he also built several houses in the city in that year. In 1927, Gahan made the winning bid for the new grand stand for the High School athletic field (non-extant) and also had three new residential commissions, which are listed below.(1) In 1927, Gahan's Port Washington commissions included the construction of a new Ozaukee County Repair Shop and a new fish smoking building for the Smith Bros. Building List Walter Rathke $6500 Residence (near St. John's Church, South Side), Port Washington Star. April 8, 1927, p. 1. Oscar Ewig $6500 Residence (Chestnut St., near Milwaukee St.), Port Washington Star. April 8, 1927, p. 1. A. J. Paylintner Residence $2500 Remodeling (Michigan St.), Port Washington Star. April 8, 1927, p. 1. Ozaukee County $8132 Repair Shop (Hwy 17, south of Modern Pouring Device's plant), Port Washington Star. June 17, 1927, p. 1. This may be part of the present Ozaukee County Highway Garage Complex at 410 S. Spring St. (OZ 65/04-05). Smith Bros. Smoke House Building (Fisherman's Lane, south side of the harbor). Port Washington Star. December 9, 1927, p. 1. This building (120 1/2 S. Wisconsin St.), was demolished in mid-1998 (OZ 55/35). Footnotes: 1. Port Washington Star. April 8, 1927, p. 1. Nimesgern was a Port Washington building contractor who was active in the first half of the twentieth century. All that was found about his activities is contained in the building list below. Building List New front for Nic. Pesch Building (221 N. Franklin St.), ?/1928 (OZ 54/35). Port Washington Herald. September 12, 1928, p. 1. M. J. Schumacher Building (302 N. Franklin St.), 1930 (OZ 54/08). Port Washington Pilot. November 6, 1930, p. 1. J. P. Nimesgern, Jr. House (751 N. Milwaukee St.), 1930 (OZ 62/22). Port Washington Pilot. March 13, 1930, p. 1. |
