521 GRANT ST | Property Record | Wisconsin Historical Society

Property Record

521 GRANT ST

Architecture and History Inventory
521 GRANT ST | Property Record | Wisconsin Historical Society
NAMES
Historic Name:Hiram C. Stewart House
Other Name:
Contributing:
Reference Number:16268
PROPERTY LOCATION
Location (Address):521 GRANT ST
County:Marathon
City:Wausau
Township/Village:
Unincorporated Community:
Town:
Range:
Direction:
Section:
Quarter Section:
Quarter/Quarter Section:
PROPERTY FEATURES
Year Built:1906
Additions:
Survey Date:1983
Historic Use:house
Architectural Style:Prairie School
Structural System:
Wall Material:Stucco
Architect: GEORGE W. MAHER
Other Buildings On Site:
Demolished?:No
Demolished Date:
NATIONAL AND STATE REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
National/State Register Listing Name: Stewart, Hiram C., House
National Register Listing Date:8/30/1974
State Register Listing Date:1/1/1989
National Register Multiple Property Name:
NOTES
Additional Information:A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. ROLL NUMBER 218 IS FILED WITH THE NR NEGATIVES. Hiram Stewart was a partner with C.C. Barker in the Barker & Stewart Lumber Company, in which he served as secretary and treasurer. The lumber mill was erected in 1880 by Clark, Johnson & Co., and purchased by Barker & Stewart in 1887. They employed about 250 men at the mill which was located on the site of what is now (2007) known as Barker-Stewart Island in downtown Wausau. The Barker & Stewart Mill closed in 1915. HIRAM C. AND IRENE E. SLATER WERE MARRIED ON 3/14/1887 IN BAY CO., MICHIGAN. THEY THEN MOVED TO WAUSAU AND OWNED A LUMBER COMPANY. THEY HAD 2 CHILDREN: JOHN AND HELEN IRENE. THE FAMILY THEN MOVED TO PASEDENA, CALIFORNIA. Built around 1906 for another local lumber-company executive, the two-story house has a long, low-hipped roof, whose broad eaves cast wide shadows over the stuccoed walls. Maher underscored the horizontality by running a continuous wooden stringcourse beneath the upper third of the building. The one-story porch at the northwest corner, with its heavy but plain parapet, also stresses the horizontal. At the same time, massive rectangular piers and simple columns adorned with capitals representing tulips make the portico look vaguely Egyptian, as do slightly battered walls. The house is interesting as a mature expression of Maher’s “motif-rhythm” theory--that is, his idea of unifying a building design by repeating a plant motif or a geometric shape. Tripartite arches appear in the canopy over the west-facing doorway, in the window on the first story of the main (north) facade, and in woodwork throughout the house’s stunning interior, including door frames, a bookcase, a fireplace screen, and more. And the tulip recurs in the porch-column capitals, in the leaded glass of the tripartite window, and in the trim and light fixtures inside the house. Later owners included Louis Dessert, Helen Venne (Hering), John and Carol Luszcak, G. Dennis and Chikako Massey, and Randy and Sara Bangs. Covenant/Easement: From 4/11/1979 to 4/11/1994. A 'covenant file' exists for this property. It may contain additional information such as photos, drawings and correspondence. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office.
Bibliographic References:FRIENDS OF WAUSAU HISTORIC LANDMARKS NEWSLETTER, JULY-AUGUST 1994, P. 8. ANDREW WARREN HISTORIC DISTRICT, FRIENDS OF WAUSAU HISTORIC LANDMARKS, 1995(?). Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. City in the Pinery, A Guide to Wausau's Architecture, The City of Wausau, 1983. Marathon County Historical Society & Wausau Historic Landmarks Commission, Walking Tour of Andrew Warren Historic District in the City of Wausau, February 2007. City in the Pinery, A Guide to Wausau's Architecture, The City of Wausau, 1984.
RECORD LOCATION
Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin

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