Downtown Oshkosh is located on the north side of the Fox River and flanked to the east by a number of large civic and commercial buildings. Located in this area, the Washington Avenue Neoclassical District is focused on two blocks of Washington Avenue occupied primarily by large civic and institutional buildings designed in the Neoclassical style and consists of six contributing resources, two of which are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The district’s development began in the 1900 and continued for three decades. The construction of the district, and the ubiquitous use of the Neoclassical style, took place after the rise of Oshkosh’s regional economic influence. This is reflected in the stature of the city’s institutions, specifically the city’s wealth and cultural importance of Oshkosh in the Public Library and Post Office and the fraternal and insurance organizations in the Masonic Temple, Fraternal Reserve Association, and Wisconsin National Life Insurance Company building. The city’s pride in these institutions has resulted in one of Oshkosh’s most architecturally intact historic civic and institutional areas.