Property Record
201 RITTENHOUSE AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | R.D. Pike/First National Bank |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 1436 |
| Location (Address): | 201 RITTENHOUSE AVE |
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| County: | Bayfield |
| City: | Bayfield |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
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| Year Built: | 1904 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1983 |
| Historic Use: | retail building |
| Architectural Style: | Neoclassical/Beaux Arts |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brownstone |
| Architect: | Archie Donald, builder and stonemason |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Bayfield Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 11/25/1980 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | CORNER ENTRY. This served as Bayfield's only bank from the time it was constructed until 1980. One of the founders of the bank was R. D. Pike, whose name is chiseled over the side entrance. Son of pioneer Bayfield resident Elisha Pike, R. D. Pike was a prime mover behind Bayfield's development during its boom years. A Civil War veteran, Pike founded the Bayfield and Ashland Telephone Co. about 1880. As founder and president of the Bayfield Lighting Co. he brougt electric street lighting to the town in 1887. The powerhouse was at 125 First St. (AHI #1141) Pike also made other firsts: his rock quarry four miles south of Bayfield was the first in the area to use a steam drill, he was the first to regularly use the telephone to conduct business, and he built the first ship constructed at a Lake Superior port for hauling lumber. Pike's "Little Daisy" sawmill at the south end of S. Third Street turned out 12 million board-feet of lumber in one season at its peak. The mill's whistle told Bayfiled residents the time of day until railroad whistles began to serve that function. |
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| Bibliographic References: | [A] NRHP NOMINATION FORM Eckert, Kathryn. Sandstone Buildings in the Lake Superior Region. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2000. Brownstone & Bargeboard, A Guide to Bayfield’s Historic Architecture, Whitney Gould and Stephen Wittman; Board of Regents, University of Wisconsin System. 1980. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |