Property Record
146 S DICKASON BLVD
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | GEORGE GRISWOLD HOUSE |
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| Other Name: | ZEIDLER FUNERAL HOME |
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| Reference Number: | 3462 |
| Location (Address): | 146 S DICKASON BLVD |
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| County: | Columbia |
| City: | Columbus |
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| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
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| Year Built: | 1858 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1996 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Italianate |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Baldwin, E. D. |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Griswold, George, House |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 7/1/2009 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/16/2009 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| 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, Division of Historic Preservation-Public History. GROUPED COLUMNS ON PORCH. BRACKETS W/PENDANTS. ROUND ARCHED WINDOWS ON CUPOLA. This excellent but now substantially altered Italianate style house was designed by local architect E. D. Baldwin, who made a copy of one that local merchant George Griswold had lived in before coming to Columbus. Because of his steadily diminishing eyesight Griswold wanted a house with an interior plan that he was already familiar with, and for a time his new house was the grandest one in town. The interior of the house was later updated but continued to serve as a single family house until purchased for use as a funeral home. There is now a large concrete block addition across the full width of the rear elevation to serve this new usage. "George Griswold was gradually going blind as a result of an accident. He built this home as a replica of his family home in New York so he would be able to find his way around. Construction was postponed for a few years until the railroad came to Columbus so the pink brick could be hauled by rail from New York. William Griswold followed his brother George to Columbus in 1853. After college both became lawyers by "reading" the law. They started a successful mercantile business here and built 100 S Ludington, known as Griswold block. They were also involved in real estate. George's wife, Mary, "modernized" the house in the 1920s by removing a spiral staircase and enlarging the windows on the first floor. This Italianate house form is often called a "cube and cupola", a two-story, box-shaped house with low hipped roof topped by a central rectangular cupola. Large, widely spaced scroll-shaped brackets are positioned above each 'bay' and at the building's corners. Don't overlook the cupola with its four narrow, round-arched windows on each side. A large finial tops the cupola roof." Columbus Historic Architecture Tours, undated. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Butterfield, C. W. History of Columbus County, Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical Co., 1880, p. 967. Columbus Journal: October 27, 1857, p. 3; November 17, 1857, p.3; July 14, 1858, p. 3. Stare, Frederick Arthur. Story of Columbus. Installment Nos. 46 (p. 70), 47 (pp. 71-72), 57 (pp. 86-87). Columbus History and Architecture Tours, 2009. Columbus Historic Architecture Tours, undated. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |