Property Record
100 6TH AVENUE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | New Glarus Hotel |
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| Other Name: | NEW GLARUS HOTEL |
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| Reference Number: | 47953 |
| Location (Address): | 100 6TH AVENUE |
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| County: | Green |
| City: | New Glarus |
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| Year Built: | 1853 |
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| Additions: | 1965 |
| Survey Date: | 19972015 |
| Historic Use: | hotel/motel |
| Architectural Style: | Greek Revival |
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| Wall Material: | Stucco |
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| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | The New Glarus Hotel has undergone extensive remodeling. The original line of the building can still be seen above the balconies and additions. (See early photos in M. Tschudy's pamphlet.) Melchior and Rudolph Baumgartner were the original owners of the New Glarus Hotel, the first hotel in the village. Built by Baumgartner Brothers as a hotel. A c1870-1875 photo depicts a two story, seide gabled building with a porch across width of facade. Building used as social hall by the community. In 1919 there was a saloon in the basement and a hall on the first floor. In 1922 the first motion picture in the village shown in the hall. John F. Kennedy ate lunch at the hotel after delivering a campaign speech at the New Glarus Theater in 1960. Additional Comments 2023: Architecture: The New Glarus Hotel consists of a core gabled ell building from the mid-19th century with a large rear addition from the 1880s and a modern kitchen addition from the 1965-1974 era. The main elevation along First Street includes a large enclosed porch. The original Swiss-style decorated porch was added in 1963 and enclosed around 1988. The building has a stucco and wood covering on its front elevation and south additions. The rest of the building is covered in vinyl siding. Decorative stenciling is extant on the second story of the main elevation. The interior of the first floor is largely filled by the bar/restaurant/club spaces. The décor in the bar includes wood paneling and Swiss style decorations. The restaurant and “club” area of the interior features brick walls, wooden beams and a stage area and fireplace largely clad with stone veneer. The hotel rooms reflect 1970s-era decorating with wood paneled walls, carpeting, and acoustical tile ceilings. History: The New Glarus Hotel was built in 1853, the first hotel in New Glarus. It was a traditional small town hotel during the 19th century and was significantly enlarged in the 1880s. By the mid-20th century, the hotel was in poor condition and was purchased in 1960 by recent Swiss immigrant Robbie Schneider, who had come to town to work with the local Yodel group. Schneider made this building a center for Swiss-related culture. This effort intensified in the community after 1962, when the only industry, the Pet Milk Plant, closed. At this time, New Glarus was seeing a rise in tourism based on its Swiss ethnic heritage and the community determined that tourism would be the most successful economic driver for the town. Robbie Schneider took a leading role in this Swiss ethnic tourism effort by serving on committees to promote tourism and turning the New Glarus Hotel into a center for Swiss food and entertainment. His building remodeling efforts in 1962 were among the first and most elaborate to create the New Glarus “swisscapes” that flourished during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s and resulted in a new successful tourist economy for the community. Tourism related to New Glarus’ Swiss ethnic heritage continues to this day. Schneider’s “commercialization” of Swiss heritage in New Glarus was sometimes controversial, especially when he began to promote a “Swiss Village” theme park in the early 1970s. This effort resulted in some in New Glarus to question how far they wanted to go in promoting ethnic tourism in their community and what, exactly, was authentic to the community. It also led to Schneider leaving New Glarus. He leased and eventually sold the New Glarus hotel in 1974-75 and left for Colorado soon afterward. New owner Hans Lenzinger operated the restaurant/bar/club, but closed the hotel portion of the business in the 1980s. He added on to the building and enclosed the first floor porch to create more room. Lenzinger operated the business until 2015 and new owners Mike and Shawna Nevil operated the business until 2020, when the business became a victim of the COVID-19 pandemic shut-downs and drop in tourism. (Carol Cartwright 2023) |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) Date on building. (D) Wally Ekum Abstract Co. Millard Tschudy, New Glarus, Wisconsin: Photo Journal (Monroe: Monroe Evening Times, 1969). History of Green County, Wisconsin (Springfield: Union Publishing Company, 1884). 2015: KIM D. TSCHUDY, SWISS OF NEW GLARUS, PAGES 13+16 A Walking tour of Historic New Glarus, Wisconsin, ca. 1995. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |