Property Record
4108 MAIN ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Ferdinand Hotz Cottage |
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| Other Name: | Orange Tea House |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 49617 |
| Location (Address): | 4108 MAIN ST |
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| County: | Door |
| City: | |
| Township/Village: | Gibraltar |
| Unincorporated Community: | Fish Creek |
| Town: | 31 |
| Range: | 27 |
| Direction: | E |
| Section: | 29 |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1915 |
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| Additions: | 1922 |
| Survey Date: | 199220142017 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Side Gabled |
| Structural System: | Balloon Frame |
| Wall Material: | Clapboard |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | Y |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' titled "Ferdinand Hotz Cottage" 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. #650: Garage, outhouse, contrib. Resurveyed March 2014; no visible changes. 2017- "The one-story cottage was constructed in 1915 and is irregular in plan with three distinct building masses. The building is uniformly clad in painted clapboards and has an asphalt shingle roof (originally standing seam metal) and a variety of window types. Its H-shaped plan reflects several additions to the original cottage. The oldest portion of the cottage was constructed in 1915 and currently contains the living room, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. This portion consists of a side-gabled building mass which originally faced west onto Brown Avenue (now the public beach and parking lot), with the roof ridge running perpendicular to Main Street. This portion of the cottage is set on a stone foundation and retains its original modest frieze trim, cornice moulding, and exposed rafter tails. The front door is located in the center of the west elevation. The twelve-light door is flanked by four-light sidelights, and is sheltered on the exterior by a diminutive porch with Doric columns and entablature, lattice panels, and exposed rafter tails. The porch is set on a small concrete foundation and retains its original soffits, cornice mouldings, and exposed rafter tails. Two six-over-six double hung windows flank each side of the entry porch. The windows retain their original modest trim. An undated photo, probably taken shortly after the cottage's construction, shows two shed-roofed dormers; these are no longer present. The south elevation of the 1915 portion faces onto Main Street. This elevation is symmetrical, with paired six-over-six double hung windows (one set in each bedroom) flanking a small, square window (located in the closet of Bedroom 2). A small, semicircular vent is located in the gable. A photo, taken around 1918, shows a decorative trellis around the central window; this is no longer present. The north (bay) elevation contains a large rectangular chimney, clad in buff-colored, rock-faced ashlar stone with contrasting accent "blocks" composed of dark red bricks. A square, one-flue chimney, clad in the same combination of stone and brick, is located near the center of the building at the roof ridge. Three large picture windows (probably installed around 1965) are located in the northeast corner of the north elevation; a circa 1925 photo indicates that a cutaway porch was originally located here. Similar to the south elevation, a small, semicircular vent is located in the gable. The east (rear) elevation of the 1915 portion has been somewhat obscured by alterations and additions. Two six-over-six double hung windows, with original trim, are located in the north corner. The gabled kitchen wing occupies the center of the elevation. A small, square window is visible south of the kitchen wing, corresponding to Bathroom 1 in the plan. As indicated in historic photos, two shed-roofed additions were located along the east elevation. The center addition was located beneath a small gablet; and a lower-pitched addition with two square windows was located to the south. The kitchen wing was likely constructed in 1922. This wing has a gabled roof with its ridge running parallel to Main Street. It has exposed rafter tails and is set on a concrete block foundation. Its north (bay) elevation contains a triple window made up of a fixed three-light window flanked by three-light casements, all with modest trim. The south (Main Street) elevation contains a two-light sliding vinyl window and a wood entry door which is recessed slightly into a shallow entry porch. The eastern portion of the building was probably constructed in two parts. The south part, containing a bedroom and bathroom, has a gabled roof with its ridge running perpendicular to Main Street. Based on the window placement and exterior rafter tails, this portion was probably constructed in 1922. Two aluminum casement windows are located in the east wall of the bedroom, and two wood double hung windows are located in the north wall. These windows currently open into the sunroom, which was most likely added after the bedroom portion. Based on the roof condition and the style of the sun room exterior door, the sunroom was probably constructed last, likely in the 1960s. The sunroom has a shed roof, is set on concrete block pilings, and has clapboard-clad half walls with aluminum double hung windows. An exterior wood door leads to a small stoop, giving access to the exterior. No information could be obtained regarding the interior configuration or interior finishes of the cottage, either as originally built by Ferdinand Hotz, or during its subsequent use as the Orange Tea House. With the exception of baseboards and window trim in the living room and bedrooms, the cottage appears to retain little to no historic finishes or materials. The living room fireplace is clad in full-height vertical pine boards, with built-in shelving to one side. The fireplace surround is assumed to be a later alteration. The living room and bedrooms have wall-to-wall carpeting and electric baseboard heaters. The kitchen and bathroom fixtures appear to date to the 1970s or 1980s." -"Ferdinand Hotz Cottage", WisDOT#4140-19-00, Prepared by Gail Klein, (2017). 2014- "This 1-story Side Gabled house is rectangular in plan with clapboard walls and an asphalt-shingled gable roof. The front elevation faces west and is symmetrical in plan with a central front door flanked by two 6-over-6 windows on each side. The front door is sheltered by a small gable-roofed entry porch with squared wood supports and trelliswork walls. Exposed rafters are located along the house and porch rooflines. A stone chimney is located along the north elevation." -"STH 42: Bluff Lane (Gibraltar) to Country Walk Dr (Sister Bay), WisDOT#4140-19-00, Prepared by Gail Klein, (2014). Surveyed in 2017 as part of DOE for the Ferdinand Hotz Cottage. Property includes the cottage (AHI #49617); a garage (AHI #233756); two Rustic-style gates (AHI #233757 and 233758); a children's playhouse (AHI #233759); and a dock (AHI #233760). The cottage was constructed in 1915 for Ferdinand Hotz, a Chicago jeweler. (Ferdinand Hotz also built another group of family cottages in Fish Creek; see AHI #26116). The Hotz beachfront cottage also originally contained a bath house (still extant at a neighboring property) and a boat house (destroyed in the 1950s). Between 1921-1925, the cottage operated as the Orange Tea House, run by Frances Woodward Mabley, daughter of the owner of Camp Meenagha. From 1925 onwards, the cottage again served as a residence, with several later buildings added to the property. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Door County tax rolls. Hotz, Ferdinand: "Winter Scene" [photo, c. 1918] WHS Image ID: 92484 Hotz, Ferdinand: "Fish Creek Harbor" [photo, c. 1925] WHS Image ID: 92712 Door County News, June 8, 1922. Apfelbach, Dr. G. Leonard. "The Ferdinand Hotz Legacy", Newport Wilderness Society, 1998. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |