Property Record
C.9480 SPRUCE ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | Harbor Guest House |
| Contributing: | No |
| Reference Number: | 49685 |
| Location (Address): | C.9480 SPRUCE ST |
|---|---|
| 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: | 1923 |
|---|---|
| Additions: | C. 1980 |
| Survey Date: | 1992 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Side Gabled |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Stone - Unspecified |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| 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: | #650: Demolished. The Albert Friedmanns of the Schuster stores in Milwaukee once owned the entire point where Hidden Harbor Condominiums and Sunset Park are now located. As the plotting of the village was laid out, some of the streets ran directly through the Friedmann property, dividing it into several pieces. Mr. Friedmann proposed that if the town was willing to close those streets and turn the property over to him, he would donate the strip of land now known as Sunset Park to the town. The Friedmanns later had a circular lagoon dug at the north end of their property so that they would moor their boats in sheltered waters. Albert T. Friedmann was born in Vienna, Austria 13 February, 1865. In 1883 he emigrated to the United States, and arrived in Wisconsin a year later. Friedmann took a job with the mercantile business of Pass and Schuster, n.d. in 1884 Mr. Edward Schuster left Jacob Pass and married Schuster's daughter Johanna. In 1890 a son Max was born and in 1895 Ralph. [C pp.277-280] Albert Friedman died in January of 1933. His widow Johanna Schuster Friedmann was left the summer home in Fish Creek. In the 1940s, Max was president of the Ed. Schuster and Company, while Ralph was vice president. At that time there were three Schuster department stores in Milwaukee. Ralph Friedmann was well known in yachting circles for his grand yachts and participation in Great Lakes yacht races. [C pp.277-280] Historical Significance This caretakers residence is significant to the hsitory of Fish Creek as the remaining physical representation of the Friedmann Estate, which once occupied the point on the north west edge of the village. That this large building was the caretakers house is indicative of the scale of opulence of this estate. Architectural Description This Tudor Revival caretakers house, now vacation condominiums, has an unusual massing based on an L-shape plan with a multi-gable roof. Dormers project through the owod shingle roof. The walls are primarily stone, with stucco and false half-timbering in the gable ends. The windows, which are replacements, are single pane casements. This larege caretaker's house is indicative of the style and size of the main house before it was destroyed for condominium development in the 1980s. Architectural Significance This caretakers residence is significant to the hsitory of Fish Creek as the remaining physical representation of the Friedmann Estate, which once occupied the point on the north west edge of the village. That this large building was the caretakers house is indicative of the scale of opulence of this estate. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A/ Edward aNd Lois Schreiber, editors, Fish creek Voices, An Oral History of a Door County Village, (Sister Bay, WI: Wm Caxton Ltd), 1990. B. Door County Almanak No. 5: Tourism, Resorts, Transporation (Sister Bay, WI: The Dragonsbreath Press), 1990. C. Fred L. Holmes, ed. Wisconsin: Stability-Progress-Beauty. Volume III, Wisconsin Biography. (Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company) 1946. D. Wisconsin Necrology, volume 32, page 42. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |