Property Record
213 S 5TH
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Nowack Funeral Home |
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| Other Name: | PEDERSON FUNERAL HOME |
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| Reference Number: | 7103 |
| Location (Address): | 213 S 5TH |
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| County: | Jefferson |
| City: | Watertown |
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| Year Built: | 1930 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1986 |
| Historic Use: | funeral parlor |
| Architectural Style: | Colonial Revival/Georgian Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
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| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | This building was constructed for the Nowack Funeral Home, an extension of the furniture and embalming business the Nowacks operated on Main Street in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Between 1876 and 1885, the Nowack Brothers operated a furniture store at 401 E. Main St. The Nowack Brothers then joined with Edward Schmutzler and eventually Schmutzler became the sole owner of this business. Between 1910 and 1930, the Nowack Funeral Home was located at 313 E. Main St. In 1930, this house was expressly contructed for the business. It is still operated as a funeral parlor today. This building has some historical interest as the modern-day home of an old business, the Nowack Funeral Home. Originally begun as a combination furniture store and funeral home, as did most historic funeral homes and furniture stores, the Nowack business eventually specialized in just the funeral home operation. While it does not have individual historical significance, this building is of interest in the commercial history of Watertown. Featuring a low-pitched hipped roof with bracket ornamented overhanging eaves, this Period Revival brick house features elaborate blind arches decorated with raised classical designs on the tympanum above the rectangular windows on the lower story and the plain rectangular windows on the upper story. The prominent central entrance featuring a large cantilevered door hood with second story iron balustrade has a tall arched door opening with raised classical designs on the tympanum. A porte cochere, roof dormers and exterior shutters further characterize the house. The house has been altered by the replacement glass entrance door and a rear frame addition above the garage. The Nowack Funeral Home is significant under criterion C as an example of the 20th century Renaissance Revival house. One of two good examples of the Renaissance Revival mode of the 1920s and 1930s Period revival house, this house exhibits the low-pitched hipped roof and overhanging bracketed eaves as well as the accentuated classically designed first story windows and central entrances that are characteristic of the style. The other significant example of the Renaissance Revival style is the Kusel house at 1211 Western Avenue. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) Watertown City Directories, 1866-1930, Watertown Public Library. (B) David Pederson, (Nowack Funeral Home) interview with Charles Wallman, Watertown, July 9, 1987. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |