Property Record
1621 CONGRESS AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | PAINE THRIFT BANK |
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| Other Name: | HUGHES & MATHEWSON LAW OFFICES |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 66783 |
| Location (Address): | 1621 CONGRESS AVE |
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| County: | Winnebago |
| City: | Oshkosh |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
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| Year Built: | 1925 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1980 |
| Historic Use: | bank/financial institution |
| Architectural Style: | Neoclassical/Beaux Arts |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Stone - Unspecified |
| Architect: | AULER & JENSEN, ARCHITECTS; C.R. MEYER, BUILDER |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Paine Lumber Company Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 6/26/1986 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | ARCHITECTURAL STATEMENT: AN OUTSTANDING EXAMPLE OF NEOCLASSICISM, HERE APPLIED TO A RELATIVELY SMALL SCALE BUILDING. THE CENTRAL PAVILION OF THIS ONE STORY BUILDING CONSISTS OF FOUR IONIC COLUMNS WHICH FLANK THE FULL HEIGHT ROUNDED WINDOWS AND THE CLASSICAL ENTRANCE. THIS ROUNDED WINDOW APPEARS ON THE SIDE ELEVATION; WINDOWS HAVE SHALLOW REVEALS PRESERVING THE BROAD SURFACE PLANE. A CLASSICAL CORNICE ENCIRCLES THE STRUCTURE. THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST EXAMPLES OF THIS STYLE IN OSHKOSH; AND IS MOST UNUSUAL BECAUSE OF ITS ASSOCIATION WITH THE PAINE LUMBER COMPANY AND ITS CONSEQUENT LOCATION AT SOME DISTANCE FROM THE COMMERCIAL AREA. A 'site file' (Paine Lumber Company Historic District) 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. HISTORICAL STATEMENT: THE PAINE THRIFT BANK WAS BUILT BY THE COMPANY IN 1925 IN AN EFFORT TO CAPTURE INVESTMENT USE OF THEIR EMPLOYEE'S SAVINGS. IT WAS BUILT IN THE SAME YEAR AS THE ROWHOUSES AND AGAIN SHOWS THE PATERNALISTIC NATURE OF THE PAINE COMPANY OF THAT ERA. IT'S HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE LIES WITH ITS CONNECTION TO THE PAINE COMPANY AND ITS APPROACH TO EMPLOYEES. THE BANK FAILED IN 1929 AND FROM 1933 TO 1970, SERVED AS PAINE OFFICES. IN THAT YEAR, IT WAS SOLD TO THE LAW FIRM. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. DATE ON BUILDING. B. OSHKOSH DAILY NORTHWESTERN, FEB. 26, 1925, P. 10, C.1. C. INTERVIEW WITH D. CLYDE BUCKSTAFF, PRESIDENT, PAINE LUMBER CO. 05/13/81. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |