Property Record
123 N WATER ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Hemstock Auto Livery and Garage |
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| Other Name: | Wisconsin Gas Company |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 27984 |
| Location (Address): | 123 N WATER ST |
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| County: | Monroe |
| City: | Sparta |
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| Year Built: | 1925 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1989 |
| Historic Use: | gas station/service station |
| Architectural Style: | Commercial Vernacular |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Water Street Commercial Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 11/12/1992 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 7/3/1992 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' 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 State Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation. The present building appears to have been built around 1926, which was an auto repair welding business in the same year. This building was called the Hemstock Auto Livery and Garage and may have also been called the Sparta Auto Co. Little more is known about the building. The Hemstock Auto Livery and Garage building possesses potential historical significance as a central business type in Sparta constructed in the 1920s, however, because little historical data is currently associated with the building, its role in the development of Sparta remains unclear. This one and one-half story vernacular concrete and brick garage building displays a three-bay red brick facade that is ornamented by a small corbelled brick cornice, which is resting on applied brick pilasters that vertically divide the facade into three bays. The three recessed bays are characterized by large rectangular windows topped by white concrete lintels [presently filled with glass block]. A contemporary storefront featuring metal siding on the transom area above the storefront and on the piers at the end and flanking the recessed metal and glass entrance presently characterizes this former garage building. A service door into the basement is located at the rear of the building. The Hemstock Garage building has been altered by the filling in of the attic story windows with concrete block and by the addition of a contemporary styled storefront. A new storefront was added in 1958. Constructed in 1926, this garage repair building was built for W.A. Hemstock, who owned an auto livery and garage in the adjacent building at 119 North Water (not extant-livery located next to the creek was damaged by the flood of Beaver Creek in 1943 and since replaced). This Hemstock auto repair and welding shop was built on the site of two buildings demolished by fire in the early 1920s. Part of the W.A. Hemstock Estate by 1929, this building and business was owned by Mand and Hemstock by 1930. The Hemstock Auto LIvery and Garage does not meet the criteria of the NRHP for architectural significance because of a lack of integrity. However, this building has sufficient architectural character to contribute to the Water Street Historic District. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) City of Sparta, City Development Office, Building Permit File. (B) City of Sparta Tax Records, 1922-1929. (C) Sanborn Insurance Map 1889, 1894, 1900, 1911, 1922, 1931. (D) "A Centenial Portfolio," The Sparta Herald, photographs, June 6, 1983. (E) City of Sparta Property Tax Rolls 1870-1940. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |