Property Record
1112 E FOREST AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Willard Bellack House |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 62174 |
| Location (Address): | 1112 E FOREST AVE |
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| County: | Winnebago |
| City: | Neenah |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1937 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2004 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | International Style |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Concrete |
| Architect: | George Fred Keck |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | East Forest Avenue Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 11/9/2005 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 4/15/2005 |
| 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 Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation-Public History. See also "East Forest Avenue Historic District" site file. In 1937, Keck created this relatively simple International Style house, with a dramatically curved glass-block solarium projecting from the central core. The Bellack House steps up from symmetrical one-story cubes at each end to a two-story cube at center. These cubes are made of stucco-covered steel panels and topped with flat roofs, so that the entire composition looks as if it were made of building blocks. Over the wings, the roofs form decks, enclosed by pipe rails, a nautical touch popular for modernistic houses. A tripartite picture window with a ladder-like series of squares running vertically down the center pierces each of the three building blocks. Although Keck did not develop a passive solar design here as he later did for some clients, he fitted the windows with external aluminum Venetian blinds that roll up into overhead pockets by means of a worm gear operated from inside. Altered International style house, built by the same architect that built the William Kellett House, Menasha was and is one of the few experimental houses in the city. Willard Bellack was vice president of Jersild Knitting Mills. The 1981 map code is 6/10 on city engineers base map. The 2004 map code is 156/20a. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. Neenah Menasha Directory 1939. B. 1977 WIHP. C. Jackie Waite Catlin, 6/5/1981. Neenah Citizen 10/31/1997. East Forest Avenue Historic District, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, 2005. “East Forest Avenue Historic District Preservation Plan.” April 2012. Neenah Wisconsin Landmarks Commission. Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |