The factory building of the Badger State Shoe Company in Madison The building was designed by well-known Madison architect Ferdinand Kronenberg for a shoe company previously based in Milwaukee, looking to consolidate and increase production. At its peak, the factory was employing 250 workers and producing two-thousand pairs of shoes a day.

The German born architect, Kronenberg incorporated classical details and proportions into the massive structure by means of a classical metal cornice and corbelled brick piers, arches, and belt courses. With very few exterior alterations, it is an excellent example of a medium-sized factory building of the early-twentieth century.

Furthermore, the Badger State building was constructed during a brief but long-awaited industrial boom in Madison, in an industry that was one of Wisconsin’s most prevalent. Production halted during the Great Depression in the 1930s, and the building was converted to warehouse space while the windows were removed and bricked in. The Badger State Shoe Company building is now known as Das Kronenberg Condominiums, named in honor of the structure’s famous architect.

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