123 Railroad Street | National or State Registers Record | Wisconsin Historical Society

National or State Registers Record

123 Railroad Street

National or State Register of Historic Places
123 Railroad Street | National or State Registers Record | Wisconsin Historical Society
NAMES
Historic Name:Chase Grain Elevator
Reference Number:10000540
PROPERTY LOCATION
Location (Address):123 Railroad Street
County:Dane
City/Village:Sun Prairie
Township:
SUMMARY
Chase Grain Elevator
123 Railroad Street, Sun Prairie, Dane County
Date of construction: 1922

The Chase Grain Elevator played a significant commercial role in the distribution of grain, especially feed crops such as corn, oats, and barley. Erected in 1922, it is an example of a "country" elevator, a place farmers brought grain by the wagon- or truckload for shipment to market by rail. The tile Chase Grain Elevator is capped with a metal roof, and rests on a stone foundation. It is the only known tile elevator surviving in Wisconsin.

The Chase Grain Elevator represents a significant phase in the evolution of grain elevator design and construction: early fireproof elevator experimentation, illustrating the transition from wooden to concrete elevators. Beginning around 1895, engineers intensively searched for the material and construction method for terminal elevators that would be both fire-resistant and economical. Although reinforced concrete was widely accepted as the best choice for terminal elevators by World War I, country elevators continued to be built of other materials, especially wood. Tile country elevators, never numerous, were no longer built after circa 1925. The plan of the Chase Grain Elevator integrates the grain storage bins (or silos), the "workhouse" (where grain handling such as receiving, weighing and loading took place), the office, and the "cupola" (which housed the top of the vertical conveyors), all in one building. The grain storage bins consist of two cylindrical silos, with a half-silo created from the space between the two silos forming what is called a "pocket bin." Although there have been some changes, the Chase Grain Elevator looks very much as did when it opened. A circa 1944 scale stands just northeast of the elevator.

PROPERTY FEATURES
Period of Significance:1922-1959
Area of Significance:Architecture
Area of Significance:Commerce
Applicable Criteria:Architecture/Engineering
Applicable Criteria:Event
Historic Use:Agriculture/Subsistence: Storage
Architectural Style:Other
Resource Type:Building
Architect:Chase, Frederick W.
Architect:McCrea, Thomas
DESIGNATIONS
Historic Status:Listed in the National Register
Historic Status:Listed in the State Register
National Register Listing Date:08/12/2010
State Register Listing Date:02/19/2010
NUMBER OF RESOURCES WITHIN PROPERTY
Number of Contributing Buildings:1
Number of Contributing Sites:0
Number of Contributing Structures:1
Number of Contributing Objects:0
Number of Non-Contributing Sites:0
Number of Non-Contributing Structures:1
Number of Non-Contributing Objects:0
RECORD LOCATION
National Register and State Register of Historic Places, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin

How to Cite

For the purposes of a bibliography entry or footnote, follow this model:

National Register of Historic Places Citation
National Register of Historic Places, "Historic Name", "Town", "County", "State", "Reference Number".

Have Questions?

If you didn't find the National Register listing you were looking for or have other questions about the National Register, please email us and we can help: