Shoe manufacturing became an important industry in Wausau as the paper milling industry experienced a decline in the early-twentieth century. The Marathon Shoe Company East Side Plant, constructed in 1923, is the best remaining representation of the Marathon Shoe Company, a prominent manufacturer in Wausau in the first half of the twentieth century. At the height of the company’s growth in the 1920s, the Marathon Shoe Company had four factories in operation, including the East Side Plant. In addition to being a leader in the local economy, the Marathon Shoe Company had a strong national reputation for its innovative welt construction, which eliminated the need for metal fasteners such as tacks or staples to connect a leather upper to a sole in the production of shoes, and for its marketing efforts for its Pied Piper line of high-end children’s shoes.

The building, has a gabled roof with a shallow pitch, rectangular massing and is two stories tall. The exterior of the building is of structural clay tile covered in stucco. At the interior, the building features open floor plates with a riveted steel truss and lattice steel column structural system.

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