W5670 CTY RD F | National or State Registers Record | Wisconsin Historical Society

National or State Registers Record

W5670 CTY RD F

National or State Register of Historic Places
W5670 CTY RD F | National or State Registers Record | Wisconsin Historical Society
NAMES
Historic Name:Wright, Razy and John, House
Reference Number:100007152
PROPERTY LOCATION
Location (Address):W5670 CTY RD F
County:La Crosse
City/Village:
Township:Medary
SUMMARY
Razy and John Wright House, W5670 County Road F, Town of Medary, La Crosse County
Architect: Otto Merman (attributed)
Date of Construction: 1924

Located on a winding road in the bluffs overlooking La Crosse, the Razy and John Wright House was built around 1924. Razy Mikshowsky was the owner of a dressmaking salon and several commercial buildings in downtown La Crosse. She married John Wright shortly before his retirement from the La Crosse Fire Department, and the pair set about building a country house on a farm that John owned outside of town. The design for the Wright house is attributed to Otto Merman, a prominent La Crosse architect who designed houses in the affluent neighborhoods along Cass Street, King Street, and Losey Boulevard. The exterior walls of the Wright house are rough-faced stone with steep gables. The house has a large enclosed porch with heavy arches and buttresses, and flared catslide roofs at either end. Inside, the Wright house retains much of its original 1920s craftsmanship, including leaded glass windows, hardwood floors, plaster archways, and coved ceilings.

With its finely crafted stonework, complex roof form, and decorative details, the Wright house displays a sophisticated combination of architectural styles that were popular at the time of its construction. The overall shape of the Wright house recalls traditional English cottages that inspired early 20th-century British architects and that were publicized in the United States in magazines like House Beautiful and The Architectural Record. The use of locally quarried stone reveals the influence of the Rustic style, allowing the Wright house to harmonize with its natural surroundings; and the leaded glass windows and arched front door illustrate the popular Tudor Revival style. The curving roofline, stonework patterns, and playfully small exterior lighting on the Wright house all hint at the influence of the Storybook style, a whimsical and brief-lived architectural trend that emerged in the 1920s.

With its imaginative combination of architectural styles, along with its high-quality local building materials and high level of craftsmanship, the Razy and John Wright House remains a carefully designed and finely crafted product of its time.

It is a private home and is not open to the public.

PROPERTY FEATURES
Period of Significance:1930
Area of Significance:Architecture
Applicable Criteria:Architecture/Engineering
Historic Use:Domestic: Single Dwelling
Architectural Style:Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals
Resource Type:Building
DESIGNATIONS
Historic Status:Date Received/Pending Nomination
Historic Status:Listed in the State Register
Historic Status:Listed in the National Register
National Register Listing Date:11/22/2021
State Register Listing Date:05/14/2021
NUMBER OF RESOURCES WITHIN PROPERTY
Number of Contributing Buildings:1
Number of Contributing Sites:0
Number of Contributing Structures:0
Number of Contributing Objects:0
Number of Non-Contributing Sites:0
Number of Non-Contributing Structures:0
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

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National Register of Historic Places Citation
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