Property Record
311 N Main St
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Shawano County Courthouse |
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| Other Name: | Shawano County Courthouse |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 119696 |
| Location (Address): | 311 N Main St |
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| County: | Shawano |
| City: | Shawano |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1958 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 20002025 |
| Historic Use: | courthouse |
| Architectural Style: | Art/Streamline Moderne |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Limestone |
| Architect: | Foeller, Schober, Berners, Safford & Jahn |
| Other Buildings On Site: | Y |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
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| Additional Information: | Courthouse is still in excellent and largely original condition. Jail next door (405 N. Main St.) built the year before and was designed by the same architects. 2025: The Shawano County Courthouse Complex consists of the Powerhouse (AHI #119823) and Courthouse at 311 N Main Street and the Jail (AHI #119697) at 405 N Main Street. The first county courthouse and jail were constructed at the 311 N Main Street property in 1853. The courthouse was replaced in 1879, and a separate jail building was constructed in 1902. The Powerhouse was constructed between 1913 and 1926 to serve the courthouse. The current courthouse and jail were designed by prominent Green Bay architecture firm Foeller, Schober, Berners, Safford & Jahn between 1956 and 1958. The Shawano County Courthouse is a two-story Art Moderne style building located on the west side of Main Street between W 3rd and W 4th Streets. Constructed in 1958, the building has a rectilinear footprint, concrete foundation, limestone exterior walls, and flat roofs with parapets. The exterior cladding is comprised of various sizes of rectangular limestone pieces, and the facades are symmetrically arranged. Fenestration consists of single-pane and three-part aluminum frame windows with smooth stone sills. The primary façade (east elevation) has a central recessed entrance characterized by aluminum framed window walls on the first and second stories separated by a corrugated metal panel with signage reading “SHAWANO COUNTY COURT HOUSE.” A carved stone depiction of the Scales of Justice is centered above the entrance. On either side of the entrance are 13 fenestration bays with a continuous row of windows on the first story and alternating windows on the second story. Similarly styled, but slightly shorter wings extend from the north and south (side) elevations. Each has a central entrance flanked by four two-story fenestration bays. The entrances are accessed by concrete steps with concrete half walls and metal railings. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Berners-Schober Assoc. archives. Original drawings extant. Dedication plaque in lobby. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |