Property Record
3099 E WASHINGTON AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Farmers Mutual Insurance Co. |
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| Other Name: | Department of Corrections |
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| Reference Number: | 122098 |
| Location (Address): | 3099 E WASHINGTON AVE |
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| County: | Dane |
| City: | Madison |
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| Year Built: | 1951 |
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| Additions: | C. 1980 |
| Survey Date: | 200120142018 |
| Historic Use: | large office building |
| Architectural Style: | Contemporary |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Limestone |
| Architect: | Childs and Smith |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation-Public History. Original windows and entry have been replaced. Designed by the firm of Childs & Smith of Chicago, this building was constructed in 1951 for what would eventually become the American Family Insurance Company. In 1927, Herman Wittwer founded the Farmers Mutual Auto Insurance Company of Madison. The company grew steadily and by 1943 was licensed to sell insurance throughout most of the Midwest. After World War II, the entire insurance industry witnessed a remarkable boom and Farmers Mutual annually garnered $10 million in premiums by 1950. Such a large level of business required the company to construct the $1.36 million subject facility because it had outgrown the Boyd Mansion headquarters located at 312 Wisconsin Avenue. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the company continued a high degree of growth. In 1962, because the company was entering many urban markets, the name was changed to American Family Insurance Company. Despite several massive additions, the company outgrew this structure and moved to a new facility on the outskirts of Madison in 1992. October 2014 - This office building was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Childs & Smith and was constructed in 1951 as the new headquarters for the Farmers Mutual Auto Insurance Company of Madison (later the American Family Insurance Company). The broad, two-story concrete structure has a box-like form with long bands of windows and a central projecting bay with a two-story framed glass entry. Both the windows and glass entry are replacements. The building is oriented diagonally to face the corner of East Washington and Commercial Avenues. Massive, unadorned concrete wings with regular arrays of windows were added to both ends of the building, presumably to accommodate company growth. Together, the additions tripled the original footprint of the building. Construction dates for the wings are unknown, but they appear to have been built outside the historic period. In the early 1990s the American Family Insurance Company relocated to a new facility in Madison. The building is now occupied by the State of Wisconsin Department of Corrections. March 2018 - appearance unchanged since 2014 |
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| Bibliographic References: | Under One Roof: The History of the American Family Insurance Co. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |