Property Record
213-217 E MAIN ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Fox River Hotel |
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| Other Name: | GRAY'S DEPARTMENT STORE |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 12365 |
| Location (Address): | 213-217 E MAIN ST |
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| County: | Racine |
| City: | Waterford |
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| Year Built: | 1898 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 19752012 |
| Historic Use: | lodging-hotel |
| Architectural Style: | Commercial Vernacular |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Cream Brick |
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| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | BRACKETED EAVES. HEAVY, RUSTICATED STONE SILLS AND LINTELS. SITE OF RITMAN-TRIMBORN STORE [1856.] Ole Nelson constructed the Fox River Hotel in 1898 after his first hotel building burned with the rest of Waterford’s commercial district east of the Fox River. The first floor included an office, formal sitting room and dining room. Nelson sold the building in 1906 to Joseph Wieners and John Nelson, who maintained until 1920 when it was sold to a Messrs. Madden and Plucker. Ownership changed two more times before it was purchased in 1923 by Henry Hartgers. The current owner purchased the building in about 1957 and stated that the building had ceased operating as a hotel by the early 1940s. By 1957, the storefront had been remodeled from its 1923 configuration and the hotel rooms had been combined and converted into four apartments. The entire first floor operated as Gray’s Department Store in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Today, it houses a jewelry store and a restaurant. Surveyed by Heritage Research (2012). |
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| Bibliographic References: | "Stories of Waterford and it's Busy Life" (1923--includes historic photograph). 2012 Owner. “Architecture and History Survey: STH 20” WHS project number 13-0069/RA. March and November 2012. Prepared by Heritage Research Ltd. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |