Property Record
126 E GRAND AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Edward Dodge House |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | PORT WASHINGTON VISITOR'S CENTER |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 13526 |
| Location (Address): | 126 E GRAND AVE |
|---|---|
| County: | Ozaukee |
| City: | Port Washington |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
| Section: | |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1848 |
|---|---|
| Additions: | 1930 1985 |
| Survey Date: | 19782022 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Greek Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Cobblestone |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Dodge, Edward, House |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | 7/24/1975 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| 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 State Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation. RETURNED EAVES. fIVE ROWS OF COLOR SORTED BEACH COBBLES PER QUOIN. Building was originally located on the south bank of Sauk Creek. Was moved to the grounds of the Wisconsin Electric Power Plant where it served as a gatehouse. Then moved to its current location. In the late 1840s and 1850s, craftsmen from upstate New York brought with them the folk-architecture technique of veneering rubble walls with carefully chosen multi-colored stones (also see RA02). Here, the now-unknown builder laid egg-sized pebbles from Lake Michigan’s beaches in a recurring pattern: two contiguous courses of black basalt stones, followed by a single course of pink-gray granites, then a course of flints and quartzites in buff, pink, white, and other colors, all perfectly aligned horizontally and vertically and set in inverted V-shaped mortar joints so that they protrude from the wall. The effect is polychromatic and highly tactile. The Dodge House and other cobblestone dwellings like it combine these whimsical, multicolored exterior decorations with the otherwise staid Greek Revival style. The broad cornice returns along the front-facing gable and quoins of bluish-gray limestone tie the corners together and frame the off-center entry. Flat arches of wedge-shaped limestone blocks, with prominent keystones at the center, crown the door and windows. The Dodge House was originally located on Wisconsin Street, but has been moved twice, most recently in the mid-1980s. At the time of the first move in the early 1930s, the owner added a limestone porch and a bay window. |
|---|---|
| Bibliographic References: | THE OCTAGON HOUSE AND THE COBBLESTONE BUILDING IN WISCONSIN, P. 13, UWEX, 1978. ZIMMERMANN, RUSSELL "THE HERITAGE GUIDEBOOK" (HERITAGE BANKS 1976), P. 223. PORT WASHINGTON OZAUKEE PRESS 7/4/1996. Port Washington, Wisconsin Self-Guided Historic Walking Tours, Spring 2000. Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |