Property Record
125 W MAPLE ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | R. B. SHOWALTER BUILDING |
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| Other Name: | WALKER'S CLOTHING AND SHOES |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 136540 |
| Location (Address): | 125 W MAPLE ST |
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| County: | Grant |
| City: | Lancaster |
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| Year Built: | 1888 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2005 |
| Historic Use: | retail building |
| Architectural Style: | Italianate |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
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| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Courthouse Square Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 4/7/2006 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/20/2006 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | COMMERCIAL STRUCTURE IDENTIFIED BY ELABORATE BRICKWORK AND SEGMENTAL ARCH OPENINgS THAT ARE EMPHASIZED BY BRICK HOOD MOLDS. THIS TWO STORY BUILDING IS CHARACTERIZED BY A RECTANGULAR PLAN CONFIGURATION IN AN ITALIANATE STYLE, A FLAT ROOF, AND A BRICK EXTERIOR. THE LOWER STOREFRONT HAS BEEN ALTERED. THE STRUCTURE WAS FOUND TO BE IN GOOD CONDITION. THE DATE OF CONSTRUCTION IS 1888. (E). ACCORDING TO THE SURVEY, 125 W. MAPLE WAS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF JOECKEL BROS. CLOTHIERS,(D). THE HISTORIC USES OF THIS BUILDING INCLUDED A CLOTHING STORE AND A HOSPITAL. (C). PRESENT DAY TENNANT IS WALKER'S CLOTHES. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: THIS COMMERCIAL BUILDING WAS CONSTRUCTED AFTER THE DEVASTATING FIRE OF 1888. IN 1894, A LUNCH ROOM WAS LOCATED AT 125 W. MAPLE STREET; FOLLOWING THAT TIME, THE BUILDING WAS USED AS A CLOTHING STORE. (C). AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, JOECKEL BROS. CLOTHIERS, AS PICTURED IN THE SOUVENIR OF LANCASTER, WERE THE OCCUPANTS. (D) IN 1927, THE CLOTHING STORE SHARED THE STRUCTURE WITH A HOSPITAL (UNIDENTIFIED) THAT OCCUPIED THE SECOND FLOOR. 2005- Another of the buildings that came into being as a direct result of the 1888 fire is this Italianate style-influenced building, which is located left of and next door to the similar, but smaller and less elaborate, one built for Stone & Hassell in the same year. Like its neighbor, the Showalter building is rectilinear in plan and two-stories-tall and it too is clad in brick and rests on a cut stone foundation. Unlike its neighbor, the Showalter building's original first story storefront has been replaced by a modern one and only the recessed entrance to the second story at the right-hand (east) edge of this story still retains its original elements. The building's second story, however, is still intact and it is five-bays-wide and is crowned with an elaborate and highly intact brick cornice that is notably taller than the brick cornice that belongs to its neighbor. Each of these five bays contains a single window opening that has a dressed stone sill and an elaborate corbelled brick head, and each opening retains its early, but not original, two-over-two-light double hung wood sash window. Comparing the Showalter building with the quite similar but less elaborate Stone & Hassell building next door is instructive because it shows that the things that differentiate the Commercial Vernacular form from the Italianate style can be quite subtle. The only real difference between the two is that the Showalter building has taller second story windows, slightly more elaborate corbelled window heads, and a taller and more elaborate cornice. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. CASTELLO HOLFORD, HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY, WISCONSIN (LANCASTER, THE TELLER PRINT, 1900), P. 413. B. 1894 SANBORN PERRIS MAP. C. 1894, 1899, 1905, 1912, 1927 SANBORN PERRIS MAPS. D. WATTON'S SOUVENIR OF LANCASTER, 1900, P. 29. E. CITY OF LANCASTER TAX ROLLS.. 2005, Tim Heggland. National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Courthouse Square Historic District. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |