| Additional Information: | This building is part of a large industrial complex, see AHI #'s 145686-89.
This large, industrial complex is situated at the southwest corner of S. 66th and W. Mitchell streets and was built primarily between 1913 and 1941. It includes the following five buildings: a small, one-story, vernacular, brick office building (circa 1913; AHI#145685) with a stepped parapet at 1813 S. 66th Street; a brick factory (1928; AHI#145689) that is sheathed with modern metal siding along S. 66th Street; a large, brick, machine shop (circa 1913 and 1941; AHI#145686) with a saw-tooth roof and segmental-arch window openings located at 6601-07 W. Mitchell Street; a three-story, cream-colored, brick office building (circa 1917; AHI#145687) with a corbeled brick cornice at 6623 W. Mitchell Street, and finally; a large, two-story, brick factory building (circa 1913; AHI#144688) with large, industrial-style windows is attached to the rear (south) of the three-story office building. Four other buildings that are not visible (and, therefore, not photographed) from the roadway are also part of the complex and include a machine shop that extends from the south side of the saw-tooth roof machine shop; two buildings that extend from the rear of the circa-1913 office building that were used as a warehouse and foundry; as well as another structure adjacent to the railroad tracks that was once used for as a welding shop.
The Davis Manufacturing Company purchased this parcel of land in 1913 in order to build a factory for the manufacturing of gasoline engines. The company was started by F.M. Davis, who designed and marketed an internal combustion engine that was supplied to various manufacturers of farm tractors, motor boats and ice cutting machines. Four years later, Mr. Davis sold his business to the Avery Company of Peoria, Illnois. It is reported that the Avery Company immediately enlarged the complex in order to meet customer demands for their farm tractor engines. An early description of the Avery site painted the picture of an imposing industrial enterprise: #28;a great machine shop is 226 x 340 feet ground dimensions; the erecting shop is 250 x 100 feet; foundry, 200 x 300 feet; core building, 75 x 100 feet and two stories in height; testing room for motors, 260 x 60 feet; office building 40 x 70 feet and three stories in height.#29; The Avery Company continued at the site until around 1924 or 1925, when it was then divided amongst several industrial concerns. In 1925, the Badger Manufacturing Company moved to the divided site. Incorporated in 1911, Badger made a variety of automobile parts ranging from tire carriers and jacks to horns and locks. In 1927, two other businesses joined Badger at the Avery site, one was the Griffith-Hope Company, which incorporated in 1922 and built dispensing products for paper towel, napkins and other items to include small savings banks. The second was the Davis-Thompson Company, which was incorporated in circa 1917 by F.M. Davis and J.T. Thompson. Davis-Thompson also made automobile parts. After World War II, the site was home of the Edgar T. Wards Sons Company, a steel products manufacturer, and the LeRoi Company, who used part of the site as an auxiliary plant. Today, the property includes a variety of companies including Spinweld, Inc., and American Engine Installation.
No information was found to substantiate eligibility under Criterion B; however, the complex appears to offer eligibility under both Criterion A and C. Regarding Criterion A, this site has been operated by a number of companies specializing in medium-to-heavy manufacturing for nearly 100 years. While the actions of no one company rise to the level required by the National Register, the accumulated history of all the aforementioned companies serve as an example of the many small-to-medium manufacturers that once operated in West Allis. Further research is needed to properly place this property within the industrial history of West Allis. Architecturally, the property retains a significant number and variety of intact industrial buildings constructed before World War II. Despite some modernization, the site generally carries the appearance of an early industrial facility. With all that said, access to this large complex was limited during this survey and further research is needed to better determine the site#25;s composition and integrity.
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| Bibliographic References: | Building Permits, 1 August 1928 and 7 January 1941; Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps #19; West Allis, Wis. (1927; 1927 updated to 1951). Burbach, Historical Review of West Allis (1927), 101, 107, 117; #28;Avery Company,#29; Company biography with unknown source & date, Located in Business Binders#19;A, WAHS; Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps #19; West Allis, Wis. (1927; 1927, updated to 1951). |
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