Property Record
440 E GRAND AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Wood County Telephone Company |
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| Other Name: | Wood County Telephone Company |
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| Reference Number: | 160761 |
| Location (Address): | 440 E GRAND AVE |
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| County: | Wood |
| City: | Wisconsin Rapids |
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| Year Built: | 1958 |
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| Additions: | 1967 1996 |
| Survey Date: | 20102015 |
| Historic Use: | telephone/telegraph building |
| Architectural Style: | Contemporary |
| Structural System: | Masonry |
| Wall Material: | Stone Veneer |
| Architect: | Donn Hougen |
| 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, State Historic Preservation Office. 2015-The Wood County Telephone Company building was constructed in 1957 (1). This three-story Contemporary office building is clad in cut stone on the front (northeast) facade and brick veneer on the side (northwest and southeast) and rear (west) elevations. It has a flat roof with a simple metal drip cap. The front facade features a prominent flat roof protrusion clad in red granite with groupings of fixed lights, and the words “Wood County Telephone Co.” in silver lettering fixed to the stonework. A flat roof awning shelters the main entrance on the facade, which features paired modern entrance doors with fixed-light transoms. A band of five large fixed rectangular windows is located adjacent to the main entryway. A series of fixed square windows with stone lintels is located in an upside down L-shape across the front facade. The L-shape pattern is also represented in a cut stone relief adjacent to the windows. A one-story modern flat roof addition covered with skimcoat is located on the side (northeast) elevation. The building is currently occupied by Solarus, a telecommunications company. Interior access was granted to the general public space; however, photographs were not permitted and staff declined to discuss changes made to the interior and exterior of the building. 2017- "The Wood County Telephone Company is a medium-sized office building located at 440 E. Grand Avenue. It faces northeast onto E. Grand Avenue and has a slight setback; the building is separated from the roadway by a concrete terrace, sidewalk, and modest lawn with one mature deciduous tree near the east corner of the property. Additional landscaping includes scattered bushes, smaller deciduous trees, and flowers in a granite-faced planter that is centered on the sidewalk entrance to the modern northwest wing of the building. A strip of gravel with small bushes planted along it stretches southeast of the building along the historic boundary. Wide concrete walkways lead to the original entrance, which is slightly raised with three shallow stone steps and a metal handrail, and the modern ground-level entrance, which are both located on the northeast (front) facade. A flagpole stands near the north corner of the building, and a contributing metal-and-glass-paneled telephone booth is located east of the structure at the corner of the lawn. Two combination streetlight-utility poles stand adjacent to E. Grand Avenue northeast of the building. A large parking lot stretches from the rear of the structure and is accessible via Birch Street, which runs parallel to E. Grand Avenue. The Wood County Telephone Company building, designed by architect Donn Hougen and constructed in 1958 by the Ellis Stone & Construction Company, is a rectangular, two-story, Contemporary office building. Its foundation is not visible. Clad in limestone and cream brick, it features a two-story red granite vestibule; variety of fixed, metal-cased windows; and cut stone relief along the facade. Simple metal coping encircles the flat roofline. The structure's flat roof, smooth windows, lack of ornamentation, and asymmetrical features are all characteristic of the Contemporary style. A large, prominent antenna mounted on the southwest end of the roof conveys its property type as a telecommunications company. The building's northeast facade features an offset entrance that consists of glazed metal double doors with large transoms, one fixed vertical window to the southeast, and a ribbon of five fixed, metal-cased windows to the northwest. A flat metal awning stretches over the entrance. A prominent two-story vestibule is located southeast of the entrance and is clad in large panels of red granite veneer. It features bands of fixed, frosted, metal-cased windows that stretch vertically along the sides of the facade and across its top in a reversed "U" pattern. Simple metal lettering mounted between the window bands reads "WOOD COUNTY TELEPHONE CO." On the northwest elevation of the vestibule, to the left of the main entrance, a triangular stone sign reads "Wood County Telephone Co. since 1896" in gold script; it depicts a telephone and possibly a keypad, also in gold. Southeast of the vestibule, along the first story of the building, is a grouping of three fixed, metal-cased, vertical windows. The remainder of the facade is clad in grid-pattern panels of limestone that wrap around to the building's northwest and southeast elevations. The facade features a series of small, fixed square windows with simple sills that stretch horizontally and vertically across its surface in a sideways "L" shape, with the vertical portion of the "L" along the north side of the facade. Two cut stone reliefs adjacent to these windows also display a reversed "L" pattern. The southeast and northwest (side) elevations of the building display stretches of grid-pattern limestone cladding that extend from the facade. The remainder of the elevations are constructed of cream brick laid in common bond. Two horizontally oriented, two-panel windows with simple sills are located along the first story of the building on the northeast half of the southeast elevation. The rear portions of the southeast and northwest elevations, as well as the southwest (rear) elevation of the building, consist of a two-story, 1967 addition that is described below. The northwest elevation is largely dominated by a one-story 1996 addition, also described below. Addition, 1967 This two-story addition, constructed of common bond-laid cream brick, significantly enlarged the rear portion of the building; it is visible on the southeast, northwest, and southwest elevations. It creates an alcove where it bumps out from the original building along the southeast elevation. This alcove features a pair of fixed vertical windows in metal casing, vestibule entrance with glazed metal door and transom, and flat metal awning. The northwest elevation features one first-story, horizontal window, in the same style as the windows on the southeast elevation, and a vent hood along the second story of the building. The southwest elevation of the addition features thin stone courses that encircle horizontally oriented, two-panel windows that run along the first and second stories of the building. One of the first-story windows is enclosed in concrete, and a thick concrete course runs above the stone belt course at the center portion of the first story. Additionally, one of the second-story windows displays a vent panel. A two-story vestibule with loading dock, as well as a rear entrance with metal railing and flat metal awning, both extend from the rear of the building on the northwest end of the elevation. A low security fence surrounds equipment on the southwest and southeast elevations. Addition, 1996 This one-story addition, designed by the local firm Metcalf-Haefner Architects and built by Denny G. Builders Inc., is clad in stucco and projects from the northwest elevation of the building. The addition's northeast facade features a recessed main entrance, which is a glazed metal door with large fixed window panels to either side, capped by a Contemporary-style pediment with cylindrical floating light fixtures. The facade also displays a large sign reading "Solarus," which is the name the Wood County Telephone Company took on in the early 2000s. Three projecting bay windows, each of which consists of two large, fixed window panels encased in red granite, extend from the front of the addition. The addition's northwest elevation features five projecting box bays with one fixed-panel window in each. Finally, the southwest elevation displays a recessed ribbon window encased in cream brick with brick sill, rear glazed entrance with metal-cased glass surround and brick planters, and another "Solarus" sign located on a small wing that extends along the northwest elevation of the 1967 addition. Interior The interior of the main building retains many original elements including a cherry wood-paneled lobby initially described as the building's "showcase," which features two private, paneled telephone booths. The original vinyl tile floor is extant beneath the current carpeting. One original frosted glass door is still in place, as well as butternut wood paneling and a safe in what was initially the manager's office. Telecommunications equipment throughout the original building footprint and 1967 addition is generally located in the same space that original equipment once stood. Original staff lockers line the hallway walls of the 1967 addition. A modern kitchen and breakroom is located in the 1967 addition to the building, and the 1996 addition houses public offices and facilities for customer service. New cubicles and office spaces, drop tile ceilings, and lighting represent recent additions to the interior. Integrity The Wood County Telephone Company retains its original facade and cladding. Though window glass has been replaced, the frames and configurations are original. 6 The 1967 addition, built during the period of significance, spans the rear of the building and does not visually impede on the original facade. The 1996 addition is visually distinct from the original building and as such does not detract from its historic integrity. The building's interior retains many original features including wood paneling, vinyl floors, and decorative details, and it is still in use as a telecommunications company. Therefore, the structure retains integrity as a mid-twentieth-century, Contemporary-style telephone company building." -"Wood County Telephone Company", WisDOT#6999-07-19, Prepared by Mead & Hunt, Inc. (Sebastian Renfield), (2017). |
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| Bibliographic References: | (1) - Date stone. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |