Property Record
205 W HIGHLAND AVE (ALSO 1044-1054 N 3RD ST)
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | STEINMEYER BUILDING |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | Steinmeyer Building |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 16160 |
| Location (Address): | 205 W HIGHLAND AVE (ALSO 1044-1054 N 3RD ST) |
|---|---|
| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Milwaukee |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
| Section: | |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1893 |
|---|---|
| Additions: | 1898 |
| Survey Date: | 1995 |
| Historic Use: | warehouse |
| Architectural Style: | Romanesque Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Ferry & Clas |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Old World Third Street Historic District |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | 3/19/1987 |
| 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 Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation-Public History. On the east side of the street, hulks the five-story red-brick Steinmeyer Building. This former grocery store and refrigerated warehouse exhibits the stripped-down round-arched style popular for late 1880s and early 1890s warehouses. Banded brickwork clads the first floor, and finishes with a corbeled brick cornice. Designed by Ferry and Clas in 1893 (with the two southernmost bays on Third Street added in 1898), the building marked the final phase of development along North Third Street. Grocery merchant William Steinmeyer was another of the German entrepreneurs whose business grew beyond the local neighborhood to serve the entire city. Established in 1865 as Bauer & Steinmeyer, this wholesale and retail grocery business became the largest in the city by 1892 and operated until 1940. "From 1865, when the William Steinmeyer Company was founded, until the 1940's, Red Shield brand canned goods were a familiar sight on Milwaukee housewives' shelves. Just as familiar a sight on Milwaukee streets were the firm's delivery wagons. The company's transactions, large and small, were on a cash basis, and savings were passed on to customers. Steinmeyer's was the first local firm to install a cold-storage system so that it might offer fresh vegetables and fruits for Milwaukee dinner tables, in addition to staples, canned foods, fancy groceries, and condiments." Pagel, Mary Ellen & Virginia A Palmer, University Extension The University of Wisconsin, Guides to Historic Milwaukee: Kilbourntown Walking Tour, 1967. |
|---|---|
| Bibliographic References: | BUILT IN MILWAUKEE, LANDSCAPE RESEARCH, P. 82. Commercial File - William Steinmeyer Milwaukee of Today 1892, p. 95 Milwaukee Landmarks Form. MILWAUKEE HISTORIC BUILDINGS TOUR: KILBOURNTOWN, CITY OF MILWAUKEE DEPARTMENT OF CITY DEVELOPMENT, 1994. Milwaukee Sentinel, May 15, 1893. Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. Pagel, Mary Ellen & Virginia A Palmer, University Extension The University of Wisconsin, Guides to Historic Milwaukee: Kilbourntown Walking Tour, 1967. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |