Property Record
444 MAIN ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | E.R. Barron Building |
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| Other Name: | BARRON COURT |
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| Reference Number: | 16885 |
| Location (Address): | 444 MAIN ST |
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| County: | La Crosse |
| City: | La Crosse |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1891 |
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| Additions: | 1932 |
| Survey Date: | 1996 |
| Historic Use: | department store |
| Architectural Style: | Romanesque Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | SCHICK AND STOLTZE |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Barron, E.R., Building |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 6/19/1985 |
| 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, State Historic Preservation Office. Decorative brick and corbeled brick patterns along the cornice; round arched third story windows and flat arched second story windows; belt courses divide structure horizontally; "E.R. Barron" inscribed on freize; northeast front corner tower element (pyramidal roof has been removed); small steep gable on west end of facade with long two-story window (oriel window has been removed) topped by rectangular pediment at the roof line; full-length applied pilaster divide east facade; north store front has been altered for contemporary use and a contemporary store front has been added to the east side - formerly a brick wall with ordinary windows. "Star" symbol inscribed in the small gable - possibly the "Star of David." Characterized by round arched windows in the third story, this brick (now painted) three-story structure has a gable element and the suggestion of a variety of forms (a pyramidal tower roof has been removed) at the roof line that creates the irregularity associated with the Victorian Queen Anne style. Built by E.R. Barron for use as a Dry Goods Store, the eclectic Barron Building, known as Herberger's Department Store in recent years, is important visually in the downtown district where it has occupied a prominent corner of Fifth and Main since its construction in 1891. Barron and Valkenburg moved into this building in October, 1891. E.R. and C.H. Barron immigrated to McGregor, Iowa from the East and opened the original Barron dry goods store. In 1866, E.R. Barron and J.T. Valkenburg, an early La Crosse settler, opened the first La Crosse store in the McMillan building (now the State Bank building). The Barron and Van Valkenburg Dry Goods Store moved from 401-7 Main to the corner of Fifth and Main in October 1891. La Crosse Commercial H.D. National Register #: 94001064 Constructed by Davis, Sorenson & Son. Brick Mason: Wallace & Son. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) City of La Crosse Tax Records, 1889-1918; ARC Murphy Library, UW-La Crosse. (B) La Crosse (WI) Morning Chronicle, July 4, 1891. (C) Building Inscription. (D) L.P. Philippi, Philippi Art Souvenir (La Crosse: Philippi Publishing Co., 1904; Reprint: 1978). p. 65. (E) La Crosse City Directory, 1891. (F) "The E.R. Barron Building, 1891" by Joan M. Rausch - in the author's possession, La Crosse, WI. (G) La Crosse Daily Republican & Leader, 3 Oct, 1891. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |