Property Record
123 E DOTY ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | FESS HOTEL |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | Great Dane Brewpub |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 17004 |
| Location (Address): | 123 E DOTY ST |
|---|---|
| County: | Dane |
| City: | Madison |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
| Section: | |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1854 |
|---|---|
| Additions: | 1880 1883 1901 1858 |
| Survey Date: | 1984 |
| Historic Use: | lodging-hotel |
| Architectural Style: | Queen Anne |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Gordon & Paunack (1901) |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Fess Hotel |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | 9/21/1978 |
| 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. MAP CODE IS 0709-242-0208-2. This building was one of Madison's oldest hotels. Madison Landmark: 10/6/75. "The Fess Hotel, owned by the Fess family from the 1850s to 1970s, has one of the longest records of service to the public of any business establishment in the city. George E. Fess, an immigrant from England, and his wife, Anna, started out with a grocery store and "eating house" next door to this building. They expanded into the hotel business, adding the present buildings on the east, the street facades of which were constructed in Milwaukee cream brick in the early 1880s and St. Louis rose brick in 1901. Originally, the hotel included livery barns and an ice house. The Fess lodged a variety of visitors: jurors, legislators, travelling salesmen, and weekly boarders. Its location near the railroad stations and its reasonable rates made it a natural stop for rail passengers. Carrie Nation stayed in the Fess in 1901 because it did not have a bar, although several saloons were within a stone's throw." Madison's Pioneer Buildings: A Downtown Walking Tour, 1987. |
|---|---|
| Bibliographic References: | Date of construction source and historical name source: NRHP nomination form, tax records. Sandstone and Buffalo Robes: Madison's historic buildings, third edition, 1975. Madison's Pioneer Buildings: A Downtown Walking Tour, 1987. Madison Landmarks Commission and Capitol Neighborhoods, The First Settlement Neighborhood: A Walking Tour, 1988. A Celebration of Architecture: Wisconsin Society of Architects Tour of Significant Architecture, 1979. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |