Property Record
702 BELKNAP ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | RUDOLPH G. BERG FILLING STATION |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | MAYERSAK & CISMOSKI GAS STATION (M & C) |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 17536 |
| Location (Address): | 702 BELKNAP ST |
|---|---|
| County: | Douglas |
| City: | Superior |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
| Section: | |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1928 |
|---|---|
| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1975201219832019 |
| Historic Use: | gas station/service station |
| Architectural Style: | English Revival Styles |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Stucco |
| Architect: | Martin O. Anderson-builder |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| 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 State Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation. 2012- This previously surveyed free-standing building was built in 1928 and it is a representative but now altered example of an early Period Revival style gasoline service station. This Tudor Revival Style building has an L-plan, it is one-story-taU, its exterior walls are clad in stucco, and these walls are sheltered by the slightly overhanging eaves of the building's multi-gable roof, which is sheathed in asphalt shingles. The main fa9ade of this building originally faced north onto Belknap St. but it now faces northeast towards the Belknap St.-Caitlin Ave. intersection. This asymmetrically designed facade is consists of two unequal size portions and the less wide right-hand (west) pottion consists of a slightly projecting ell that contains the garage door of the station's service bay in its first story. The current garage door has a four-panel side-folding design and each of its four panels has a single panel placed below a single tall, thin eightlight window. Historic photos of the station show that a door of identical design was originally installed in this opening but it is not known if the current door is a reproduction or is an original one because historic photos also show that the station's original doors were later replaced with a more modem overhead garage door instead. This one-story, stucco-clad, Tudor Revival Style building was first occupied by the Rudolph G. Berg Gasoline Service Station, and its original design was an excellent example of the way in which the Period Revival styles of that day were used to make many of these early gasoline service stations fit into what were often pre-existing residential neighborhoods. Unfortunately, while this was once one of the most architecturally distinctive historic gasoline service stations in Superior, it has now lost a significant amount of integrity and it has also been moved from the front to the rear of its historic parcel and its original setting, which included entrance driveways, a concrete service terrace, and fuel pumps, is also no longer extant. -"USH 2 (Belknap St.)" WisDOT ID #8680-00-01 (71), Prepared by Timothy F. Heggland (MAP) (2012). FALSE 1/2 TIMBERING IN STEEPLY PITCHED GABLES W/FLARED EAVES. POINTED ARCH & SHAPED ARCH WINDOWS. FIELDSTONE AT BASE. VERY FINE EXAMPLE OF EARLY 20TH CENTURY ROADSIDE ARCHITECTURE. M&C GAS STATION OWNED BY SUPERIOR BUSINESSMEN MAYERSAK & CISMOSKI. THIS BUILDING WAS BUILT IN 1928 AT A COST OF $4000.00. THE CONTRACTOR WAS MARTIN O. ANDERSON AND THE FIRST OCCUPANT (OWNER?) WAS RUDOLPH G. BERG, WHO RAN IT FROM 1928-1931. MAYERSAK & CISMOSKI OPERATED THE STATION FROM AT LEAST 1934 UNTIL 1995, WHEN THE BUILDING WAS PURCHASED BY UW-SUPERIOR. THE UW THEN MOVED THE BUILDING BACK TO THE REAR OF ITS SITE FROM ITS ORIGINAL POSITION AND REMODELED IT. |
|---|---|
| Bibliographic References: | CITY OF SUPERIOR ASSESSOR'S RECORDS. SUPERIOR DAILY TELEGRAM 5/4/1995. CITY OF SUPERIOR BUILDING PERMIT LEDGERS. SUPERIOR DAILY TELEGRAM: 3/24/1928, p. 5. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |