Property Record
500 PUBLIC AVE & 419 PLEASANT ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | BELOIT WATER, GAS & ELECTRIC CO. |
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| Other Name: | WISCONSIN POWER & LIGHT CO. / BELOIT PROFESSIONAL BUILDING |
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| Reference Number: | 28478 |
| Location (Address): | 500 PUBLIC AVE & 419 PLEASANT ST |
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| County: | Rock |
| City: | Beloit |
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| Year Built: | 1923 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1980 |
| Historic Use: | large office building |
| Architectural Style: | Exotic Revivals |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Terra Cotta |
| Architect: | Krieg, Hetherington & Hetherington, Chicago |
| 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. Combining elements of the Classical Revival with those of the progressive Sullivanesque commercial style, the Wisconsin Power and Light building is a significant example of the most elaborate commercial architecture in Beloit. The three story building, faced with a coat of glazed terra cotta (in simulation of marble) is crowned with an Egyptian styled cornice, and the piers and mullions are capped with Corinthian-like detail. But if the ornamental illusion is historical, the structural impressiveness of the building is not. Divided into seven structural bays across the north and south elevations, ad five across the east and west, the exterior is divided by the piers and mullions which rise from the top of the first story to the cornice, while the spandrel is recessed behind it. The facade is anchored by projecting pavilions and the central entry is articulated by a projecting pavilion as well. The effect is at once classical and modern, suggesting by physical structure as well as ornament a sense of stability and permanence. The Beloit Professional Building, long known as the Wisconsin Power & Light Company Building, was built in 1923 by the Beloit Water, Gas and Electric Company, a Wisconsin Power & Light predecessor company. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) Beloit Daily News 4/20/1994. (B) Blueprints (according to letter from Gordon A. Rice, Executive Management, Inc., July 2, 1976), RCHS Archives. (C) Beloit City Directories, 1919-1928. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |