Property Record
108-112 N ADAMS ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Wisconsin Telephone Company |
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| Other Name: | Associated Banc-Corp |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 29450 |
| Location (Address): | 108-112 N ADAMS ST |
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| County: | Brown |
| City: | Green Bay |
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| Year Built: | 1904 |
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| Additions: | 1922 |
| Survey Date: | 19862017 |
| Historic Use: | small office building |
| Architectural Style: | Commercial Vernacular |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
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| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Green Bay Downtown Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 5/13/2019 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 2/16/2018 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | 2017-NRHP District Nomination Built in 1904, this Romanesque-inspired building was purpose-built as the Wisconsin Telephone Company’s office and exchange and served in that capacity for well over four decades. The symmetric front façade is the product of an addition constructed in 1922. The portion of the building to the left (north) of the current central entrance previously stood alone with its own center entrance where this section’s center arched window currently sits. The main façade is executed in red brick, most of which is in an American bond pattern, with limestone details around the central entry, the central second story window above, at the base of the round arches at the first story windows, and near the foundation. The entry features a prominent round segmental arch with twenty-one carved, pointed quatrefoils above a panel of square limestone relief work. The door is recessed below this arch, with limestone quoin details at the inside and outside corners. To the right and left of the entry are three square windows, each below a semi-circular, four-pane fan transom window and round segmental brick arch. These windows, their brick sills, and the brick wall immediately below are recessed slightly from the remainder of the wall, while the outer portion of the arches protrude very slightly from the wall’s surface, as do decorative diagonal brick bands and small limestone polygons just below the arches to either side of each window. Above the central entrance arch is a pair of rectangular windows, each with a square window above, all of which is surrounded by a limestone casing, with molded limestone sill and lintel. Above this window the parapet features a field of header course brick, with a regular pattern of protruding bricks. A brick cornice separates the first and second stories to the left and right of the slightly recessed center section. This cornice serves as a continuous sill for a bank of five window openings immediately above, each with a rectangular window with smaller transom window. The windows are separated from one another with vertical bands of brick, and each window opening is topped by a flat brick lintel. The parapet above has a brick cornice with brick dentils, topped with limestone blocks. The north façade is clad entirely in a running bond pattern of brick, with no openings whatsoever. The south façade, which was added as part of the 1922 alterations, is finished in much the same way as the building’s front, with a center section of four arched windows in the first story, a cornice, five rectangular windows in the second story, brick dentils, and parapet. At the left and right ends of the south façade are solid vertical paneled brick walls, each with a rectangle of brick relief work with small limestone blocks at the corners. Major additions were constructed in 1912, 1922, 1931, and 1947; some of which are visible only from the alley and rear parking lots. These additions closely follow the style of the original portion of the building. The front façade is the product of a 1922 addition and executed to show no obvious evidence that the building was once significantly narrower. Rear additions are still easily recognizable due to differences in brick color and subtle differences in window surround details and wall textures. Original basement window openings have been bricked over and all original windows have been replaced, but the building’s front façade is otherwise unchanged from its early 20th century appearance. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) Green Bay Semi-Weekly Gazette. Green Bay, Wisconsin. 23 July 1904, page 5. (B) Green Bay Press-Gazette. Green Bay, Wisconsin. 27 Nov 1922, page 5. (C) Timothy Heggland et al., Green Bay Intensive Survey Final Report (Green Bay: Redevelopment Authority, 1988), 43. (D) Sanborn Fire Insurance Company, “Green Bay,” 1936 (with updates through 1968). |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |