Property Record
129 N MADISON ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Press-Gazette Plant |
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| Other Name: | Green Bay Press-Gazette Plant |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 31707 |
| Location (Address): | 129 N MADISON ST |
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| County: | Brown |
| City: | Green Bay |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1969 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 19852017 |
| Historic Use: | large office building |
| Architectural Style: | Contemporary |
| Structural System: | Unknown |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Berners, Schober, and Kilp |
| 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: | Loading dock on the east facing facade covered by a nearly full length metal canopy having a flat roof. Concrete faced pilasters. The printing plant is attached to the older building by a small two story tall rectilinear hyphen sided in glass curtain wall. #650: Green Bay Press-Gazette building at 435 E. Walnut Street, built in 1924 (84/14-15). 2017-NRHP District Nomination Berners, Schober, and Kilp designed this contemporary style building to house a larger printing plant for the Green Bay Press Gazette. The building is connected to the Press-Gazette Building at 435 E. Walnut Street via a two-story, rectilinear hyphen with glass curtain walls. The southeast corner of this building is situated very close to the northwest corner of the older Press-Gazette building, with the hyphen extending across much of the north façade of the older building and much of the south façade of this newer building. Despite this building’s contemporary style, several exterior elements complement the style of the earlier Press-Gazette Building at 435 E. Walnut. The exterior of this building is clad primarily in a cream brick in an American bond pattern that closely matches the brick used on the west façade of 435 E. Walnut. Where paneled pilasters were used to delineate bays at 435 E. Walnut, narrower limestone blocks are used here to much the same effect. A simple brick soldier course separates the first and second stories where decorative terra cotta panels were used on the older building. This soldier course is continuous except where it meets the limestone pilasters. A similar soldier course is also present at the foundation and at the top of the walls, just below a continuous limestone coping—the limestone pilasters similarly interrupt both. The north façade is divided into four bays by lime pilasters. The two eastern bays are entirely clad in brick, with a soldier course at the foundation, between the first and second story, and at the top just below a continuous band of sandstone coping. Two vertical columns of header bricks, just one brick in width, divide each bay (on both the north and west façades) into three sections, with the center section being wider than the outer two sections. A limestone block near the bottom corner is carved with the year of construction. The third bay is much the same as the two bays to the east, but there is a large opening in the center section of the first story extending from the soldier course at the foundation to the soldier course at the top of the first story. That opening has three vertical bands of aluminum-framed windows and louvers, consisting of a short rectangular pane at the base, a tall rectangular pane above that, a yet taller ventilation louver above, and a nearly square pane at the top. The fourth bay at the west side of the façade is wider than the other three. The center section has five vertical bands of windows in a single opening, also extending the full height of the first story. Each band matches those in the adjacent bay, but the louvers are replaced by an additional short rectangular pane with tall rectangular pane above. The second story here has windows above the outer bands of the first story windows, each band consisting of five panes (a tall central rectangular pane with a short rectangular pane above and below and a roughly square pane at the top and bottom) and extending from the soldier course below to the soldier course above. The second story window bands have a header course of bricks on either side, with the outer courses in-line with those that define the window opening in the first story below. The west façade abuts an alley, beyond which is the parking lot for City Hall. This façade is divided into six bays. The first bay, at the north end, and the fourth bay have no openings and match the appearance of those bays on the north façade that also have no openings. The central section of the second bay has two vertical window bands in the first story. The third bay has a large, single opening in the center of the first story that accommodates four vertical bands of aluminum-framed windows. The second story of this bay has two vertical bands of windows, each in-line with the outer band of widows in the first story below, and of the same arrangement as the second story windows on the north façade. The fifth bay has only two windows in the second story. The sixth bay at the south end of the façade matches the third bay. The east façade is set back from N. Madison street to accommodate vehicles loading and unloading newspapers and materials. A flat roof metal canopy above the first story extends nearly the full length of the façade and covers the loading docks. Limestone pilasters define only five bays on this façade. A pair of window bands are in the second story of the first bay, at the north end of the building, and in the second story of the third and fourth bays. The center section of the first story of the northern bay has three vertical bands of windows in a single, large opening, as well as a recessed entry, under the northern end of the canopy, at left. Continuing at the first story, the second bay has a concrete loading dock with stairs at left. A large cargo door is to the right of center, and a person door is at left, in-line with the stairs. Five small loading doors and two smaller loading windows are equally spaced across the three remaining bays, with a person door near the left end of the façade. A three-story brick chimney is at the southeast corner of the building, adjacent to the hyphen. From many of the adjacent sidewalks, this building appears to be two stories in height. There is, however, a third story portion that houses the building’s mechanical equipment. This third story is set back from the perimeter of the flat roof. The exterior is clad entirely in louvered metal panels. The Press-Gazette Plant building retains an exceptionally high degree of integrity and it is an excellent example of a contemporary style newspaper printing building. Massive printing press machinery still occupies most of the building’s interior floor space, but the presses are no longer in use. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. Cornerstone on building. B. Berner-Schober Assoc., Inc. Archives Stick No. 686A. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |