Property Record
28 W RIVER ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Chippewa Shoe Manufacturing Company |
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| Other Name: | |
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| Reference Number: | 3273 |
| Location (Address): | 28 W RIVER ST |
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| County: | Chippewa |
| City: | Chippewa Falls |
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| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1910 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1984 |
| Historic Use: | industrial building |
| Architectural Style: | Astylistic Utilitarian Building |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Chippewa Shoe Manufacturing Company |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 3/7/1994 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 7/30/1993 |
| 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, Division of Historic Preservation. Brick surface articulated by three bay recessed full length panels with corbeled trim with three windows in each story; small cornice with corbelled brick trim; altered and filled in first and second story windows and entrance; building in deteriorating condition. Showing the typical utilitarian tendency with only corbelled brick trimmed recessed panels and cornice for ornament, the Chippewa Shoe Manufacturing Company Building, architecturally, is important because it is the only architectural example of the shoe manufacturing industry in the early 20th century, is now in deteriorating condition and has suffered unsympathetic alteration of the lower windows. The Chippewa Shoe Manufacturing Company building at the corner of Bay and River Streets was constructed by Sam Synder for John Andrejeski and John Piotrowski in 1910.(G) The company, founded in 1901, was previously located on East Spring Street. For construction of the new factory, Andrejeski and Piotrowski purchased the River House property at Bay and River Streets from Thomas Allen for $3200 and the adjoining property on Bay Street, Meul Livery, from Peter Morey for $1800.(H) On the resulting 132 x 132 feet property the owners erected a 132 x 60 ft. four story, brick factory. (I) At its peak the factory produced 1500 pairs of shoes, including work shoes, sport shoes, and boots, and it employed more than 175 people. In 1974 the Chippewa Shoe Manufacturing Company moved its operation to a new factory in Chippewa Falls Industrial Park. (J) The Company ceased operations in March 1985. (K) The Chippewa Shoe Manufacturing factory is the only extant building of the early Chippewa Falls shoe manufacturing industry. In the early decades of the twentieth century as many as five different manufaturers of boots and shoes operated simultaneously in Chippewa Falls. These factories produced on of several "Made in Chippewa" items that were part of the city's efforts to diversify its industrial base, in the face of a declining lumber industry. |
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| Bibliographic References: | EAU CLAIRE LEADER TELEGRAM 9/14/94. A. Building Inscription, Chippewa County Past and Present, Vol. I (Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1919), p. 271. B. Daily Independent 11 August 1906. C. Chippewa County Past and Present, p. 271. D. Ibid. E. Ibid. F. Ibid., "Chippewa Falls Industrial Development Corporation," unpublished, (Chippewa Falls: Chippewa Falls Chamber of Commerce), p. 6. G. Daily Independent, 11 August 1906. H. Ibid. I. Chippewa County Past and Present, p. 271. J. Ibid., "Chippewa Falls Industrial Development Corporation," p. 6. K. "Cray Buys Chippewa Shoe," Chippewa Herald-Telegram, 5 March 1985. L. Chippewa County Wisconsin Past and Present, Vol. I (Chicago 1913), p. 271. Take a Walk on Main Street: Historic Walking Tours in Wisconsin's Main Street Communities, Wisconsin Main Street Program, 1998. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |