Property Record
1212 CASS ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Harriet and Philo M. Gelatt House |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 34787 |
| Location (Address): | 1212 CASS ST |
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| County: | La Crosse |
| City: | La Crosse |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1917 |
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| Additions: | C. 1928 1926 |
| Survey Date: | 1996 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Prairie School |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Otto Merman; Bentley |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Cass and King Street Residential Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 11/7/1997 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 4/22/1997 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | Not as tightly controlled as the earlier Prairie houses in La Crosse, the brick and frame two-story Gelatt House shows a more irregular plan with flanking wings. It is a two-story brick Prairie School house with short second story compressed between broad eaves of airplane style roof and extended lower brick story, roof projecting beyond chambered corner of east wing, projecting entrance bay with inset leaded glass entrance door, large front outside wall chimney, enclosed front hip roofed porch projecting from front facade that is also broken by vertical brick piers, leaded glass in geometric design windows, hip roofed rear wing, and in-ground swimming pool at rear. Designed in 1917 with exceptional leaded glass windows, the Philo Gelatt House is significant as one of the better examples of Prairie School architecture by Otto Merman in La Crosse in a more irregular design. Phil Gelatt was the owner of Northern Engraving and for a time the Moto-Meter Garage and Equipment Co. Auto Meter eventually became Auto-Life. Gelatt was one of the city's major industrialists. Merman also designed the swimming pool c.1928 and an addition in 1926. 1996- "Designed by Otto Merman in 1917 for industrialist Philo Gelatt, this La Crosse residence embodies the marked characteristics of the Prairie Style. Asymmetrical in plan, this two story house is constructed largely of brick and is topped by a low-pitch hip roof with broad overhanging eaves. The east end terminates in a polygonal bay with brick piers, while a one story, hip roof wing extends from each of the north and south walls. Horizontal lines delineate all facades with the aid of contrasting wood trim and horizontal bands of windows with continuous masonry sills; furthermore, there is a broad, flat chimney with a masonry cap. A slightly projecting entrance features geometric-design, tall casement windows and door--hallmarks of the Wrightian-derived style. Located on the grounds are an in-ground swimming pool and a garage/garden house structure." - "La Crosse North/South Transportation Corridor", WisDOT ID #5991-04-00, Prepared by Heritage Research, Ltd. (1996). |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) Tax Records, City of La Crosse, 1915-1918. (B) Blueprint 251 Commission List, P. Nelson and Co., La Crosse and ARC Murphy Library, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. (C) Dr. Les Crocker, "A Preliminary List of Buildings in the City of La Crosse with Significant Architectural Value," 1977. (D) Crocker, Leslie. Buildings of La Crosse through Time. La Crosse Public Library Archives Department: La Crosse, 2015. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |