Property Record
227-231 E WALNUT ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Schauer and Schumacher |
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| Other Name: | Schauer and Schumacher Furniture |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 36795 |
| Location (Address): | 227-231 E WALNUT ST |
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| County: | Brown |
| City: | Green Bay |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1902 |
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| Additions: | 1935 |
| Survey Date: | 19862017 |
| Historic Use: | retail building |
| Architectural Style: | Art Deco |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Robert Hoffman (builder) |
| 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: | A 'site file' titled "Schauer and Schumacher Furniture" 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-Public History. Fine, late Art Deco style building with all facades intact. The first floor is sided in cut stone and has a wide cut stone beltcourse above it which acts as a cornice. The first floor display windows are original and each has a small incised circular patera placed in the cut stone freize band above. The second floor of each of the two principal facades is divided into three rectilinear brick faced bays, each of which is framed in cut stone. The bottom of the frame is composed of the aforementioned beltcourse while the top is formed of a thinner cut stone beltcourse laid flush with the walls which also encircles the building. The end bays on each facade are equal in size and contain a large, tall polygonal oriel window in their centers. Each oriel window has a small incised decoration placed in the beltcourse just above it. These twin end bays flank a single large solid bay decorated with a raised network of brick which forms a lattice-like reticulated pattern. A painted concrete coping typical of Art Deco style buildings tops the brick parapet. There is a shorter and smaller two-story-tall wing on the north facade having small grouped first floor windows and a solid second floor which has a decorated brick facade. 2017-NRHP District Nomination An Art Deco façade was applied to what had been constructed as two separate buildings—one on the corner of E. Walnut and N. Adams at 231 E. Walnut, and the other at 227-229 E. Walnut. Sanborn maps show that 231 E. Walnut was built in 1894, and the remainder of the block was built between 1900 and 1907. Newspaper articles indicate that Robert Hoffman, owner of the corner building and the McGiveran building (225 E. Walnut), made plans for the construction of the infill in 1901. Schauer & Schumacher purchased the buildings in 1919 from Robert Hoffman for use as their furniture store, and remodeling plans at that time called for the tearing out of the wall between the 1894 corner portion and the c. 1902 infill portion. In February of 1935 Schauer & Schumacher set out to completely change the interior and exterior appearance of their furniture store at 227 E Walnut; the architectural firm of Foeller, Schober, and Berners did the design work. The exterior brick facing, cupolas, projections, and other ornamentation was all removed and the fenestration completely altered. The Mankato stone used on the new exterior echoed that used on the Northern Building located directly opposite N. Adams street (305. E. Walnut). The work was complete by mid-May of 1935. The building underwent another major remodeling in 1977 (this work by Bryant & Forney of San Francisco, interior designers), but this remodeling did not alter the exterior appearance of the building. Schauer & Schumacher furniture moved to a different site in 2001 and these buildings have remained largely vacant since that time. The interior of 227 E Walnut is almost entirely gutted. Except for the removal of signage, the exterior of the former Schauer & Schumacher furniture store remains identical to its 1935 appearance. The first story is clad in cut Mankato stone between large, original display windows, with a wide matching stone beltcourse above the windows that serves as a cornice. The beltcourse frieze features a single unique relief carving in an incised octagonal medallion above each bank of storefront windows. The second story is divided into three bays on each street-facing façade. The center bay is clad in brick, with a network of bricks set in relief that forms a diamond lattice, and is devoid of any openings. The side bays each contain a large, tall, polygonal oriel window consisting of 24 panes. The brickwork in the side bays is entirely flush, with no relief patterns. Each bay is framed in cut stone, with the wide beltcourse below and a narrow beltcourse above. An Art Deco cornice coping tops the brick parapet. A shorter two-story section is situated on the north end of the building facing N. Adams street. This portion of the building shares the upper portion of the first story stone beltcourse found on the main portion of the building, and the top of the façade is continuous with the second story beltcourse. The remained of this portion of the building is clad entirely in brick, primarily American bond except for decorative brick relief work. The first story has a rectangular band of four multi-pane windows that share a continuous brick sill. Above these are three individual windows comprised of several pressed glass blocks, some of which have raindrop-like patterns pressed into the glass. Each of these three windows has a brick sill. Immediately above the first story beltcourse is a large, central, rectangular panel of brick relief work, with an octagonal medallion centered above depicting a fountain. The brick relief work below this fountain, as well as the raindrops pressed in the glass blocks below, is an architectural allegory for a shower (or ‘Schauer’). Schauer & Schumacher furniture relocated in 2001. Although the exterior of 227 E. Walnut maintains a high degree of integrity, the interior has been gutted and is currently in a state of total disrepair. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) Brown County Tax Rolls. (B) Betsy Foley, ed., Green Bay: Gateway To the Great Waterway, Woodland Hills, CA, 1973, p. 142. (C) Green Bay Gazette. Green Bay, Wisconsin. 17 July 1901, page 5. (D) Green Bay Press Gazette. Green Bay, Wisconsin. 5 Nov 1919, page 12. (E) Timothy Heggland et al., Green Bay Intensive Survey Final Report (Green Bay: Redevelopment Authority, 1988), 187. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |