Property Record
101-115 S WASHINGTON ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Fox Theatre Building |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | IBA College of Cosmetology |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 37924 |
| Location (Address): | 101-115 S WASHINGTON ST |
|---|---|
| County: | Brown |
| City: | Green Bay |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
| Section: | |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1930 |
|---|---|
| Additions: | 2014 |
| Survey Date: | 19862017 |
| Historic Use: | large retail building |
| Architectural Style: | Art Deco |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Green Bay Downtown Historic District |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | 5/13/2019 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 2/16/2018 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | First floor display windows and entrance door are altered. There is a wide panelled metal freize above the first floor windows which has a denticulated moulding above it. The remaining facade is intact with fluted cast stone corner pilasters at either end of the facade echoed by the pilasters separating six Chicago style windows with transom lites above. All pilasters have decorated capitals and a wide cast stone stringcourse runs above them and has a chevron and ray pattern incised into it. A taller two-story-tall entrance pavillion centers the facade and has the same stringcourse design. Built by Dominick Hagerty. 2017-NRHP District Nomination In 1929, four buildings, including Fire Station No. 1 and several city offices, were cleared to make way for this building and the neighboring Fox Theatre (117 S. Washington). The Green Bay Building Corporation built the new buildings, and both buildings share the same color brick and matching green terra cotta blocks with sunburst motifs. Whereas the neighboring theatre building served as a motion picture palace, this building served as a commercial space. Occupants have included the Seville Café, The Blue Room (a Chinese restaurant at this location for over 30 years), and the Milwaukee Accredited School of Beauty Culture. This building was not included in the 2000 National Register nomination for the Fox Theatre. Nonetheless, in 2014 this building became “Backstage at the Meyer”, with banquet space on the first floor and office space above. As constructed, this building had a symmetric façade, with central entrance flanked by three bays to either side. The entire central entrance façade is intact, but a fixed window has replaced the door as part of the recent rehabilitation work. The first-floor display windows have all been altered, most recently as part of the 2014 rehabilitation. Original, two-story, fluted, cast stone, corner pilasters are at either end of the façade, which are stylistically echoed in the second story where fluted pilasters separate each of the six window openings. All pilasters are topped by a green terra cotta block with an Art Deco motif. Above these blocks a band of green terra cotta blocks, with sunburst motifs, extends across the façade. This band is interrupted at the central entrance, where the band of sunburst motif blocks drops to the same height as the terra cotta pilaster tops. Second story fenestration and window sills are original, but the windows have all been replaced. As part of the 2014 rehabilitation, a new entrance was constructed at the corner of S. Washington and E. Walnut streets. This corner was once the site of the Royal Theater, which burned in 1920 and was replaced with the Strand Theater (103-105 S. Washington). The new, two-story construction echoes the design of the 1930 Fox Theatre Building, with matching brick, fluted pilasters, and band of green sunburst blocks. The corner addition is separated from the older building by a two-story glass curtain wall which maintains the independence and visual symmetry of the old building façade. The north façade along E. Walnut Street continues the matching Art Deco style, but the entirety of this façade is new construction. Although the Fox Theatre Building has been altered and added to, the building maintains a good degree of integrity. Its original Art Deco style details clearly link this building to the neighboring NRHP-listed Fox (now Meyer) Theatre, both of which were constructed simultaneously and by the same owner. The alterations and addition maintain the Art Deco style while remaining identifiable as later work. Note - 2017 research did not find any association with Dominick Hagerty. |
|---|---|
| Bibliographic References: | (A) Brown County Tax Rolls. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |