Property Record
100 W WATER ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | FOX RIVER PAPER COMPANY OFFICE |
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| Other Name: | LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY ACADEMY OF MUSIC |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 38980 |
| Location (Address): | 100 W WATER ST |
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| County: | Outagamie |
| City: | Appleton |
| Township/Village: | |
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| Year Built: | 1942 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 200119922019 |
| Historic Use: | small office building |
| Architectural Style: | Art Deco |
| Structural System: | Concrete Beam |
| Wall Material: | Concrete |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | N |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
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| 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, State Historic Preservation Office. Fox River Valley Industrial Survey The Fox River Paper Company, the largest single paper manufacturer in Appleton in its time, occupied the north side of the Fox River with a complex of four mills: the Fox River Mill, Lincoln Mill, Ravine Mill, and Rag Mill, all constructed in the 1880s and 1890s and already listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The company continued to be successful well into the twentieth century, acquiring other paper mills and related industries in Appleton, and had over 400 employees by 1940. In 1942, the Fox River Paper Company constructed a small concrete Art Moderne office building, at 100 West Water Street, across the canal from their large complex of older paper mills. The mills on the north side of the river closed between 1948 and 1955, though the Fox River Paper Company continued after. Since the 1980s, the building has served as the Lawrence University Academy of Music, a non-profit organization affiliated with the university’s music department that encourages musical education for young people through classes and lessons. The Fox River Paper Company Office is significant under Criterion A: History in the area of Industry as a contributing resource to an expansion of the boundaries of the existing Fox River Paper Company Historic District to include this building. The building maintains its architectural integrity and contributes to the history of the mill through the mid-twentieth century. The period of significance of the existing district extends from 1883 to 1939 and would be extended to at least 1942 to include the office. The proposed district consists of the legal parcels associated with the contributing resources within the proposed district expansion adjacent to the existing historic district along Water Street. The proposed boundary expansion is clearly delineated on the accompanying district map and encloses an area of 1.25 acres in addition to the 5.92 acres of the existing listed historic district. The boundaries of the proposed district enclose all the areas historically associated with the district’s resources. The result is a cohesive district expansion that is limited to historic resources associated with the Fox River Paper Mill Company. |
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| Bibliographic References: |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |