Property Record
438 W NATIONAL AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | WILLIAM RITMEIER BUILDING |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 41999 |
| Location (Address): | 438 W NATIONAL AVE |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Milwaukee |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1877 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 19881973 |
| Historic Use: | retail building |
| Architectural Style: | Italianate |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Walker's Point Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 12/19/1978 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | SEE WALKER'S POINT FILE. 1973: "This building was erected for William Ritmeier, a respected pharmacist, appointed by the mayor to the Examining Board of Pharmaceutists in 1876 to serve a two year term. It is one of the older commercial buildings in the area of South Fifth and West National--a commercial district for 100 years. The building presently serves its original purpose--that of a drug store. Alterations and Additions (as of 1973): Permit No. 6558, July 10, 1907, records redoing the store front according to ordinance of the common council passed June 10, 1907, by Charles Lesser for $3,000. The interior of the drugstore has been updated throughout. No permits exist for these alterations." A Guide to Historic Walker's Point, 1978: "William Ritmeier was a respected pharmacist and served on the Examining Board of Pharmaceutists in 1876 and 1877. An Otto C. Uehling design erected in 1905, the present building once housed the Ritmeier Remedy Company. His daughters inherited the property in 1912, and owned it until 1948 when they sold. This two-story brick building, with mansard roof, quoins, and engaged colonettes between the windows of the oriels facing National Avenue, is a local version of the French Second Empire style." |
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| Bibliographic References: | INSCRIPTION. MILWAUKEE HISTORIC BUILDINGS TOUR: WALKER'S POINT (COMMERCIAL), CITY OF MILWAUKEE DEPARTMENT OF CITY DEVELOPMENT, 1994. Permit. Palmer, Virginia A. and Wietczykowski, Mary Ellen, Walker's Point: Two Walking tours, Milwaukee, 1972, 33. Peterson, Peg, "William Ritmeier Building", Walker's Point Preservation District Inventory prepared for Land Ethics, Inc., Milwaukee, 1970, and sources cited. Historic Walker's Point, Inc., A Guide to Historic Walker's Point, 1978. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |