Property Record
122 S MAIN ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | PALACE SALOON |
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| Other Name: | THE MIDDLE BAR |
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| Reference Number: | 44317 |
| Location (Address): | 122 S MAIN ST |
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| County: | Grant |
| City: | Cuba City |
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| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1905 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 19762025 |
| Historic Use: | tavern/bar |
| Architectural Style: | Commercial Vernacular |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | ARCHITECTURAL STATEMENT: THE BRICK, EARLY 20TH CENTURY, TWO-STORY COMMERCIAL STRUCTURE HAS AN ELABORATE PROJECTING METAL CORNICE AND LARGE SEGMENTAL ARCHES OVER THE WINDOWS. LIGHT COLORED STONE STRING COURSES VISUALLY DEFINE THE WINDOW SIGMENT IN THE FACADE AND VISUALLY SEPARATES THE UPPER FACADE FROM THE STREET FACADE. CAST IRON COLUMNS FRAME THE RECESSED ENTRANCE. IT HAS BASEMENT WINDOWS, WHICH IS UNCOMMON IN SUCH A COMMERICAL BUILDING. THIS BUILDING IS IMPORTANT TO CUBA CITY BECAUSE THIS BUILDING IS ONE OF THE FEW COMMERCIAL STRUCTURES IN CUBA CITY TO RETAIN ITS ORIGINAL EARLY 20TH CENTURY CHARACTERISTICS. IT IS ONE OF TWO (GT. 22-14) BRICK COMMERICAL BUILDINGS BUILT IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY. HISTORICAL STATEMENT: THIS BUILDING, ORIGINALLY KNOWN AS THE PALACE SALOON, IS HISTORICALLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMMERICAL DEVELOPMENT OF CUBA CITY. HERMAN AND JOHN FIEDLER, BROTHERS, OPERATED A SALOON IN THE BUILDING FOR SEVERAL YEARS, BEGINNING IN 1908. IT WAS A POPULAR SPOT FOR SOCIALIZING. IT HAS REMAINED A POPULAR TAVERN AND GATHERING PLACE FOR SOCIALIZING. IN 1978, THE BUILDING BECAME KNOWN AS CASSIDY'S BAR. 2025: The two-story Palace Saloon, built in 1905, has a rectangular plan and the foundation is not visible. The exterior is clad in brick with decorative stone string courses. The flat roof has an ornamented stepped parapet, inscribed with its construction date of 1905, and “Fielder Bros,” which refers to the original saloon owners. The front (west) facade has a wood-paneled storefront with a recessed main entrance and a wood-panel door, flanked by cast iron columns. On the north side of the facade, a secondary entrance with a transom provides access to the second floor. A circular metal sign inscribed “Big R's Bar” is centered above a metal lintel that caps the first-story storefront. Second-story window openings have stone sills and stone-capped segmental arches. Windows are replacement metal fixed storefronts and replacement vinyl, one-over-one, hung sash units. Brothers Herman and John Fielder first owned Palace Saloon, which operated out of the building. It has continued to operate as a saloon and bar throughout the twentieth century and to the present day. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. SANBORN-PERRIS MAP OF CUBA CITY, 1900, 1908. B. CUBA CITY CENTENNIAL, 100 YEARS, 1875 TO 1975. P. 11. C. PHOTOGRAPH: IBID. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |