Property Record
19-33 W MAIN ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | THE GRANGE STORE |
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| Other Name: | THE GRANGE SHOPPING CENTER |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 46949 |
| Location (Address): | 19-33 W MAIN ST |
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| County: | Rock |
| City: | Evansville |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
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| Year Built: | 1904 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2006 |
| Historic Use: | retail building |
| Architectural Style: | Neoclassical/Beaux Arts |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | WILLIAM B. MEGGOTT |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Evansville Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 11/16/1978 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | Builder was William Meggott. Historic district map lists address as 19-27 W. Main; list of properties within the district lists address as 21-33 W. Main. "As commodity prices dropped after the Civil War, farmers across the country felt the need to organize and pool their economic and political resources. The Grange, formally known as the Patrons of Husbandry, is a nationwide organization of farmers who joined together to buy and sell cooperatively for their mutual benefit. The Evansville Grange was organized in 1872, and opened a store on East Main Street in 1874. The Evansville Mercantile Association, the official name of The Grange Store , became the leading retail business in Evansville under the leadership of several shrewd and industrious managers. The "new" Grange Store opened in 1904 with 50,000 square feet of retail space, over 50 sales clerks, eight separate retail departments and a bank. In 1910, a local booster touted The Grange Store as the largest retail store under one roof in the state of Wisconsin outside of Milwaukee, quite an accomplishment for a city with a turn-or-the-century population of less than 2,000! The straightforward and largely unornamented Neoclassical style building is anchored by round bays at each end. The Neoclassical bays and central entry are decorated with cut stone cornices and entablature supported by fluted Ionic columns. The superintendent for the construction was popular local/builder William Meggott. The exterior remains mostly intact, and the interior space is currently used for retail sales, offices, and apartments. The Grange Store is the most architecturally and historically significant commercial building in Evensville." Evansville Historic Preservation Commission, Historic Evansville Walking Tour brochure, 2014. |
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| Bibliographic References: | EVANSVILLE REVIEW 6/28/1995. Historical and Architectural Walking Tour of Evansville's Historic District, Evansville Historic Preservation Commission, 1992. MONTGOMERY, RUTH ANN. GLIMPSES OF THE GROVE. EVANSVILLE: 1989, PP. 162-163. ADDRESS FILES. LEONARD P. EAGER LOCAL HISTORY ROOM, EAGER FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY. Evansville Historic Preservation Commission, Historic Evansville Walking Tour brochure, 2014. Evansville Historic Preservation Commission, Historic Evansville: A Walker's Guide, 2002. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |