Property Record
9233 COTTAGE ROW
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Beechwood |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 48313 |
| Location (Address): | 9233 COTTAGE ROW |
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| County: | Door |
| City: | |
| Township/Village: | Gibraltar |
| Unincorporated Community: | Fish Creek |
| Town: | 31 |
| Range: | 27 |
| Direction: | E |
| Section: | 31 |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1916 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1992 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Colonial Revival/Georgian Revival |
| Structural System: | Unknown |
| Wall Material: | Clapboard |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| 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. #650: 35-21,22,24. Historical Background This summer residence was constructed in 1916 for William and Blanch Elliot. The Elliots were from St. Louis. Blanche Fischel (the grand daughter of William and Blanche) was a potter and had a studio on the property by the shore. The property was next owned by the Benoist family. It still remains in the family and is used by 25 individual branches of the family. Historical Significance As with the other summer residences on Cottage Row, this property represents the pattern of living of wealthy urban midwesterners seeking to escape the heat of the cities. Mothers and children would spend the entire summer in Fish Creek, while the fathers would visit as their business schedules would allow. In some cases, several generations and family branches would share the same house. Architectural Description Built in 1916, this summer residence has a number of stylistic influences on what is primarily a large utilitarian rustic box. Elements of the American Craftsman style are the exposed rafters, the rear (bluff side east) entrance bracket supports, and the use of clapboard and shingle siding, also considered a hold over from Queen Anne styling. The influence of the Colonial Revival appears in the eyebrow "dormers" with louvers, and in the multi-pane casement windows. The use of stonework on the front (bay side) steps and porch also have craftsman effect but primarily look like a resort-rustic construction popular at that time. Fenestration is irregular, consisting primarily of a variety of multi-pane casement windows. The hip roof is clad in asphalt, and the house rests on a stone foundation. Architectural Significance The home was only intended for summer use. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. Archibald Douglass Cottage Row Building List. B. Betsy Guenzel, Fish Creek, The Summertime, privately printed, 1991. C. Betsy Guenzel, September 2, 1992 interview with Rebecca Sample Bernstein, White Gull Inn, Fish Creek. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |