Property Record
770 MAIN ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Metropolitan Block |
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| Other Name: | LANDMARK CENTER |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 50997 |
| Location (Address): | 770 MAIN ST |
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| County: | Walworth |
| City: | Lake Geneva |
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| Year Built: | 1874 |
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| Additions: | 1986 |
| Survey Date: | 1985 |
| Historic Use: | large retail building |
| Architectural Style: | Italianate |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Cream Brick |
| Architect: | WLB Jenney |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Metropolitan Block |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 4/19/1990 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 2/20/1990 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| 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. Prominent Chicago architect William Jenney designed the Metropolitan Block with understated elegance. Jenney is best known for his innovative structural systems for tall buildings; indeed, some call him the "father of the American skyscraper." However, the Metropolitan Block predates that work and employs the then-common masonry load-bearing wall. He designed the building in a sophisticated variation on the Italianate theme, using cream brick. By wrapping the building in belt courses, Jenney divided it horizontally into four distinctive segments. Above the altered storefront level, windows are set into segmental-arched openings and linked together by brick string courses composed of dog-toothed soldiers. A wide, elaborate cornice at the third floor incorporates multiple layers of ornamental brickwork. The extremely tall windows on the second story flood the meeting hall inside with sunlight. Their height reflects Jenney's interest in maximizing natural lighting, which eventually led to his development of skeletal framing methods. This was also the site of Hotel Clair, Curtis Drug Store, Geneva Lake Herald, a public hall and a harness shop. - A Walking Tour of Olde Lake Geneva Towne, The Lake Geneva Plaque and Walking Tour Commission, 1993. |
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| Bibliographic References: | GENEVA LAKE HERALD 10/31/1874. JANESVILLE GAZETTE 1/24/1995. Interview with Alice Hackett, May 1985. Lundahl, Eva Seymour, "Main Street, Lake Geneva" 1976, p.29. A Walking Tour of Olde Lake Geneva Towne by the Lake Geneva Plaque and Walking Tour Commission, Spring 1993. Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. A Walking Tour of Lake Geneva, WI, Lake Geneva Historic Preservation Commission, 2015. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |