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Property Location
Property Features
"The Kaukauna Hardware Store building, located at the eastern end of the Second Street commercial district, was built in 1889 around two existing rectangular buildings. Pilasters separate the builing into four vertical divisions: The first and fourth have brick corbelling and round arched windows with semi-circular lintels; the second and third have semi-circular recessed arches and rectangular windows. Metal cresting (now removed) once joined the parapets (also removed) that flanked the east and west sides of the facade.
The interior consists of two large showromms with storage are to the rear. The eastern portion of the building has an intact stamped metal ceiling. There are several small apartments and offices with bullseye door and window moldings on the upper level.
Although the building has been denuded of its parapets and metal cresting, it is still one of the finest examples of comemrcial Romanesque Revival architecture in Kaukauna. Few commercial buildings in the City retain their original storefront or have an intact stamped metal ceiling." Walking Tour Through Old Kaukauna: Two Self-Guided Historic Tours Kaukauna, Wisconsin, City of Kaukauna, 1983.
This commercial building was erected by Julius Kuehn, Kaukauna's first blacksmith, who had come to south Kaukauna in 1881 and served two terms as Mayor of Kaukauna in 1900 and 1906 respectively. In 1911 it became the hardware store of Fred Merbach, who dealt in "general hardware, stoves, paints, oils, etc. general line of furniture, does undertaking" (D). It continues as a hardware store to the present.
National And State Register Of Historic Places Listings
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148-152 E. 2nd St.
84003761
Located in Kaukauna, Outagamie County
