Property Record
40 W REES ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | City Water Works Building |
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| Other Name: | |
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| Reference Number: | 55001 |
| Location (Address): | 40 W REES ST |
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| County: | Fond du Lac |
| City: | Fond du Lac |
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| Year Built: | 1885 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2010 |
| Historic Use: | water utility |
| Architectural Style: | Romanesque Revival |
| 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: | 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, Division of Historic Preservation. Photo code #2: 74FD-31/17,18. 1988: This building is one-and-one-half stories in height and has a steeply pitched intersecting gable roof. The brick exterior is decorated at the cornice level with brick corbelling. Round arched tripartite windows punctuate the gable ends. Other openings are round arches that are almost entirely enclosed. Entrances also have round arches and are likewise mostly enclosed. The round arches, simple version of the style. Even though openings have been largely enclosed, they are still evident and could be restored. This building was constructed in 1885 for the private company that developed the early waterworks system in Fond du Lac. After the turn of the century, the city purchased this private company and turned it into a city water utility. This building is historically significant as a good example of a nineteenth century utility building. Such buildings are not common, as old buildings of this nature are seen as obsolete and demolished or replaced. Also, this building is significant because it is one of the few extant historic local governmental buildings in the city. 2010-2011 Intensive Survey Report Info: This one-and-one-half-story, Romanesque Revival-style building is constructed of brick and topped with a steeply pitched roofline. Brick pilasters divide the structure into bays; those that do not carry round-arched doorways feature round-arched, multiple-light replacement windows. Lines of corbelled brick run along the upper edge of the wall connecting the pilasters. An 1898 photo of the structure indicates that a dormer once sat on the roof's ridgeline and an historic-era addition was made to the building in 1912. The original block of the Fond du Lac Water Works was completed in 1885 with the Holly System, the system of pressurized municipal water supply which was invented by Birdsill Holly (1820-1894). The Holly Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1859 and the first city to adopt the Holly System was Lockport, New York. This system was soon adopted by thousands of cities in the United States and in Europe. Incorporators of the Water Works included T.F. Flagler, H.H. Flagler, G.A. Gaskill and P.H. Lineen, all employees of the Holly Manufacturing Company. Talk of the city purchasing the water works from the private entity began in about April 1903. Between 1908 and 1915, an addition was made to the east end of the original block. The most recent updates to the structure date to 2005; however, the structure still houses the city water works system. However, the subject structure stands as a testament to the nineteenth century installation of a water works to the city. Although perhaps not quantified throughout the United States, this structure is likely one of the few remaining nineteenth century buildings to still house the water works and is identified as significant for its association with early municipal services. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. City Directories for the City of Fond du Lac, on file at the Fond du Lac Public Library, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. B. Sanborn Perris Maps for the City of Fond du Lac, on file in the Archives of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. c. Tax Rolls for the City of Fond du Lac, on file in the Area Research Center of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Library, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. D. Carol Cartwright, City of Fond du Lac Intensive Survey Report, Fond du Lac: City of Fond du Lac, 1992. Fond du Lac Reporter 5/10/2004. Fond du Lac Reporter 7/21/2005, p. A4. See 2010-2011 Intensive Survey Report for citations for 2010-2011 material below. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |