Property Record
421-427 E MAIN ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Gregor Hanson Hotel |
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| Other Name: | 2nd Hand Shop |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 5893 |
| Location (Address): | 421-427 E MAIN ST |
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| County: | Dane |
| City: | Stoughton |
| Township/Village: | |
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| Year Built: | 1891 |
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| Additions: | C. 1926 |
| Survey Date: | 199020132019 |
| Historic Use: | hotel/motel |
| Architectural Style: | Commercial Vernacular |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Depot Hill Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 11/22/2021 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 11/22/2021 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | Formerly Marsala Italian Restaurant (until 2005). Architectural Description: The Hanson House/Grand Hotel is a two story commercial vernacular building with Italianate details. This imposing five bay, two story brick building anchors the west end of the industrial area of East Main Street. Shouldered segmental arch lintels cap the windows, which are also segmentally arched. A heavy brick denticulated and corbelled cornice breaks into a round arch in the center of the building. The first floor has been substantially altered. Various construction features of the former hotel building include a rectangular shaped plan configuration, a brick exterior, a brick trim, a flat roof, and a post 1926 addition or alteration. The building is in good condition. Architectural Significance: As a good example of a commercial vernacular hotel it helps define the variety of architectural styles found in the concentration of transportation/agri-industrial - related buildings on the east end of East Main Street. Historical Background: In October of 1891, the Stoughton Hub ran an article describing the Hanson House - a new hotel then being built by Gregor Hanson, brother of owner H. T. Hanson. [D,F]. It had a kitchen, bar-room, laundry and servants bedrooms in the basement, office, ladies' parlor and twelve bedrooms on the street level, and twenty-seven bedrooms on the second floor. [D]. In 1892, two story wood porches were located on the front and back of the brick building. [C]. In 1893 the name was changed to the Grand Hotel. [G]. The Diamond Laundry opened in the Grand Hotel in January of 1894. [H]. Carl Ellingson retired as proprietor of the hotel in February of 1901 and sold the property to Marshal and Bissell. [I]. By May of the same year, G. F. Carley pruchased the hotel. [J]. H. T. Hanson was the proprietor of the hotel in 1904. [B]. It was then leased to Samuel Peterson in September of 1906. [E]. Mrs. Julia Thomson ran the hotel in 1915 [A], and Mrs. Carl Bratvold ran it in 1928. [K]. Historical Significance: One of two originally in the immediate area (the Revere Hotel was across the street slightly to the east), this hotel building is indicative of the activity in Stoughton from the 1890s through the 1920s. August 2013: New shop windows and signage. August 2019: Appearance unchanged. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. "Farrell-McCoy Directory Co. Stoughton Directory 1915-1916." Rockford, Illinois: Rockford Printing Co., 1915. B. "G. R. Angell & Co.'s Directory of Dane County." G. R. Angell & Co., 1904. C. Sanborn-Perris Insurance Maps: 1884, 1887, 1889, 1892, 1904, 1912, 1926, 1926-43. D. "The Stoughton Hub." 9 October 1891. E. "The Stoughton Hub." 27 September 1906. F. "The Stoughton Courier." 22 May, 1891. G. "The Stoughton Courier." 2 June 1893. H. "The Stoughton Courier." 19 January 1894. I. "The Stoughton Courier." 22 February 1901. J. "The Stoughton Courier." 17 May 1901. K. "W. H. Lightfoot Co.'s Dane County, Wis., Directory 1928-29." Peoria, Illinois: W. H. Lightfoot Co., 1928. L. Rebecca Sample Bernstein for the City of Stoughton Landmarks Commission and Downtown Revitalization Association, Historic Main Street: An Architectural & Historical Guide to Downtown Stoughton, 1991. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |