| 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.
BUILT BETWEEN 1913 AND 1914, THIS CITY HALL STRUCTURE STANDS ON THE FORMER SITE OF THE ORIGINAL IOWA COUNTY COURTHOUSE, WHICH EXISTED FROM 1835 TO 1858, AND THE PREVIOUS CITY HALL, WHICH SURVIVED FROM 1858 TO 1913. ARCHITECTS CLAUDE AND STARK DESIGNED THE NEOCLASSICAL REVIVAL BUILDING, AND ED DONAHUE WAS IN CHARGE OF ITS CONSTRUCTION.
SOME OF THE STRUCTURE'S BUILDING MATERIALS INCLUDE: A CONCRETE BLOCK FOUNDATION, BRICK EXTERIOR WALLS, A CONCRETE TRIM, AND A FLAT ROOF. THE PLAN CONFIGURATION IS RECTANGULAR IS SHAPE. RESTING AT THE TOP OF THE THEATER SECTION IS A MASSIVE PEDIMENT; IT IS SUPPORTED BY TWO-STORY HIGH BRICK PIERS. The theater seats 400. ALSO RISING TWO STORIES ARE ROUND ARCHED WINDOW BAYS WITH BRICK SPANDRELS, WHICH ARE FOUND AT THE SECOND FLOOR LEVEL. A PROJECTING CENTRAL ENTRANCE IS DISTINGUISHED FURTHER BY A ROUND-ARCHED PORTAL. THIS STRUCTURE IS IN GOOD CONDITION.
THE HISTORIC NAMES OF THIS BUILDING ARE AS FOLLOWS: MINERAL PONT MUNICIPAL BUILDING; OPERA HOUSE AND LIBRARY. (SEE BIB. REF. A). FROM 1913 TO THE PRESENT DAY, THE STRUCTURE HAS FUNCTIONED AS A CITY HALL AND AS A LIBRARY. (SEE BIB. REF. A). John F. Kennedy visited the Opera House in 1960 while campaigning for the presidency.
(NOTE: ACCORDING TO THE INTENSIVE SURVEY REPORT WHICH DESCRIBES THIS PROPERTY, THE ADDRESS OF THE BUILDING IS GIVEN AS 137 HIGH STREET).
THE BUILDING WAS LOCALLY DESIGNATED, BECOMING PART OF THE MINERAL POINT LANDMARK DISTRICT IN 1972.
2012- "Mineral Point was the county seat of Iowa County starting in 1829, when Michigan Territory was formed, through 1836, when Wisconsin Territory was formed, into 1848 when the State of Wisconsin was formed, and up until 1859 when a series of local elections moved the county seat, and therefore the courthouse, to Dodgeville. The elections, known as "the Count Seat Wars," were hotly contested and considered fraudulent. The actual building did not move, of course, its function simply changed to serving as city hall rather than courthouse. The building was also used as an opera house and was rented for concerts, theatrical exhibitions, and lectures for $10 a night.
By 1912, the community decided the old building was not adequate and it was demolished. It was replaced the following year by the building currently on this site which houses the municipal building, the opera house, the public library, and the Mineral Point archives. The Opera House portion of the building was extensively renovated in 2009 and the Public Library and Archives portion in 2012. John F. Kennedy visited the Opera House in 1960 while campaigning for the presidency."
-from "A Field Guide to Mineral Point" by Nancy Pfotenhauer of the Mineral Point Historical Society, 1st Edition, 2012, Little Creek Press. |
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| Bibliographic References: | “Architecture/History Survey: Reconstruct USH 151: Dodgeville To Belmont.” WHS project number 92-0510IA/LT. October 1993. Prepared by Great Lakes Archaeological Research Center (GLARC).
A. MINERAL POINT (WISCONSIN), CITY COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS, 1907-1915, MEETINGS OF 11 MARCH 1907, 6 NOVEMBER 1912, 18 NOVEMBER 1912, 10 FEBRUARY 1913, 4 MARCH 1913, 30 APRIL 1913, 6 MAY 1913, 18 MAY 1913, 21 JULY 1913, 5 AUGUST 1913, 27 OCTOBER 1913, 26 NOVEMBER 1913, 22 JANUARY 1914, 13 FEBRUARY 1914, 4 NOVEMBER 1914, 5 JANUARY 1915, 9 FEBRUARY 1915 [COMPILED BY G. FIELDHOUSE AND REPORTED BY BERT BOHLIN, MINERAL POINT, WI]; SANBORN MAP, CITY OF MINERAL POINT, WI (NEW YORK: SANBORN MAP CO., 1915, 1929); GEORGE FIEDLER, "MINERAL PONT, A HISTORY," MINERAL POINT: MINERAL POINT HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 1962, 3RD ED., 1986), PP. 140-141.
B. MINERAL POINT (WISCONSIN) CITY COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS, 1907-1915, MEETING OF 21 JULY 1913.
C. MINERAL POINT (WISCONSIN), CITY COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS, 1907-1915, MEETINGS OF 30 APRIL 1913, 5 MAY 1913, 18 MAY 1913.
D. SEE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL 6/13/93.
Take a Walk on Main Street: Historic Walking Tours in Wisconsin's Main Street Communities, Wisconsin Main Street Program, 1998.
Mineral Point Democrat Tribune 5/6/1999.
Mineral Point Democrat Tribune 6/24/1999.
Historic Mineral Point Architectural Walking Tour brochure, 2000.
Wisconsin State Journal, 12/6/2009, p. D1.
Wisconsin State Journal, 4/25/2010, p. C1.
From Mining to Farm Fields to Ethnic Communities: Buildings and Landscapes of Southwestern Wisconsin.
Ed. Anna Vemer Andrzejewski , Arnold R. Alanen and Sarah Fayen Scarlett for “Nature + City: Vernacular Buildings and Landscapes of the Upper Midwest,” 2012 Meeting of the Vernacular Architecture Forum (VAF) in Madison, Wisconsin.
Mineral Point Chamber/Main Street & The Mineral Point Historical Society, Historic Mineral Point Architectural Walking Tours, not dated. |
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