| 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.
#590. Concrete block front porch. Urns.
1984/86--Edward Schrage was a prominent house builder. Specializing in concrete block houses, he was responsible for the first of these built in Menasha. (Ralph Kirby House, 200 Prospect St.)(B,C) That residence and his own (805 Racine St.) are the only two houses of this type still standing in Menasha. Schrage simultaneously ran a coal and fuel yard on Racine Street, and later worked for International Wire Works.(D,E) His house on Racine Street was constructed in 1910.(E)
The Edward Schrage House is not associated with any significant individual or event.
The Edward Schrage House is located on one of the main corridors of traffic in Menasha. Situated on the northeast corner of Racine and Eighth Streets, the Schrage House is a two and one-half story American four square residence featuring an extensive front porch and a matching garage built of concrete block. The roof material is asphalt, and the siding and foundations are of concrete block. The irregular fenestration consists of various sizes of double-hung single pane sash windows. The hipped roof features four matching dormers. Concrete urns adorn the front porch.
The Edward Schrage House is architecturally significant as the most outstanding example of concrete block construction in Menasha. One of two of this rare style still extant, the Schrage House and garage retain integrity of site and form.
2009: There are no apparent exterior alterations to the home since last surveyed in the mid-1980s.
The following material is from the 2009 Intensive Survey of Menasha:
This two-story, American Foursquare residence sits atop a raised foundation and is constructed of both smooth and rock-faced concrete block. The pyramidal hipped roof, which carries four, hipped-roof, wooden shingle-sheathed dormers, features decorative wooden bracket trim along the overhanging eaves. The flat-roofed, open porch is supported by four groupings of three, short, concrete columns that rest atop concrete piers. A low, wooden railing runs in between the piers. Windows throughout the house are generally regularly placed and consist of one-over-one sash examples. A "matching" concrete block garage is located at the rear of the lot.
This house was built in 1910 by Edward Schrage, a local builder who, following a lumber shortage at the turn of the twentieth century, turned to concrete block as a construction material. In addition to, or in association with, his career as a home builder, he also ran a cement and fuel yard at 300 Racine Street. He would later be associated with the International Wire Works and, in the 1920 census, he is simply noted as a capitalist. Schrage was born in Wisconsin in August 1863. He married Mary Geiger on 7 October 1894 and together they had seven children. The Schrages remained in the house until 1939, after which it was sold to Kimberly-Clark machinist Herman Boree. Edward Schrage died in 1951. A very similar concrete block house (built 1909), likely also built by Schrage, is located at 304 Oak Street in Neenah.
2021: The Edward & Mary Schrage House was constructed in 1910 in an American Foursquare style. This 2-story building is rectangular in plan and is of concrete block construction utilizing multiple styles of block including rock-faced, smooth-faced, panel-faced, and broken-ashlar-faced. The contrast between these blocks is used to distinguish quoins at the corners and provides contrast between the first and second stories, the porch foundation and its supports. In addition, bands of contrasting block types distinguish the first story while the second story is comprised of smooth block. Concrete beltcourses are located above the basement level and above the first story; the second story beltcourse is comprised of ornamental cast concrete egg and dart molding. The house features an asphalt-shingled hipped roof with flared, overhanging eaves. Shaped modillions are located under the eaves. The front elevation faces west and is asymmetrical in composition due to uneven fenestration across the first story. A 1-story, flat-roofed porch spans the façade and is characterized by groupings of three concrete columns at the corners and on both sides of a projecting center that frames the front steps; these smooth, attenuated columns rest on rock-faced concrete piers. The front steps feature rock-faced concrete block knee walls on each side; these are capped by concrete urns. Porch railings are simple wood rails and balusters. Inside the porch is a large 1-over-1 window flanked by narrower 1-over-1 windows, a 3-sided bay containing the front door at its center and single-pane windows on each side, and a large, 3-pane window. The second story of the façade contains 1-over-1 windows at the outer ends and two small, single-pane, fixed-sash windows at the center. Hipped-roof dormers with flared eaves project from each roof slope; each of these contains a ribbon of four single-pane windows and is clad in wood shingle. Additional concrete decorative detailing consists of cast concrete keystones with botanical motifs above some doors and windows; freestanding cast concrete piers that features masks on each face and serve as supports for concrete urns; and fluted concrete columns supporting a smaller rear entry porch. See AHI# 243566 for associated garage. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) Menasha Record; January 19, 1907, page 1.
(B) Ibid.; November 21, 1908, page 1.
(C) Ibid.; April 2, 1910, page 1.
(D) Ibid.; January 14, 1917, page 4.
(E) 1910 Tax Roll, City of Menasha; page 14.
U.S. Census information, 1900-1930.
Neenah-Menasha City Directory, Various years reviewed between 1910 and 1942. |
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