Property Record
615 MAIN ST W
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | UNITED STATES POST OFFICE, ASHLAND |
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| Other Name: | UNITED STATES POST OFFICE, ASHLAND |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 74433 |
| Location (Address): | 615 MAIN ST W |
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| County: | Ashland |
| City: | Ashland |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
| Section: | |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1939 |
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| Additions: | 1940 |
| Survey Date: | 1997 |
| Historic Use: | post office |
| Architectural Style: | Art/Streamline Moderne |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Cream Brick |
| Architect: | LOUIS A. SIMON; R. STANLEY-BROWN |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| 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-Public History. DESCRIPTION OF GENERAL AREA: THE ASHLAND POST OFFICE IS LOCATED AT THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF WEST MAIN STREET AND WEST SEVENTH AVENUE ON THE WEST END OF THE CITY'S CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRCT. ONE BLOCK TO THE NORTH IS FRONT STREET WHICH PARALELS THE SHORELINE OF LAKE SUPERIOR. TO THE IMMEDIATE WEST IS ASHLAND'S FORMER POST OFFICE, A SANDSTONE RICHARDSONIAN ROMANESQUE STYLE BUILDING. IT IS ONE OF 65 BUILDINGS COMPRISING THE WEST SECOND STREET HISTORIC DISTRICT, WHICH EXTENDS FOR SEVERAL BLOCKS TO THE EAST BUT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE 1940 POST OFFICE. ACROSS WEST MAIN STREET TO THE SOUTH ARE ONE- AND TWO-STORY COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS FROM THE LATE NINETEENTH AND EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURIES. GENERAL CONDITION OF PROPERTY: BOTH THE BUILDING AND THE SITE ARE WELL MAINTAINED AND IN GOOD CONDITION. THE POST OFFICE STANDS ON A SPACIOUS CORNER LOT. ROWS OF MEDIUM-SIZE SHRUBS GROW AT THE SOUTHWEST AND SOUTHEAST CORNERS OF THE LOT; GRASS SURROUNDS THE BUILDING ON BOTH SIDES AND IN THE FRONT. BEHIND THE POST OFFICE TO THE NORTH IS A PAVED PARKING LOT. THE EXTERIOR OF THE THREE-STORY OFFICE HAS NOT BEEN GREATLY ALTERED. IN 1975 THE ORIGINAL STONE PANELS UNDER THE THIRD STORY WINDOWS WERE REPLACED WITH METAL PANELS; AT THE SAME TIME NEW METAL GRILLES WERE INSTALLED JUST BELOW THE SECOND STORY WINDOWS. ON THE BACK OF THE BUILDING, THE MAILING PLATFORM WAS EXPANDED AND A ONE-STORY VEHICLE ENCLOSURE ADDED IN 1988. A FIRE ESCAPE WAS BUILT CA. 1986. OTHER ALTERATIONS INSIDE THE BUILDING HAVE RESULTED FROM EFFORTS TO MODERNIZE AND INCREASE EFFICIENCY. IN 1975 A NEW HEATING, VENTILATING, AND AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM WAS INSTALLED. A NEW SCREENLINE WITH A METAL ROLLING CURTAIN WAS BUILT IN 1989. FLUORESCENT LIGHTS REPLACED THE ORIGINAL LIGHTS AT AN UNDETERMINED DATE. DESCRIPTION OF BUILDING MATERIAL: THE FOUNDATION, WALLS, PIERS, AND FLOORS ARE CONSTRUCTED OF REINFORCED CONCRETE AND THERE IS A POLISED BLACK GRANITE SILL. EXTERIOR WALLS ARE COVERED WITH LIGHT TAN FACE BRICK LAID IN AMERICAN BOND WITH CONCAVE MORTAR JOINTS. LIGHT BUFF LIMESTONE IS USED IN THE WINDOW SILLS. THE PEDIMENTED ENTRANCE WITH HALF-ROUND DENTILS IS MADE OF POLISTED BLACK GRANITE AND FLANKED BY TW ALUMINUM LAMP BRACKETS. ABOVE THE ENTRANCE ARE ALUMINUM LETTERS PAINED BLACK: "UNITED STATES POST OFFICE." AT THE TOP OF THE THIRD FLOOR WINDOWS IS A ROWLOCK AND SOLDIER COURSE CORNICE. THERE IS A SERPENTINE COPING. THE FLAT ROOF IS COVERED WITH COMPOSITION. ON TOP OF THE ROOF IS A PENTHOUSE FOR THE ELEVATOR MACHINE ROOM. A BRICK CHIMNEY EXTENDS FROM THE NORTH WALL. MIDWEST CONTRACTING COMPANY, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA AND LAURENCE E. ALLISON, CONSTRUCTION ENGINEER, WERE THE ORIGINAL BUILDERS OF THIS POSTAL FACILITY. DURING THE DATES OF RENOVATION/RECONSTRUCTION IN 1975 AND 1988 THE ARCHITECT OR DESIGNER OF THE CHANGED AREA WAS AYERS ASSOCIATES OF EAU CLAIRE, WISCONSIN. THE PUBLIC LOBBY FEATURES A TERRAZZO FLOOR OF LIGHT BROWN AND GRAY COLORS WITH WIDE BUFF-COLORED STRIPES FORMING A RECTANGULAR PATTERN. THE BASE IS MADE OF "NEROBI" BLACK MARBLE, THE WAINSCOT OF "OZARK TAVERNELLE" MARBLE, AND THE UPPER WALLS ARE OF PLASTER PAINTED YELLOW-TAN. THE BARREL VAULTED CEILING HAS RIB-LIKE BANDS THAT FOLLOW THE PATTERN IN THE FLOOR. THE ORIGINAL BRONZE ROLLING CURTAIN AT THE PARCEL POST WINDOW IS INTACT, AS ARE THE BRASS LOCK BOXES AND FIVE-SIDED WOOD AND GLASS VESTIBULE. THE WORKROOM HAS A WOOD FLOOR, TONGUE AND GROOVE WAINSCOT, AND PLASTER WALLS. THE SECOND AND THIRD FLOORS HAVE TERRAZZO HALLWAYS, WALLS MADE OF PLASTER, AND ACOUSTICAL TILE CEILINGS. WOODEN DOORS LEAD INTO OFFICE WITH WOODEN BASES, CHAIR RAILS, PICTURE MOLDS, AND PLASTER WALLS. THE FIRST FLOOR PLAN CONSISTS OF A RECTANGULAR PUBLIC LOBBY WITH THE POSTMASTER'S OFFICE AND BATHROOM IN THE SOUTHEAST CORNER. THE SECOND FLOOR PLAN CONSISTS OF A HALLWAY FLANKED BY SEVEN OFFICES, TWO POSTAL INSPECTOR'S OFFICES, TWO BATHROOMS, A STORAGE ROOM, AND A COUSTDIAN'S ROOM. THE THIRD FLOOR PLAN HAS A HALLWAY WITH TEN OFFICES AND TWO BATHROOMS. THE BASEMENT FLOOR PLAN CONSISTS OF THE FUEL ROOM, BOILER ROOM, SEVEN STORAGE ROOMS, A CUSTODIAL LOCKER ROOM, ELEVATOR LOBBY, AND A SWING ROOM WITH BATHROOM. ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE: THE ASHLAND POST OFFICE IS A RATHER AUSTERE EXAMPLE OF "STARVED CLASSICISM" (ALSO REFERRED TO AS PWA MODERNE), A SIMPLIFIED CLASSICAL STYLE THAT BLENDS MODERN AND CLASSICAL ELEMENTS CHARACTERIZED BY SYMMETRICAL MASSING AND RELATIVELY PLAIN SURFACES. THESE CHARACTERISTICS ARE DISPLAYED IN THE SYMMETRICAL, SEVEN-BAY FACADE, FLAT WALL SURFACES, AND PEDIMENTED ENTRANCE. DESPITE THE AESTHETICALLY INTERESTING INTERIOR DETAILS, THE BUILDING WAS BUILT ACCORIDING TO STOCK U.S. TREASURY DEPARTMENT PLANS AND DOES NOT POSSESS DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OR DISPLAY HIGH ARTISTIC VALUES. IT DOES NOT PRESENT THE WORK OF A MASTER ARCHITECT. THE POST OFFICE IS NOT LOCATED WITHIN A NATIONAL REGISTER HISTORIC DISTRICT. HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE: WHILE THE ASHLAND, WISCONSIN POST OFFICE CONTRIBUTES TO A GENERAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE COMMUNITIY'S HISTORY DURING AND AFTER THE NEW DEAL ERA, THE BUILDING DOES NOT HAVE INHERENT HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE AT EITHER THE LOCAL, STATE, OR NATIONAL LEVEL. THE POST OFFICE IS NOT ASSOCIAED WITH LIVES OF PERSONS SIGNIFICANT TO THE NATION'S PAST. ALTHOUGH THE ASHLAND, WISCONSIN POST OFFICE HELPS TO PROVIDE A GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE AS IT RELATES TO THE CITY OF ASHLAND, IT DOES NOT POSSESS DISTINCTIVE HISTORICAL OR ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE TO WARRANT NOMINATION TO THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES. |
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| Bibliographic References: |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |