| Additional Information: | This office building was built for the Brandt Automatic Cashier Company, one of the most significant of all of Watertown's industries.
Edward J. Brandt was the son of a successful merchant who began his career in the Bank of watertown. He eventually became Cashier of this bank and in 1890 he purchased, with some partners, a company that manufactured electric and gas light fixtures. This was the Western Manufacturing Company, later the Brandt-Dent Company. While he was still at the bank, Brandt, an amateur inventor, came up with the idea of a mechanical coin dispenser. At the touch of one button, 1 to 99 cents would drop from the machine. He originally though it would be applicable to payroll making, at the time a tedious chore that involved preparing a pay envelope using coins. Brandt began manufacturing this machine in his light fixture factory. Eventually the Automatic Cashier machine became more significant than the ilght fixture factory and Brandt established a new factory for the cashier device next to Brandt-Dent.
During the twentieth century, Brandt's company continued to be successful as he branched out into new types of coin dispensing machines. In 1920 the offices of the company had to be moved to 104 W. Main St. because of a space shortage. In 1926 this building was constructed and the Brandt offices moved here. Brandt also kept a laboratory to work on new inventions in this building as well, even though his son-in-law had taken over as head of the company. A continued success, Brandt, Inc., as it came to be known moved into spacious, modern quarters on S. Twelfth St. in 1959 and moved their offices there as well.
This building is significant for local history under National Register criterion A because it is the only extant historic resource associated with the Brandt Automatic industries in the community in the twentieth century.
The Brandt Automatic Cashier device was an important invention that increased the efficiency of handling coin money dramatically. The original cashier device spawned other coin handling machines which have been improved and updated over the years and are still being used today. In its plant on S. First St. and more recently, in its plant on S. Twelfth St., Brandt, Inc. has been a stable employer and economic contributor to Watertown throughout the twentieth century. Unfortunately, the original plant no longer exists, as well as the Brandt-Dent Company, which was the first location the automatic cashier was made. Only this office building, constructed in 1926, exists as a reminder of Brandt's historic presence downtown. Because of the importance of the Brandt company on Watertown's industrial economy, this building is significant for local history.
Characterized by keystone accented blind arches with a tympanium of herringbone brick work over rather large rectangular windows, the cream brick Brandt Corporate office building is further characterized by a raised masonry round arched door surround with stylized keystone and voussoirs. Constructed in 1926 on a raised foundation, the Brandt building is divided horizontally by brick belt courses.
The Brandt Corporate Office building is significant under criterion C as an example of early 20th century Romanesque Revival architecture. One of the very few buildings associated with industry remaining in Watertown, the Brandt building exhibits stylized, round arch Romanesque Revival architectural characteristics in the scaled down manner typical of the early 20th century historic styles. Other good examples of industrial architecture influenced by historic styles in the early 20th century include the Van Camp CO. at 500 Milford (58-29), the Biefeld Building at 118 No. Water and the building at 1012 So. 3rd (60-7). Of these, the Brandt building is the only Romanesque Revival influenced building. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) Watertown Daily Times, Centennial Issue, July 1, 1936.
(B) Charles J. Wallman, Edward J. Brandt, Inventor, Watertown: Brandt, Inc., 1984, pp. 29-155. |
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