Property Record
900 E CADY ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Pritzlaff |
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| Reference Number: | 75457 |
| Location (Address): | 900 E CADY ST |
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| County: | Jefferson |
| City: | Watertown |
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| Year Built: | 1865 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1986 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Italianate |
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| Wall Material: | Brick |
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| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | Built c. 1865 for the hardware store owner, Henry Pritzlaff, this gable roofed house features projecting wooden triangular pediment shaped window heads over long, narrow windows and a round arched window in the gable as well as wooden cornice that has cornice returns in the street facing gable end. A pedimented one-bay open porch over the off-set entrance is supported by capped brick piers. A roof dormer and short gabled extension at the rear of the west elevation further characterize the house. The Henry Pritzlaff house is significant under criterion C as an example of brick vernacular architecture influenced by the Greek Revival as well as the Italianate style of architecture. Exhibiting the simple gabled form and the cornice and cornice returns of the Greek Revival, the Pritzlaff house also features the articulated window heads, the long, narrow windows and arched window associated with the Italianate style. This house is one of a few extant houses in the city exhibiting the influence of the Greek Revival style. The houses at 901 South 6th (40-16), 216-218 North Washington (55-26), 900 East Cady (50-16) and 614 Cleveland (21-6) are among the best examples of the Greek Revival influence. This was the long-time home of Henry Pritzlaff, a merchant and grain dealer. He lived here between the 1860s and around 1887. His son William G. Pritzlaff, a hardware merchant lived here between c. 1887 and c. 1914. Henry Pritzlaff was a German immigrant who came to Milwaukee in 1856 where he was a hardware merchant. In 1864 he came to Watertown and operated a hardware store as well. In 1878 he began a grain dealership and his son William joined him in this business until 1899. In that year, William purchased a hardware business and operated it until at least 1930. This house is significant for local history under National Register criterion B because it is associated with both Henry and William G. Pritzlaff, significant persons in commercial history. Henry Pritzlaff contributed to the growth and development of commerce in Watertown with his business interests in both a hardware store anda grain dealership. He was affiliated with the Watertown Grain Company, a grain dealership which lasted well into the twentieth century. William G. Pritzlaff contributed to the growth and development of commerce with his retail hardware store, which was a long-time and successful business. Because of their important commercial activities, both the Pritzlaffs are significant for local history. Their businesses were located in the downtown commercial district, but their long association with this house makes it significant for local history. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) Watertown City Directories, 1866-1930, Watertown, Wisconsin Public Library. (B) John H. Ott, Ed., Jefferson County Wisconsin and Its People, Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1917, pp. 156-157. (C) C.W. Butterfield, The History of Jefferson County, Wisconsin, Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1879, p. 621. (D) Evelyn Ruddick Rose, Our Heritage of Homes (Watertown Historical Society, 1980), pp. 52. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |