Property Record
8 N PROSPECT AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Ross W. Harris House |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 75641 |
| Location (Address): | 8 N PROSPECT AVE |
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| County: | Dane |
| City: | Madison |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
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| Year Built: | 1923 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1997 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | English Revival Styles |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Frank Riley |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | University Heights Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 12/17/1982 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | This two and one half story house has a gabled pavilion on the right portion of the main facade. The gable end and second floor are half timbered with stucco panel insets. The first floor is of brick with a polygonal bay with a copper hipped roof, three massive chimney blocks with large Tudor caps and chimney pots. A large, polygonal bay window with multi-paned casement windows is capped by a copper hipped roof on first floor main facade. All windows are of the casement variety, with multipanes, lead mullions and muntins. Second floor has corner groups of same. Twisted copper downspouts are also visible. Because of the size and quality of the Ross W. Harris House and because of its exacting historical accuracy of design, it is one of the very best Tudor Revival styled houses in Madison. Harris, a construction engineer, lived here from 1925-1939. The University Heights Historic District: A Walking Tour: "Although buildings designed in the Tudor revival style generally shared a vocabulary of architectural elements which had as their source the architecture of the Tudor period, few built in Madison would have looked at ease in sixteenth century England. One exception is this outstanding example designed by Frank Riley for consulting engineer Ross W. Harris and his wife. Riley's sophisticated historicism is clearly evident in this knowledgeable adaptation of lesser Tudor examples. By projecting the large gable roofed pavilion forward from the taller hip roofed main block and then partially siding it with good false half-timber work, Riley was able to suggest a building built over a period of time as was true of many original examples. In addition, Riley made extensive use of authentic Tudor design elements. Such features as the massive chimneys with their elaborate caps and chimney pots, the large bay windows, the multi-paned leaded casement windows used throughout, the twisted copper downspouts, and the elaborate entrance vestibule with its excellent and accurate stonework, all contribute to making this house one of the best, and certainly the most authentic, examples of its style in Madison." |
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| Bibliographic References: | City directories. Tax records. Building permit. Madison Landmarks Commission and the Regent Neighborhood Association, The University Heights Historic District: A Walking Tour, 1987. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |