Property Record
316 HART ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Beals-Pratt Shoe; Walter J. Booth Shoe; Mid-States |
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| Other Name: | MUSC [United States Chemical Corp] |
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| Reference Number: | 75883 |
| Location (Address): | 316 HART ST |
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| County: | Jefferson |
| City: | Watertown |
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| Year Built: | 1918 |
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| Additions: | C. 1955 |
| Survey Date: | 1986 |
| Historic Use: | industrial bldg/manufacturing facility |
| Architectural Style: | Astylistic Utilitarian Building |
| Structural System: | |
| 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: | Projecting one bay; one story arched entrance with stylized design pressed in concrete trim; original windows replaced and partially filled in; two story addition. This building was the second factory in the community for the Beals and Torrey Shoe company. In 1917 the Beals and Torrey Shoe Company changed its name to the Beals-Pratt Shoe Manufacturing Company. In 1918 this building was built to house the concern, which had outgrown its location at 100 W. Milwaukee St. In 1925 Walter J. Booth bought the company and changed the plan name to the Walter J. Booth Shoe Company. In 1936 the company merged with the Ideal Shoe Company and became the Mid-States Shoe Company. The shoe factory was in operation until recent years when the facility became a chemical company. This building has some historical interest as the second location of the Beals and Torrey Shoe Company in Watertown, however, because the original building has been shown to have more significance and less integrity loss (indeed, it has just been rehabilitated), this building does not meet the eligibility criteria for local history. One of the few historic industrial buildings remaining in the city of Watertown, the Beals and Torrey Shoe Company building is not architecturally significant because of a lack of architectural integrity. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) Katherine H. Rankin, "Beals and Torrey Shoe Company Builcing," National Register of Historic Places nomination form, 1984, on file at the Historic Preservation Office, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |