Property Record
732 CHURCH ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Charles and Della Emerson House |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 81606 |
| Location (Address): | 732 CHURCH ST |
|---|---|
| County: | Rock |
| City: | Beloit |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
| Section: | |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1894 |
|---|---|
| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1981 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Queen Anne |
| Structural System: | Balloon Frame |
| Wall Material: | Clapboard |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Near East Side Historic District |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | 1/7/1983 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: | Multiple Resources of Beloit |
| 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, State Historic Preservation Office. With multiple projecting gables, intersecting volumes, and variegated siding, this house is an architecturally significant example of the Queen Anne residential style in Beloit. Rising two stories plus attic, the house is composed of a complex massing best seen, perhaps, on the main (east) facade where a gabled porch projects from a gabled bay which in turn overhangs the east wall, creating a succession of projecting and enlarged units. But if irregular massing and plan are hallmarks of the style, the frame house is most distinguished by its richly decorative use of siding. Although the clapboards and shingles are left unornamented, their texture and pattern endow the house with an understated elegance. Extremely narrow clapboards wrap around the first two stories (the clapboards on the second story being more narrow that that on the first) enveloping the house in a taut and smooth skin. The overhanging gables which dominate the house are covered in shingles with distinctive concentric bands forming a fan-like pattern in the gable peaks. The pedimented entry porch is also shingled and features an arcade of broad, low arches supported by squat columns in a manner reminiscent of the Romanesque Revival. Scalloped edges in the gables and slight returns provide further detail, but the house is essentially devoid of applied ornament, relying instead on massing and texture for its visual appeal. This house was built in 1894 and first owned by Charles and Della Emerson. Charles was the proprietor of Emerson's Drug Store in Beloit. |
|---|---|
| Bibliographic References: | (A) Beloit Tax Rolls, RCHS Archives. (B) City of Beloit Directories, 1894-1901. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |