| Additional Information: | Four story Neo-Classical building is of red brick with stone trim in the form of a pedimented entrance and decorative applied medallions; designed by H.W. Buemming. Huge modern addition on rear.
2020-2024 Targeted Resurvey of Sheboygan recommendation write-up:
This building consists of three periods of construction dating to 1912, 1961 and 2007. The original 1912, four-story, Neoclassical-style block is faced with brick and includes stone trim around the original S. 8th Street entrance, as well as along the top edge of the building. Each of the five bay divisions of the west-facing entrance elevation includes tripartite window groupings on each floor, less the central, modern glass entrance. “The C. Reiss Coal. Co.” is inscribed in the stone surround above the doorway. Extending from the rear of the building is a four-story addition that was completed in 1961. Originally aluminum and glass curtain wall construction, that wing was completed remodeled, both inside and out in 2007, for its conversion to condominiums.
The C. Reiss Coal Company was established in 1880 by German-born Clemens Reiss (1835-1892) and originally named Clemens Reiss and Company. Eight years later, it was incorporated as the C. Reiss Coal Company. The firm originally handled coal, salt, cement and wood. While sailing vessels brought the first cargo, it was later transported by modern steamships. The 1912 block of the subject building, designed by Milwaukee architect Herman Buemming, was erected at the same location where the previous offices had been destroyed by fire. As of 1953, the company handled approximately 3,000,000 tons of coal annually and maintained five docks in Wisconsin and two in Michigan. Retail yards were also found in those locations, in addition to St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. At that time, the company operations dealt strictly with anthracite and bituminous coal and the manufacture of Reiss briquets. By 1960, the firm was operating fourteen coal docks in nine different cities. In 1961, an addition was made to the rear (east side) of the original block. Designed by W.C. Weeks, Inc., the addition was designed such that a new building of a similar design (to that of the 1961 addition) could, at some point, take place of the original 1912 block. In 1986, the company was purchased by Koch Industries, at which time the company employed about 200 persons, with thirty-seven in the Sheboygan office. Layoffs that same year cut that number to eighteen and, within a few years, operations were entirely shut down. Between 2005 and 2007, the entire building, less some first-floor office space, was converted for use as condominiums, which was completed by developer Tim Dixon and the architectural firm of Vetter Denk.
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| Bibliographic References: | LJM Architects, Inc. City of Sheboygan, Wisconsin: Architectural and Historical Intensive Survey Report. City of Sheboygan Historic Preservation Commission & Department of City Development; 2002, 2004 & 2006.
Citations for the 2020-2024 Targeted Resurvey of Sheboygan recommendation write-up:
“To Have Modern Offices,” The Sheboygan Press, 9 March 1912, 1; “C. Reiss Coal Co. Moves into New Building,” The Sheboygan Press, 25 January 1913, 1; “The C. Reiss Coal Co.,” The Sheboygan Press, 23 June 1919, 11; “C. Reiss Coal Co. – A Credit to Our Business Community,” The Sheboygan Press, 10 August 1953, 11; Chuck House, “C. Reiss Sold to Giant Firm,” The Sheboygan Press, 29 October 1986, 1; “C. Reiss Coal’s New Owners Cut 15 Jobs,” The Sheboygan Press, 18 December 1986, 1; “Condos Planned for Reiss Building,” The Sheboygan Press, 10 May 2005, 1. |
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