| Additional Information: | The date 1887 is on the parapet of this Victorian brick building with decorative brickwork and a new front which is intended to harmonize with the style.
2020-2024 Targeted Resurvey of Sheboygan recommendation write-up:
This Italianate-influenced, late 19th century brick-constructed commercial building rises two stories and terminates with a bracketed wooden cornice and iron cresting. The central peaked section of the cornice includes building’s 1887 construction date set within decorative brickwork, below which are three, tall-and-narrow, double-hung sash windows. Additional decorative brickwork runs immediately beneath the cornice. The wood-and-glass storefront includes a central, double-door entry set beneath a transom, while a four-light display window is located to either side. The second floor carries three window openings, each with a segmental arch brick hood. A single one-over-one-light sash is set within each of the outer hoods, while a pair of tall-and-narrow sash windows is located at the center.
This commercial building was built in 1887 as the Edward F.W. Zimmermann Bookstore. Edward was born in 1853 in the Town of Wilson, Sheboygan County; he and his family moved to Sheboygan in 1862. After spending three years of study at the German Lutheran Seminary in Addison, Illinois with the intent of being a teacher, he then went to Milwaukee to learn the book-binding business. He opened his book, stationery, and book bindery business in 1873 (or 74); printing was added by 1910. In 1879, Edward married Lydia Freund; together they had five children. Lydia died in 1896 and the following year he married Emma Meier and they had three more children. Edward died in 1933 and the bookstore closed in 1937. Between the late 1930s and the mid-1970s, the first floor has been home to the following: Direct Credits Society, the Sheboygan Conservatory of Music, Sheboygan Coffee, Torke Coffee, a law office and Sheboygan’s Parking Utility and Public Assistance office. During that period, the original storefront was “modernized” and largely covered with brick, leaving only a narrow, horizontal strip of windows west of the door. In 1975, the Gottsacker Real Estate Company purchased the building and improved the storefront but it was not technically considered a restoration. In 1987, the building was listed as a county landmark. Actual building restoration occurred in 2002, when the building was converted for use as a restaurant, “Biro,” which remained there for a few short years. Today the building is home to interior design firm, Honey & Ace.
|
|---|
| 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:
“Edward F. Zimmermann is Called to Rest Wednesday,” The Sheboygan Press, 4 May 1933, 2;“1887 Downtown Building is Restored,” The Sheboygan Press, 29 September 1975, 17; “Flavor of 1887 is Restored,” The Milwaukee Journal, 22 February 1976, part 7, 2; Gottsacker Real Estate Co., Inc., advertisement, The Sheboygan Press, 1 August 1978, 10; “The Zimmermann Book Store,” Landmark designation information prepared by Sheboygan County Landmarks, Ltd., 1987, Pamphlet on file at the Sheboygan County Historical Research Center, Sheboygan Falls, WI; Kurt Rentmeester, “Realty Building to Become Upscale Restaurant, Tavern,” The Sheboygan Press, 22 March 2002, 3; Mary Ann Holley, “The Birth of Biro,” The Sheboygan Press, 12 December 2002, C1. |
|---|
