Property Record
514 Main St W (AKA 512-14 W 2ND ST)
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | DUFUR BLOCK (A) |
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| Other Name: | MODERN PORTRAIT STUDIO/LAW OFFICES/CERAMIC SHOP |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 910 |
| Location (Address): | 514 Main St W (AKA 512-14 W 2ND ST) |
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| County: | Ashland |
| City: | Ashland |
| Township/Village: | |
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| Year Built: | 1888 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1983 |
| Historic Use: | large retail building |
| Architectural Style: | Commercial Vernacular |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | West Second Street Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 2/2/1984 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | BRICK CORBEL TABLE,ALTERED WINDOWS AND FIRST STORYJOHN F DUFUR WAS A LAWYERONE OF THE EARLIEST BRICK STRUCTURES ON W SECOND STSEGMENTAL ARCHES ON SOME WINDOWS [Date Cnst:CA (A)] DESCRIPTION: Once the location of the Stock Exchange in Ashland, this site is now covered by the two-story brick commercial building known as the Dufur Block, built in ca. 1888. John F. Dufur was a lawyer, whose office was originally in the South Shores Block, now gone frm the 400 block of West Second Street. The Dufur Block first appears in the 1888 Ashland City Directory and by 1895 Dufur's law practice had merged wtih partners Albert Sanborn and David F. O'Keefe to become Sanborn, Dufur and O'Keefe. [16] The building still contains law offices today. Built of brick, this two story structure has first floor storefront alterations. Its second floor windows, once with relieving arches, have been filled with glass blocks. Nonetheless, its flat cornice and reticulated brick frieze are compatible with its neighbors, thus contributing to the architectural unity of the block. Like the Ashland National Bank, this was one oft he first brick buildings on the Wst 2nd Street. SIGNIFICANCE: Considered contributing because of alterations subsequent to its 1888 constructin, the Dufur Block is signifiacnt in the district as another example of simple Romanesque Revival style comercial architecture that blends well with its immediate neighbors to the west and with similar buildings in the district, such as the Leihy Bilding (#56 adn 56A). In the 1890's the law offices of Sanborn, Dufur and O'Keefe were located in this building named for one of the partners and today law offices are still maintained. |
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| Bibliographic References: | [A] NRHP NOMINATION FORM |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |