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Property Record

205 W HIGHLAND AVE (ALSO 1044-1054 N 3RD ST)

Historic Name:
STEINMEYER BUILDING
Other Name:
Steinmeyer Building
Reference Number:
16160

Property Location

Location (Address) 205 W HIGHLAND AVE (ALSO 1044-1054 N 3RD ST)
County Milwaukee
City/Village Milwaukee
Township
Unincorporated community
Town
Range
Direction
Section
Quarter Section
Quarter Quarter Section

Property Features

Year Built 1893
Additions 1898
Survey Date 1995
Historic Use warehouse
Architectural Style Romanesque Revival
Structural System
Wall Material Brick
Architect Ferry & Clas
Other Buildings On Site
Demolished No
Demolished Date
Additional Comments 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, Division of Historic Preservation-Public History.

On the east side of the street, hulks the five-story red-brick Steinmeyer Building. This former grocery store and refrigerated warehouse exhibits the stripped-down round-arched style popular for late 1880s and early 1890s warehouses. Banded brickwork clads the first floor, and finishes with a corbeled brick cornice. Designed by Ferry and Clas in 1893 (with the two southernmost bays on Third Street added in 1898), the building marked the final phase of development along North Third Street. Grocery merchant William Steinmeyer was another of the German entrepreneurs whose business grew beyond the local neighborhood to serve the entire city. Established in 1865 as Bauer & Steinmeyer, this wholesale and retail grocery business became the largest in the city by 1892 and operated until 1940.

"From 1865, when the William Steinmeyer Company was founded, until the 1940's, Red Shield brand canned goods were a familiar sight on Milwaukee housewives' shelves. Just as familiar a sight on Milwaukee streets were the firm's delivery wagons. The company's transactions, large and small, were on a cash basis, and savings were passed on to customers. Steinmeyer's was the first local firm to install a cold-storage system so that it might offer fresh vegetables and fruits for Milwaukee dinner tables, in addition to staples, canned foods, fancy groceries, and condiments." Pagel, Mary Ellen & Virginia A Palmer, University Extension The University of Wisconsin, Guides to Historic Milwaukee: Kilbourntown Walking Tour, 1967.
Bibliographic References BUILT IN MILWAUKEE, LANDSCAPE RESEARCH, P. 82. Commercial File - William Steinmeyer Milwaukee of Today 1892, p. 95 Milwaukee Landmarks Form. MILWAUKEE HISTORIC BUILDINGS TOUR: KILBOURNTOWN, CITY OF MILWAUKEE DEPARTMENT OF CITY DEVELOPMENT, 1994. Milwaukee Sentinel, May 15, 1893. Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. Pagel, Mary Ellen & Virginia A Palmer, University Extension The University of Wisconsin, Guides to Historic Milwaukee: Kilbourntown Walking Tour, 1967.

National And State Register Of Historic Places Listings

National/State Register Listing Name Old World Third Street Historic District
National Register Listing Date Mar 19, 1987
State Register Listing Date Jan 01, 1989
Contributing Yes
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Attribution

For a credit line: Wisconsin Historical Society, Creator, Title, Unique Identifier. 

The Unique Identifier can be found at the top or bottom of the page for each item. The name of a downloaded file is NOT the unique identifier.

For bibliographic citations please consult the UW-Madison Libraries Citation Research Guide to ensure compliance with appropriate style guidelines.

 

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