For Immediate Release
Contact: Kara O’Keeffe
[email protected]
608-261-9596
May 10, 2018
The Vincent-McCall Company Building Listed in the National Register of Historic Places
Kenosha, Wis. - The Wisconsin Historical Society has announced the listing of the Vincent-McCall Company Building in Kenosha, Kenosha County, in the National Register of Historic Places. National Register designation provides access to certain benefits, including qualification for grants and for rehabilitation income tax credits, while it does not restrict private property owners in the use of their property.
The Vincent-McCall Company building, constructed in 1900 and expanded through 1945, was the main headquarters and primary manufacturing facility for the Vincent-McCall Company, a prominent local spring manufacturer and metal furniture products pioneer throughout much of the 20th century. The company’s sprawling factory exemplifies the growth of Kenosha’s industrial economy, particularly as it pertained to metal spring manufacturing and furniture supplies, during the first half of the 20th century.
After first venturing into production of finished metal furniture pieces during World War II, including steel berths and bunks used by officers and enlisted men of the armed forces, Vincent-McCall expanded its operations in the post-war period by providing mattresses and upholstered goods directly to consumers while also developing its own lines of lawn furniture, steel cots, couches, and mattresses, which were unique among Kenosha manufacturers. The Vincent-McCall Company closed in 1963 but this building continues to tell the history of our industrial past.
The register is the official national list of historic properties in America deemed worthy of preservation and is maintained by the National Park Service in the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Wisconsin Historical Society administers the program within Wisconsin. It includes sites, buildings, structures, objects and districts that are significant in national, state or local history, architecture, archaeology, engineering or culture.
To learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin, visitwww.wisconsinhistory.org.
About Wisconsin Historical Society
The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. For more information, visit www.wisconsinhistory.org.
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