203 Front Street | National or State Registers Record | Wisconsin Historical Society

National or State Registers Record

203 Front Street

National or State Register of Historic Places
203 Front Street | National or State Registers Record | Wisconsin Historical Society
NAMES
Historic Name:Fountain Inn
Reference Number:09000797
PROPERTY LOCATION
Location (Address):203 Front Street
County:Dodge
City/Village:Beaver Dam
Township:
SUMMARY
Fountain Inn
203 Front Street, Beaver Dam, Dodge County
Date of construction: 1911
Architects: Leiser & Holst

The Fountain Inn is a remarkably intact early twentieth century brewery-built tavern, located in downtown Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. It was built in 1911 for the J. Philip Binzel Brewing Co. of Beaver Dam. The building has been in continuous use as a tavern since 1911, except during Prohibition, when it remained open as a soft drink parlor. The Fountain Inn appears to have been designed and built together with the adjacent Masonic Temple, which was designed by the Milwaukee architectural firm of Leiser & Holst and constructed by D.B. Danielson, also of Milwaukee.

Although it is a modest two-story structure, the Fountain Inn is nicely detailed and possesses many elements that are typical of early twentieth century "Main Street" commercial architecture. The original storefront has a recessed entry and plate glass display windows. Extending over the door and windows is a transom of Luxfer prism glass tiles, which were popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century as a means of refracting light so it would reach farther into the interior of a building. The interior is also largely original, with an ornate oak bar made by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co., brick walls, and a ceramic tile floor. Like many other early twentieth century commercial buildings, the Fountain Inn has an apartment on the second floor. The building's flat roof is hidden behind a decorative roof of green ceramic tiles, with ornamental rafters and a copper gutter.

PROPERTY FEATURES
Period of Significance:1911
Area of Significance:Architecture
Applicable Criteria:Architecture/Engineering
Historic Use:Commerce/Trade: Restaurant
Architectural Style:Commercial Style
Resource Type:Building
Architect:Leiser and Holst
DESIGNATIONS
Historic Status:Listed in the National Register
Historic Status:Listed in the State Register
National Register Listing Date:09/30/2009
State Register Listing Date:01/16/2009
NUMBER OF RESOURCES WITHIN PROPERTY
Number of Contributing Buildings:1
Number of Contributing Sites:0
Number of Contributing Structures:0
Number of Contributing Objects:0
Number of Non-Contributing Sites:0
Number of Non-Contributing Structures:0
Number of Non-Contributing Objects:0
RECORD LOCATION
National Register and State Register of Historic Places, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin

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National Register of Historic Places Citation
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