Property Record
168 N PROSPECT AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | William D. Pence House |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 106554 |
| Location (Address): | 168 N PROSPECT AVE |
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| County: | Dane |
| City: | Madison |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1910 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1974 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | English Revival Styles |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Claude & Starck |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | University Heights Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 12/17/1982 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | William Pence was railway engineering professor. In 1909, local architects Claude and Starck designed the Pence House. Gabled wall dormers with false half-timbering, decorative brackets under the eaves and dormers, and stone quoins laid in alternating directions around the first-story windows suggest the medievalism that underlay the Neo-Tudor style. The ribbons of windows, the contrasting belt course between the stories, and the crisp details are signatures of the work of Claude and Starck, best known for their Prairie School designs. Faced with maintaining three full floors of living space plus a full attic and basement, more than one owner of this house has had occasion to regret the passing of a time when domestic help was commonplace. Many early residents of the Heights employed live-in domestic help who were often farm girls from the surrounding area. University of Wisconsin professor of railroad engineering William D. Pence and his wife employed two full-time maids in their new house as did their neighbors the Elys and the Buells among others. Later, this house was occupied by Theta Xi fraternity and in 1933 it was bought by Arlie W. Schorger and his wife. Schorger lived here until his death in 1972 and managed to combine several successful careers including those of inventor and businessman, nationally known University of Wisconsin professor of wildlife ecology, and prize-winning natural history author. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. Madison Landmarks Commission and the Regent Neighborhood Association, The University Heights Historic District: A Walking Tour, 1987. Madison Landmarks Commission, University Heights: A Walk Through A Turn of the Century Suburb, n.d. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |