Property Record
407 LAKE AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Century Motor Co./Mitchell Motor Car Co. |
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| Other Name: | Renquist Associates, Inc. |
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| Reference Number: | 11017 |
| Location (Address): | 407 LAKE AVE |
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| County: | Racine |
| City: | Racine |
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| Year Built: | 1924 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1980 |
| Historic Use: | automobile showroom |
| Architectural Style: | Prairie School |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Cream Brick |
| Architect: | George Grant Elmslie-designed the terra cotta ornament |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | 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, State Historic Preservation Office. BRACKETED EAVES. 6/1 WINDOWS. DECORATIVE BRICKWORK AND TERRA COTTA TRIM. Built as the showrooms of the Century Motor Co., the city's Studebaker agency, and the Mitchell Motor Car Co. The Mitchell Motor Car Co., a local automobile manufacturer, grew out of the Mitchell-Lewis Wagon Works which was established in 1854. In 1902, Mitchell-Lewis introduced the first commercially made car in Racine. The Mitchell-Lewis Motor Car Co. was organized in 1903 and met with immediate sales success nationally and internationally. The wagon works and Mitchell-Lewis Motor Car Co. merged in 1910. It was Racine's largest employer in 1911 and employed 2000 men in 1916. The Mitrchell family sold their interests in 1917 and production was discontinued in 1922 when auto production shifted to Detroit. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Stone, Fanny S. Racine: Belle City of the Lakes and Racine County Wisconsin, vol. 1, Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1916, pp. 250-251. 1925 city directory. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |