Property Record
181-183 N MILWAUKEE (A.K.A. 333 E CHICAGO ST)
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | A.W. Rich Shoe Co. |
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| Other Name: | T.H. Zeiger Co. |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 110760 |
| Location (Address): | 181-183 N MILWAUKEE (A.K.A. 333 E CHICAGO ST) |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Milwaukee |
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| Year Built: | 1900 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1984 |
| Historic Use: | industrial building |
| Architectural Style: | Commercial Vernacular |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Robert A. Messmer & Son |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Historic Third Ward District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 3/8/1984 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| 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, Division of Historic Preservation-Public History. MV in the photo codes is short for Menomonee Valley negatives. This five-story brown brick building is minimally detailed with red brick trim and pilasters. The first floor bays are boarded up, and the windows in the upper stories are paired in even rows of double-hung sash. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE: Established in 1886, the A. W. Rich Shoe Co. was an outgrowth of Rich & Silber, a wholesale dry goods firm started in 1867 by A. W. Rich. The firm soon had 175 employees who made "wigwam" slippers, along with "Rich's Rustic Oxfords." In 1889, a system of electrically-driven machinery was installed, doubling production and allowing for the manufacture of a more diverse line. Trade extended to all the leading cities from Maine to California." It closed in the financial panic of 1893, but had reopened within six years and was planning the construction of a new brick and stone factory at the corner of Milwaukee and Chicago Streets. An article in the "Milwaukee Journal" predicted that the new facility would be "one of the most complete as well as the neatest looking factory buildings in the city." By 1930, the business produced only ladies shoes and was known as the Rich-Vogel Shoe Co., but the factory was vacant by 1932. Four years later the Union Cooperative Shoe Co. occupied the building. From 1942, the building was used successively by two manufacturing firms for offices, storage and production. Five story brown brick with red brick trim, pilasters, first floor bays boarded up, even rows of double - hung windows, minimal detailing. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. Building permit. Historic Third Ward Historic Walking Tour, Historic Third Ward Association, 2009. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |