Property Record
338 S Water St
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Zinn Malting Co. - Elevator A, B, and D Building |
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| Reference Number: | 116097 |
| Location (Address): | 338 S Water St |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Milwaukee |
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| Year Built: | 1937 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 197920162024 |
| Historic Use: | grain elevator |
| Architectural Style: | NA (unknown or not a building) |
| Structural System: | Reinforced Concrete |
| Wall Material: | Concrete |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | Y |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | 2024: DESCRIPTION Of the resources comprising the former Zinn Malting Co. complex, only the two grain elevator buildings (116097 – larger L-shape plan; 16541 – smaller square plan) and the office building across S. Water Street (16569) remain extant. The northern half of the complex was demolished circa 2000. The latter of the two grain elevator buildings (116097), housing Elevators A, B, and D, was constructed in 1937 on the footprint of the preceding wood-framed grain elevators of the Milwaukee-Western Malt Company. It is a multi-story, L-shape plan industrial building that is of reinforced concrete construction and wraps around southeast and northeast elevations of the accompanying Elevator C building (16451). There is an open corridor in the center of the first and second stories that is perpendicular to S. Water Street and in line with the open bay below Elevator C (16451) which provided access for train cars to be loaded from the grain bins above. On either side of the corridor, the building contains – or historically contained – rows of concrete grain tanks in the interior. Three penthouses are on the roof. There are numerous irregularly spaced and sized openings in Elevator D at the front of the building in the southwest (street-facing) and southeast elevations that have been boarded. SIGNIFICANCE By 1903, the brothers Albert and Adolf Zinn partnered with Charles Manegold Jr.to establish Milwaukee-Western Malt Co. The new maltster constructed its complex on either side of S. Water Street north of E. Florida Street. The office was on the west side (16569), and the malt house and grain elevators were constructed on the east side of the street along the bank of the Milwaukee River. The company was later renamed, Zinn Malting Co. and continued as such until 1955 when it was purchased by Kurth Malting Co. --- ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE: Good example of its building type. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The shipment and storing of grain was Milwaukee's first large-scale commercial activity. These grain elevators are on the site of grain elevators built by F. Kraus and Co. in 1883. (1). 2016 - resurveyed, appearance unchanged. Included with AHI 16451; elevators are sole remaining part of complex. |
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| Bibliographic References: | 1. Historical File Sanborn Map Company. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Milwaukee, Milwaukee County. New York: Sanborn Map Company, 1910 – Vol. 4, Revised 1951 Bobby Tanzilo, “Urban spelunking: Former Zinn/Kurth Malting silos site of future Harbor Yards,” 27 April 2020. https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/urban-spelunking-zinn-malting-silo |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |