Property Record
235 E PITTSBURGH ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. office building |
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| Other Name: | Trans Pac |
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| Reference Number: | 116220 |
| Location (Address): | 235 E PITTSBURGH ST |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Milwaukee |
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| Year Built: | 1922 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 198420162024 |
| Historic Use: | industrial building |
| Architectural Style: | Neoclassical/Beaux Arts |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Kirchoff and Rose |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | 2024: The five-story building was constructed in 1922 as part of the Pittsburgh Plate and Glass Co. The building is constructed of a reinforced concrete skeleton with brick curtain walls and a brick façade. The principal elevation (north) is arranged as a three-part commercial block into three distinct design zones corresponding to the ground floor, middle floors, and the top floor. The ground floor and top floor exhibit greater degrees of architectural embellishment indicative of the Neoclassical style. The primary entrance is offset to the west end of the ground floor and is set in a temple-inspired, stone door surround feature a dentil cornice entablature and Doric columns. Behind the columns, the entrance is in a Palladian inspired arrangement with a central entrance and round arch transom flanked by single rectangular windows. The height of the ground floor is defined by a stone belt course. The windows in the middle zone are evenly spaced and accentuated by flat arches except in the second and third story and stone lintels in the fourth story. The fifth story, the top zone, is defined by a stone course with attached balustrades below each window. The windows are set in stone casings and features blind, stone round arch transoms except in the outer bays the outer windows feature stone pediments. A modillion cornice defines the height of the fifth story below the brick parapet. The original windows have been replaced with one-over-one windows. The west elevation has been exposed following the demolition of the adjacent building at 231 E. Pittsburgh Avenue (116221). The five-story commercial building is associated with the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company. The building included storage in the basement, shipping on the first floor, offices on the second and fourth floors, and a cafeteria and laboratory on the fifth floor. --- ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE: Unusual early 20th Century factory building with some Colonial Revival decorative elements. 2016 - resurveyed, replacement windows. Five-story industrial loft with elaborate Neoclassical ornament on north facade and corners. A large modern addition extends at rear, and the property is now residential. |
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| Bibliographic References: | 1. Building Permit |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |