Property Record
MICHIGAN ST
Architecture and History Inventory
Historic Name: | Athletic field shelter house |
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Other Name: | |
Contributing: | |
Reference Number: | 117049 |
Location (Address): | MICHIGAN ST |
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County: | Waupaca |
City: | Waupaca |
Township/Village: | |
Unincorporated Community: | |
Town: | |
Range: | |
Direction: | |
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Quarter Section: | |
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Year Built: | 1940 |
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Additions: | |
Survey Date: | 1998 |
Historic Use: | recreational building/gymnasium |
Architectural Style: | Side Gabled |
Structural System: | |
Wall Material: | Rock-Faced Concrete Block |
Architect: | |
Other Buildings On Site: | |
Demolished?: | No |
Demolished Date: |
National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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National Register Listing Date: | |
State Register Listing Date: |
Additional Information: | The athletic field shelter house is a one-story utilitarian building with a gable roof and rusticated concrete block walls. The gables are trimmed with wood siding. Openings are small and are enclosed. The many entrances to the building are also enclosed. In 1939, the city purchased a large tract of land for an athletic field. In 1940, the city received a WPA grant to develop the field into a footfield field, baseball diamonds, and to build related structures. Among the structures was this shelter building used as a dressing room and storage. The purpose and development of the athletic field was a major step in the city providing recreational facilities for people in Waupaca. Prior to this time, even the high school football team did not have an adequate place to play games. The athletic field has been altered and improved over the years, but the shelter house remains relatively unchanged. It is also significant as a project of the WPA, one of the most successful of the work programs instituted during the Great Depression of the 1930s. WPA projects are important because they represent the increased role of the federal government in the twentieth century. |
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Bibliographic References: | "$6850 Athletic Project OK'D." Waupaca Post, 16 May 1940, p. 1. |
Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |