Property Record
900 N 46TH ST
Architecture and History Inventory
Historic Name: | American Hair & Felt Company |
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Other Name: | Ozite |
Contributing: | |
Reference Number: | 117998 |
Location (Address): | 900 N 46TH ST |
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County: | Milwaukee |
City: | Milwaukee |
Township/Village: | |
Unincorporated Community: | |
Town: | |
Range: | |
Direction: | |
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Year Built: | 1910 |
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Additions: | |
Survey Date: | 19802012 |
Historic Use: | industrial building |
Architectural Style: | Astylistic Utilitarian Building |
Structural System: | |
Wall Material: | Brick |
Architect: | Unknown |
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: | Owner status; Graef, Anhalt, & Schloemer & Assoc., Inc. Although this building was likely built by the H. W. Johns-Manville Company, which owned and operated their plant immediately to the east, the American Hair & Felt Company appears to be the earliest occupant. The American Hair & Felt Company was founded in 1864 by a group of Chicago and Milwaukee tanners in an effort to find a practical use for cattle hair, a tanning industry by-product. A number of applications were found including as a lining for military uniforms; gun wadding for bullets; insulation in rail cars (prior to refrigeration); and as an underlayment for carpets. Indeed, the company possessed a number of patents issued under "felt manufacture," "ammunition," and "carpet cushion." Later changing its name to the Ozite Corporation, the company later pioneered the use of synthetic fibers. Although headquartered in Chicago, the American Hair & Felt Company utilized the subject building for the manufacture of their products into the 1970s. |
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Bibliographic References: | Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. |
Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |