| Additional Information: | Details, such as the five bull's-eye rondels located above the first story fenestration are visible below the angled awning extending from the building's facade. Modest changes have included replacement windows and first story doors. A photograph of Wall Street from 1939 includes the building with a sign advertising "Tourists Office Shop."
Was Classy Crafters shop when last surveyed.
2024: Although initially constructed circa 1890, the building did not take on its current appearance until 1905, when Mart Hirzel had a cellar excavated, a stone foundation put in, brick was applied to the exterior and new plate-glass windows were installed. The application of its brick veneer rendered it as the first brick-clad building in Eagle River. Also of note, seven years earlier, Hirzel’s building was the first in town to have electric lights. Born in 1864 in New York, Hirzel came to Eagle River in 1885, making him one of the earlier settlers of the town. As of 1888, his primary occupation was as a wholesale and retail dealer of coal, wood, ice, lime, brick, etc., and he was also the local agent for the Pabst Brewing Company of Milwaukee. Hirzel owned the subject building, which included a saloon and café, until selling to the G. F. Sanborn Company in 1922. Although intended for office use on both floors, the first floor would, that same year, house A. J. De Noyer and J. W. Herreman’s Cash Market. Although Herreman exited the partnership the following year, the De Noyer grocery store would remain in the building until 1930. For the next twenty-two years, the Maheras family would operate The Tourist Coffee Shop in the building. Prior to moving to this building, they operated out of the Roderick Building at 121-123 South Railroad Street. The business would pass through two more owners but remain in the subject building until at least 1958, serving both tourists and locals. |
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| Bibliographic References: | “Architecture/History Survey: Replacement Of The Eagle River Bridge; USH 45, City Of Eagle River.” WHS project number 94-0099/VI. April 1999. Prepared by Joyce McKay.
Sanborn maps indicate that in 1894, the building served as a saloon, Sanborn Map Company, Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Eagle River, Wis. (New York: Sanborn Map Company, 1894, 1901, 1909). Although original ownership is unclear due to the unavailability of earlier tax rolls, the building is confirmed as owned by Max Sells in 1896 and its sale to Mart Hirzel is documented in the 1897 newspapers, Tax Rolls, Town of Eagle River, 1896, On file at the Vilas County Treasurer’s Office, Eagle River, WI; Book on file Newsbrief (re: Hirzel purchases Sells place), Eagle River Review, 29 April 1897, 1; Newsbrief (re: electric lights in Hirzel building), Eagle River Review, 9 December 1897, 1; “Mart Hirzel for Assembly,” Eagle River Review, 30 September 1904, 1; Newsbrief (re: work on Hirzel building), Eagle River Review, 7 July 1905, 1; Newsbrief (re: first brick veneer building), Eagle River Review, 22 September 1905, 1; Newsbrief (re: plate glass windows), Eagle River Review, 13 October 1905, 1; Newsbrief (re: Hirzel saloon and café), Eagle River Review, 24 April 1908, 8; “Hirzel’s Café Again Opened,” Eagle River Review, 23 June 1911, 1; Advertisement, Hirzel Café, Eagle River Review, 10 May 1912, 1; Newsbrief (re: Hirzel Building purchase), Eagle River Review, 5 December 1919, 1. Hirzel moved to Portland in 1918 and the building stood vacant for a year, “Buys Business Block,” Eagle River Review, 21 November 1919, 1; Commemorative Biographical Record of the Upper Wisconsin Counties of Waupaca, Portage, Wood, Marathon, Lincoln, Oneida, Vilas, Langlade and Shawano (Chicago: J.H. Beers, 1895), 179; “Open Grocery Store,” Eagle River Review, 11 August 1922, 1; “Time Exposure at Night—Not a Flashlight,” photo and caption The Cash Market storefront, The Vilas County News, 5 December 1923, 1; “Close Business,” The Rhinelander Daily News, 29 November 1929, 4; Newsbrief (re: Tourist Café), The Rhinelander Daily News, 3 December 1929, 3; “Open Restaurant,” The Rhinelander Daily News, 8 April 1930, 6; “Ted Maheras Dies Suddenly,” Vilas County News-Review, “Tourist Restaurant is Sold to Ingres,” Vilas County News-Review, 4 November 1958, 6. Census information indicates that Mart Hirzel’s full given first name was Martin. |
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