Property Record
2907 COUNTY HIGHWAY K
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Michael Schmahl House |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 141524 |
| Location (Address): | 2907 COUNTY HIGHWAY K |
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| County: | Racine |
| City: | |
| Township/Village: | Raymond |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | 4 |
| Range: | 21 |
| Direction: | E |
| Section: | 25 |
| Quarter Section: | NE |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: | NE |
| Year Built: | 1949 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 20062017 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Ranch |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Stone Veneer |
| Architect: | Anton Kratochvil |
| 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: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. Round house topped with octagonal roof. Attached garage with an octagonal roof. Anton Kratochvil was a Racine builder who marketed round, oval and octagonal house plans in the 1940s and 1950s. Building model name was "The Schmahl." September 2006-Built in 1952, this unique round house is sheathed with an irregular stone veneer and is topped with a truncated octagonal roof covered with asphalt shingles and pierced by a stone chimney at its peak. The roof is underlined with a plain, board cornice. The wall of the house is pierced by a multi light door, picture windows and one over one, double hung sashes. A board sided, small breezeway with a multi light entrance and a stack of three awning windows connects the house to a square garage (with rounded corners) topped with a partial octagonal roof that features a wide projection over the main facade. The garage door is a modern paneled metal example. According to original plans, this house was designed by Anton Kratochvil and this particular model was known as "The Schmahl" after its first owner-Michael Schmahl. Kratochvil was a long time builder in Racine during the 1920s through the 1950s. Beginning in 1939, he marketed plans for a variety of unusual octagonal, round and oval houses as cost-efficient and spacious alternatives to traditional house designs. Plans were sold throughout the country and at least twelve of these unusual Kratochvil-designed buildings exist in the City of Racine. With regard to the house's ownership, Michael Schmahl was an employee of Wisconsin Power & Light and he lived in the house until it was sold to Mike Wickman in approximately 1970. In 1976, the property was purchased by Elizabeth Duggan, who later passed it on to her daughter Sheila Jorgenson. Jorgenson and her husband, Robert, currently maintain it as an investment property. May 2017: No significant changes have occurred to this property since it was determined eligible in February 2007. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Tax Assessor, Building Plans, Current Owner. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |