Property Record
2 TAYCO ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Carl Koch Block |
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| Other Name: | R & D Bar; vacant |
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| Reference Number: | 17150 |
| Location (Address): | 2 TAYCO ST |
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| County: | Winnebago |
| City: | Menasha |
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| Year Built: | 1882 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2009 |
| Historic Use: | large retail building |
| Architectural Style: | Italianate |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
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| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Koch, Carl, Block |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 7/10/1986 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| 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, Division of Historic Preservation-Public History. Carl Koch was a prominent merchant and citizen of Menasha. A native of Bavaria, he came to Menasha in 1855 and engaged in photography. Shortly thereafter he entered the dry goods and grocery business which would occupy him until his retirement fifty years later. Active in the government of Menasha, Koch remained one of its most popular citizens. Comprising of space for two stores on the first floor with a living area upstairs, the Koch Bloch, built in 1882 originally held a saloon and Koch's own dry goods store. Half of the upper floor housed the Koch family, the other side being leased to tenants. The Carl Koch Block is historically significant for its association with the development of the central business district. Constructed two years before the city's fire limits ordinance, the building was the first major commercial block in Menasha, preceding both Planner's Block (1884) and the Scott Block (1885). At the time its construction required the largest basement in Winnebago County, yet the completed building did not receive the accolades showered upon the later structures. Its location outside the commercial nucleus of Main and Mill Streets may account for the oversight, since rivalries between "Lower" and "Upper" Main Street were often voiced in the press. The construction of the Koch Block, followed in 1886 by the Menasha City Hall at 124 Main Street (NRHP 1984) helped to merge these two commercial districts into a single, less contentious, entity. The Carl Koch Block is a two story brick commercial building located in the industrial city of Menasha at the southern end of the central business district. Bordered by the Fox River Canal on the south, the Koch Block is situated on the northwest corner of Tayco and Water Streets. The plan configuration is rectangular, the roof is flat, the walls are yellow brick with a stretcher bond, and the foundations are random stone. The fenestration is restricted to the second floor on the east and south facades, where it consists of double hung, single paned sash. On the first floor the east facade includes two altered storefronts separated by a tower like pavilion which defines the entryway to the second floor. This pavilion incorporates two second floor windows with transoms and a limestpone tablet marked CARL KOCH 1882, above which was a Mansard cupola now gone. Decorative features on the second floor include a bracketed Mansard cornice, Ruskinian corbel table, springer belt course, and limestone keystones, springers, extrados and sill course. Decorative features on the first floor surround the storefronts and include a bracketed wood cornice and canopy over the second floor entrance. The first floor of the south facade has been painted white, while the rear facade has been stuccoed. The Carl Koch Block is of local architectural significance as an outstanding example of the late nineteenth century period of commercial construction. Richly ornamented with Queen Anne, SEcond Empire, and late Victorian Gothic features, the block is not associated with the work of any known architect. It nevertheless incorporates decorative elements in teh manner of Charles Hove, who designed various Menasha structures including the Menasha City Hall (NRHP 1984), the Scott Block (Upper Main Street Historic District, NRHP 1984), and Planner's Block (Upper Main Street Historic District, NRHP 1984)f. Reminiscent of the Scott Block in massing and rhythm, the Koch Block is an elegant structure which maintains its integrity of site and form. 2009--Since last surveyed in 1984, the only apparent change to the exterior is additional boarding over the storefront. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. Menasha Press; November 5, 1882, page 4. B. Island City Times; April 10, 1869, page 2.; Menasha Record; February 23, 1903, page 1. C. Menasha Press; October 5, 1882, page 4. D. Ibid.; April 9, 1884, page 1. E. Ibid.; June 29, 1882, page 1. Neenah Citizen 12/10/1999. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |