Property Record
315 ARNDT ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | J DUNCAN'S MACHINE WORKS |
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| Other Name: | GREEN BAY FOUNDRY AND MACHINE WORKS |
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| Reference Number: | 1926 |
| Location (Address): | 315 ARNDT ST |
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| County: | Brown |
| City: | Green Bay |
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| Year Built: | 1878 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 198520192021 |
| Historic Use: | industrial bldg/manufacturing facility |
| Architectural Style: | Astylistic Utilitarian Building |
| Structural System: | Unknown |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
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| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | Yes |
| Demolished Date: | 0 |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | Replaced by a parking lot. Photo code #2: 75BR-5/18. Photo code #3: BR-FRV 7/15-21 This early industrial building consists of a large, essentially rectangular machine shop building altered in plan to conform to the dictates of the surrounding streets with a slightly later foundry wing placed at right angles to the south side of the original building. All walls are brick resting on a cut stone plinth foundation which was stuccoed over at a later date. All windows in the original building are large, round-arched windows with 25/4 lights, some of which are original and some of which have been altered; windows in the foundry addition facing onto South Broadway are flat arched 24/4 lights. The South Broadway and Arndt Street facades are surmounted by a corbelled brick cornice having metal flashing installed over the top course of brick. The South Broadway and Arndt Street corner of the building is rounded with a terra cotta plaque installed below the cornice which reads "J. Duncan's Machine Works, 1878-1888." The Arndt Street facade has two segmental arch emtrance doors which flank a large round arch garage door. ARCHITECTURAL/ENGINEERING SIGNIFICANCE The J. Duncan Machine Works building is significant as one of Green Bay's extant industrial buildings and one of the very few still engaged in the same kind of manufacturing that it had traditionally been engaged in. The significance is enhanced by the near original condition of the building. HISTORY John Duncan was born in Scotland in 1826 and emigrated to this country in 1951. He lived in Milwaukee and Watertown, moving to Green Bay in 1868. While in Milwaukee, he operated a foundry and is rumored to have built the first steam locomotive in the state in 1853. He opened his machine shop in 1868 and built the oldest part of this building in 1878. Among other things, his machine shop built two steamboats. NAER INVENTORY (07/1979): The Geen Bay Foundry & Machine Works consists primarily of a one-story, irregular-shaped brick facility with gable and shed roofs, measuring approximately 230' x 140'. The floor in the portion of the building housing the machine shop is in-laid hardwood block; the remaining floor is brick. A small, one-story brick structure adjacent to the main facility, houses an electric motor service and sales shop. The cornerstone on this building notes the years "1878-1888" and the name "J. Duncan's Machine Works." The first reference to this facility among available City of Green Bay insurance maps is 1883. Although the shape and dimensions of the building on this map correspond to the current facility, the structure is listed as one-story frame. It is called the Howard Foundry & Machine works, J. Duncan, proprietor, and contains a machine shop and foundry. The next available insurance map, 1917 updated from 1907, also lists a one-story brick building, again with foundry and machine shop, indicating little change from 1907. A 1934 insurance map indictes a one-story brick addition to the south. Green Bay Foundry & Machine was incorporated in 1913, and initial officers were J.J. Arvey, H.L. Indra and I.E.P. Miller. In 1934 it employed 20 men, with a potential to employ up to 50. In 1924 Ray A. North bought the company and in time invented and patented the "North" rotary screen used principally in the pulp and paper industry but also in canning and meat packing to segregate and remove solid materials from liquid. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A.) Abrahams, Paul P., "Industrial Survey of Brown County, Industrial Sites, Historical Industrial Surveys". Unpublished manuscript on file, Historic Preservation Division, State Historical Society of Wisconsin. (B.) Sanborn-Perris Map Co., Inc. "Fire Insurance Map of Green Bay, Wisconsin". New York, 1957. (C.) Green Bay Gazette, January 9, 1907. (D.) Corner stone. (E.) "Iron Industry Is Important to Green Bay," GREEN BAY PRESS GAZETTE, July 18, 1934, Wisconsin Tercentennial Edition, p. 2, Industrial Section, col. 8. (F.) "North America Is Our Market Place," GREEN BAY PRESS GAZETTE, Aug. 3, 1957, Greater Green Bay Progress Edition, p. B 11. (G.) "Heavy Industries Here Are Fully Optimistic," GREEN BAY PRESS GAZETTE, Aug. 3, 1957, Greater Green Bay Progress Edition, p. B 4, col. 4. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |