Property Record
N2435 STH 80
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | |
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| Other Name: | Valley Inn Motel |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 220310 |
| Location (Address): | N2435 STH 80 |
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| County: | Juneau |
| City: | Elroy |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1960 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 20112023 |
| Historic Use: | hotel/motel |
| Architectural Style: | Contemporary |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Concrete Block |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | Y |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | 2023: The Valley Inn Motel is a single story, L-Shaped, concrete block building. It sits on a concrete slab foundation. The exterior is clad with a combination of brick veneer and vinyl siding on the north and east facing facades. The west and south facing facades are painted concrete block. It is capped with an intersecting gable roof and clad with asphalt shingles. Ventilation pipes protrude from the overhangs on the south and west sides of the roof. The north and east facing facades feature the entrances to the motel rooms; the doors are set underneath the overhang of the roof and set between brick supports. Adjacent to each door is a sliding glass window. The west and south facing facades feature small sliding windows for each room. The hotel office is set under the intersection of the roof. It is accessed via a single door with a three light transom window to the left. The motel was built in 1950 by a local resident by the name of Arthur (Art) Overgaard and run by a Mr. and Mrs. Jack Weger and their son John. The finished motel was described to have “a modern, main building 34 by 90 feet a short distance from the highway, a restaurant with a seating capacity of 75 persons and a modern filling station and garage.” The hotel was originally names Art’s Hotel and was later changed to the Valley Inn by Mrs. Beth Pearce who managed the property from May 1, 1953 until February of 1965. Under Mrs. Pearce’s management the bar and dining room were remodeled (1957), twenty new hotel units were added (1960-1961) and a large banquet-dining room was added to the facility (1961). When Mrs. Pearce retired Harvey Leverenz took over management, having been the bar manager for several years. After many years it was eventually shut down and sat idle until the Fall of 2007 when it was purchased by a man by the name of Marty Koenecke and reopened in December of that year. The restaurant building was renovated first and then the motel in January of 2008. As of October 2023, the property is again on the market and vacant. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Bessert, Christopher J. “Highway 80.” Wisconsin Highways. October 21, 2016. https://www.wisconsinhighways.org/listings/WiscHwys80-89.html Bessert, Christopher J. “Highway 82.” Wisconsin Highways. October 21, 2016. https://www.wisconsinhighways.org/listings/WiscHwys80-89.html Chicago and North Western Railway Company. A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways. Chicago: Chicago and North Western Railway Company, 1908. Gruber, John. “Elroy Recalls: City Celebrates Centennial Dedicates Railroad Station.” Railway Gazette 18, no. 7-8 (July-August 1985). Lewis Publishing Company. Biographical History of La Crosse, Monroe and Juneau Counties, Wisconsin. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1892. New Past Press, Inc. Juneau County, The First Hundred Years. Friendship, WI: New Past Press, Inc., 1988. United State Census Bureau. “Compendium of the Tenth Census.” https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1880/1880-compendium/1880b_p1-04.pdf. United States Census Bureau. “Estimates of Population for the Several States and the District of Columbia for Counties and For Cities of Over 30,000.” https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1910/population-estimate-1917/13346688ch1.pdf. Wyatt, Barbara and State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Cultural Resource Management in Wisconsin: A Manual for Historic Properties. State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1986. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |