Property Record
9308 W NATIONAL AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Alexander Walczak Store |
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| Other Name: | |
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| Reference Number: | 229974 |
| Location (Address): | 9308 W NATIONAL AVE |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | West Allis |
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| Year Built: | 1956 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2015 |
| Historic Use: | small office building |
| Architectural Style: | Contemporary |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Ray Prell (designer) |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | See also #229973, as the two are physically connected. 2015 survey information: This property is comprised of a 1950 Cape Cod-style house (#229973) and an attached, 1956 store building (#229974). The one-story, side-gabled house is faced with brick and fronts S. 93rd Street. A gabled, open front porch with trellised wooden supports shelters the off-center entry. The gabled peaks of the home’s endwalls are sheathed with aluminum, as is the front-facing porch gable. Windows throughout the house are somewhat regularly placed and comprised of two-over-two-light, horizontal sash. A free-standing garage is located north of the house. The attached, flat-roofed small retail building, which is oriented to W. National Avenue, is Contemporary in style and is faced with both brick and stone veneer. The building’s northwest corner is anchored by a stone-veneered, angled wall that appears as a chimney and is immediately adjacent to a plate-glass display window that is fronted by a planter. The somewhat central doorway is topped with a transom and the stone-veneered, angled wall to the west includes three glass block inserts. Another plate-glass window is set within the brick wall space to the right (southeast) of the entry. The visible west wall of the office is sheathed with brick and includes three, small window openings towards the north end. Permits indicate that the house was built by carpenter Bernard Does at a cost of $8,500. Although Does built the home, he did not appear to reside there, as his residence is listed as elsewhere in the local directory. In 1956, the commercial building was constructed by Alexander Walczak who, by no later than that time, had purchased the home. Cost of the addition was estimated at $11,000 and the plans were executed by designer Ray Prell. Alexander and his wife Martha ran the Al-Mar Pet Shop until retiring in 1965; however, the pet shop business continues at this location today. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Original permit dated 18 April 1956. Cost: $11,000, cites Ray Prell as designer. 2015 survey citations: Original permit for 9300 W. National Avenue, 15 June 1950, owner Bernard Does (contractor), estimated cost, $8,500, this and all following permits located at the Office of Building Inspection, West Allis City Hall, West Allis, WI; Original permit for 9308 W. National Avenue, 18 April 1956, owner Alexander Walczak, estimated cost, $11,000, designer-Ray Prell; West Allis City Directory, 1962, 1968, 1975; “Pair for All Seasons,” The Milwaukee Journal, 17 October 1967 (includes reference to the Walczaks’ retirement in 1965). |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |