Property Record
802 6TH AVE E
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | A & W Root Beer Stand |
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| Other Name: | |
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| Reference Number: | 234471 |
| Location (Address): | 802 6TH AVE E |
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| County: | Dunn |
| City: | Menomonie |
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| Year Built: | 1946 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2017 |
| Historic Use: | restaurant/supper club |
| Architectural Style: | Other Vernacular |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Drop Siding |
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| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | 2017-2018 Survey Recommendation Write-Up: Covered with wooden shiplap siding, this simple frame structure--the core of which measures approximately 10 x 10 feet--is topped with a hipped roof. Multiple-light windows are located along the building’s north and west elevations under which a short counter extends. A shed roof extends from the east side of the building to shelter the east counter. Visible along the lower portion of the building are the painted words “A & W Root Beer” and “5” [cents]. Although secondary sources suggest a 1933 date of construction, the earliest evidence of the former A & W Root Beer Stand dates to 1947, when the local paper reported that the “A & W Root Beer Stand, Sixth Avenue East, has been reopened under new management,” thus suggesting that it was in existence at least the year previous. Despite the note about “new management,” neither the old nor new is mentioned by name. However, by 1951, the stand was operated by Mrs. Ethel Hart, the widow of Edward Hart who was the head of the fashion department at Montgomery Ward in Menomonie. In June 1956, the stand was sold to Roy and Linda Larson. A 1957 ad run by the Larsons cited the following food and prices: 10 oz. mug of root beer (5 cents); floats (20 cents and 30 cents); root beer cooler (25 cents); Bar B Q (25 cents); hot dogs (20 cents); Coney Island (25 cents); and hot beef (30 cents). In 1958-59, the Larsons sold the stand to Marshall Schaefer and it was known as Schaefer’s A & W Drive-In. At a later date, the A & W affiliation was dropped and it was known as Marshall’s Drive-In, even after it was sold by the Schaefer family. In 2004, the business was purchased by Tom Mauel, who operated it through 2011. Although it was open again in 2014 and 2015, it has since closed. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Citations for Recommendation Write-Up Below: "A & W Root Beer Stand Reopened,” The Dunn County News, 11 June 1947, 2/8; Advertisement (free A&W root beer), 16 May 1951, 6/7-8; “Mother of A&W Stand Owner Killed in Car Accident,” Dunn County News, 18 July 1956, 1/5; A & W Drive-In advertisement, Dunn County News, 19 June 1957, II-3/bottom. A review of the 1925 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, which is updated to 1941 does not depict any sort of structure at this location. Additionally, the Menomonie telephone books do not list the A & W Root Beer Stand in either the alphabetical name section or under restaurants until 1958. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |