| Additional Information: | The present day fire and police department on this lot was built sometime after World War II.
This building occupies the site of the former Sparta Armory building which opened on December 12, 1890. The Armory building was the home of VFW Post 2112, and was used by the community at large for parties, fund raising and service projects, such as the preparation of Christmas baskets for the needy. At other times, it was used for high school graduation ceremonies. It was razed sometime after World War II.
Because of the building's recent construction (post World War II) it is currently historically insignificant under Criterion A. The building also doe snot fall into the exception criteria for properties constructed during the 50 year non-historic period.
This contemporary styled building is comprised of a two-story section for police and fire department offices and a one-story garage section for the fire department vehicles. Constructed mainly of brick, this building also displays a two-story projecting bay covered by stone veneer at the front of the building. This public building also is characterized by rectangular windows on the west elevation, a canopy covered entrance into the projecting bay and three vehicle servcie doors on the facade of the one-story east section of the building.
Constructed in 1953, this building was built to house the fire and police departments, formerly housed in the city building on West Main street damaged by the 1943 flood and consequently demolished. It was designed by William H. Steinmann. The present building was constructed on the site of the historic Armory Hall designed by local architect Frank Foote and built at this location in 1890.
The Sparta Police and Fire Station does not meet the criteria of the NRHP because it is a contemporary design and less than 50 years of age. As a result, it does not contribute to the historic character of the proposed Water Street Historic District. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) City of Sparta, Commercial Development Office, Sparta, WI, files.
(B) Building plaque.
(C) Sanborn Insurance Maps 1884, 1889, 1894, 1900, 1911, 1922, 1931.
(D) City of Sparta Property Tax Rolls, 1870-1940.
(E) Jones, Ida Lucille, "A History of Sparta, Wisconsin." B.A. Thesis. University of Wisconsin, 1915, pp. 8, 11, 27.
(F) Sparta Centennial Celebration Committee, Sparta Incorporation City Centennial: 1883-1983 (1983), unpublished pamphlet, p. 28.
(G) Sparta Volunteer Fire Department, "Sparta Volunteer Fire Department Centennial, 1879-1979." Unpublished pamphlet, May 19, 1979, p. 34.
(H) Sparta Democrat Dec. 12, 1890. |
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