Property Record
401 E SOUTH ISLAND ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | VALLEY IRON WORKS COMPANY |
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| Other Name: | A.C. COMPRESSOR CORP. |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 29183 |
| Location (Address): | 401 E SOUTH ISLAND ST |
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| County: | Outagamie |
| City: | Appleton |
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| Year Built: | 1881 |
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| Additions: | 1893 1900 1934 1962 |
| Survey Date: | 19882019 |
| Historic Use: | industrial building |
| Architectural Style: | Astylistic Utilitarian Building |
| Structural System: | Concrete Beam |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | Y |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
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| Additional Information: | F IN THE PHOTO CODE STANDS FOR FOX CANAL SURVEY. FCS 8/32 - A-C - THIS FLAT-ROOFED, TWO-STORY INTERNATIONAL MODERN OFFICE BUILDING HAS A CEMENT FOUNDATION AND BRICK WALLS. A FLAT-CANOPIED GLASS DOOR APPROACHED BY A DOUBLE STAIRCASE IS SURMOUNTED BY A BAY OF GLASS BLOCK AND FLANKED BY BRICK WALLS AND BAYS OF TRIPLE CASEMENT WINDOWS VERTICALLY SEPARATED BY METAL-PANELLED SPANDRELS. A BAY OF DOUBLE CASEMENT WINDOWS EXTENDS AT THE RIGHT, WEST SIDE. A FLAG STANDARD MOUNTED BETWEEN THE GLASS BLOCKS AND THE UPPER RIGHT TRIPLE WINDOW EXTENDS ABOVE THE METAL-TRIMMED CORNICE. Fox River Valley Industrial Survey The Valley Iron Works was established in a small brick building along the Fox River south channel in Appleton in 1882. The company expanded in 1893 and again in 1900. The iron works designed and built large paper-making machinery, often supplying the local paper mills in Appleton. By 1940, when the company expanded again with a series of new masonry buildings, the Fox Valley Iron Works rivalled the Beloit Iron Works in producing paper-making machinery in Wisconsin. Allis-Chalmers, the Milwaukee-based machine manufacturer, purchased the foundry in 1959. The site was renovated in 1962 and renamed the Allis-Chalmers Appleton Works. Allis-Chalmers constructed paper milling equipment machines at this location until 1981, when the foundry closed. The iron works consists of a series of large two- and three-story concrete and brick production sheds with glass block windows and a smaller two-story brick office. The proposed South Island Industrial Historic District was identified for its prevalence of notable industrial buildings constructed between 1887 and 1940, having local significance under National Register Criterion C: Architecture and Criterion A: History in the area of Industry. The district is comprised of five contributing resources, one of which, the Appleton Woolen Mills, is already individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places. |
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| Bibliographic References: |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |