Property Record
403 3RD AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | First Congregational Church Parsonage |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 29226 |
| Location (Address): | 403 3RD AVE |
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| County: | Eau Claire |
| City: | Eau Claire |
| Township/Village: | |
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| Year Built: | 1915 |
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| Additions: | C. 1945 |
| Survey Date: | 1981 |
| Historic Use: | religious residence |
| Architectural Style: | Prairie School |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Stucco |
| Architect: | PURCELL AND ELMSLIE |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Randall Park Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 5/20/1983 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: | Multiple Resources of Eau Claire |
| Additional Information: | Designed by the Minneapolis architectural firm of Purcell and Elmslie, the parsonage of the First Congregationsl Church represents that firm's work in the area of small, inexpensive residences. The residence was altered in c. 1945 (a second gable was added), but the addition is sympathetic to the form of the original structure, thus the house is a pivotal structure within the district. In the design for the parsonage (the blueprints are available at the University of Minnesota's Northwest Architectural Archives in Minneapolis) a broad gable roof reaching out over the first story characteized the stucco dwelling. As quoted in Gebhard, Purcell said of this house, "we produced almost a classic type, within whose form the changes of building materials, surface treatment, and so on can be varied as it has always been done with the characteristic Colonial type." 2016- "This buliding was designed bu Purcell and Elmslie of Minneapolis, the most prolific architectural firm working in the tradition of Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie School. It is an example of that firm's work in the area of small and relatively inexpensive residences. Purcell and Elmslie designed numerous such homes in the newly developing middle class neighborhoos of southwestern Minneapolis in the decade before World War I, most notably the Purcell-Cutts House (1913). The widow of Peter Truax, an 1855 settler and lumberman, donated the land on which the parsonage was built. she and her husband had been active members of the First Congregational Church. The church no longer owns the residence. Its facade was significantly altered in the mid-twentieth century." -"Eau Claire Landmarks: Designated Historic Properties in Eau Claire, Wisconsin", Eau Claire Landmarks Commission, P.O. Box 5148, 2016. In the mid twentieth century a large gable roofed addition, inset within the main gable was constructed. This alteration which also affected the entrance area obscured the designer's original intention. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) The Path We Have Trod - pamphlet available at Chippewa Valley Museum. (B) Gebhard, D. 1957. "William Gray Purcell and George Grant Elmslie and the Early Progressive Movement in American Architecture from 1900-1920." PhD. University of Minnesota. (C) Interview with Marjorie Barnes, church historian. Eau Claire Landmarks booklet published by the Landmarks Commission in 2002. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |