Property Record
120-126 W RIVER ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | |
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| Other Name: | Ottawa Hotel |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 3276 |
| Location (Address): | 120-126 W RIVER ST |
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| County: | Chippewa |
| City: | Chippewa Falls |
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| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1895 |
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| Additions: | C. 1900 |
| Survey Date: | 1984 |
| Historic Use: | hotel/motel |
| Architectural Style: | Second Empire |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| 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: | Shingled mansard with gabled roof dormers (now filled in); projecting metal cornice wth brick corbel band below; facade divided by brick pilasters; flat stone window lintels linked by stone belt courses. Stained glass second story windows; third story windows filled in; double store fronts framed by decorative iron columns has stained glass, recessed entrances, door to upper floors are filled in west store front; long one story addition on north side, formerly the hotel dining room; wooden section at the rear of the third story. Designed without the elaborate sculptural details of the Second Empire style, the red brick hotel has pedimented dormer windows in the straight sided mansard roof line. Flat white stone window heads linked by white stone belt courses i the manner associated with the Victorian constructional coloration give an eclectic appearance to this strudcture which exhibits the best cast iron store front remaining in the city and has retained its stained glass windows as well. Although hardly a grand structure, the Ottawa Hotel constructed in parts from 1895 to 1910 (B) is architecturally significant as the only extant example of a mansrd roofed commercial building in Chippewa Falls. That portion of the Ottawa Hotel located at 122 W. River Street was constructed by Moses Sarassin in 1895. Sarassin operated the Ottawa House, a boarding house/saloon, on the same site prior to erecting the hotel.(A) Between 1895 and 1903, probably 1901, the Ottawa Hotel was enlarged on both its east and west sides, making its address 120-124 W. River Street. The west side addition was a dining room (B) Although no further additions were made to the front; the present address is 120-126 W. River. Located across from the Wisconsin Central/Milwaukee Road depot, the Ottawa Hotel was a popular dining and lodging spot for travelers (C) By 1934, the Hotel name was changed to the Hotel Wisconsin. It is presently used for apartments. The Ottawa is an historically significant representative of an important sector of the 19th Century commercial development in Chippewa Falls' hotel services. Both as employers for city workers and as "attractions" to the city hotels, such as the Ottawa, were an integral part o the city's development. The Ottawa is the only extant hotel from its period which catered to "middle and upper class" clientele. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. Chippewa Times, 17 September 1895; Register of Deeds, Chippewa County (Chippewa Falls). B. Sanborn-Perris Insurance Map, City of Chippewa Falls, 18795, 1903. See also Tax Assesment Rolls, Chippewa Falls: Hobart Press, 1926), p. 38. See also Dolores A. Beaudette, The Flavor of the Times, Vol. 1 (Chippewa Falls), p. 354. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |