Property Record
318 9TH AVE W
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Central Baking Company Building |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 368 |
| Location (Address): | 318 9TH AVE W |
|---|---|
| County: | Ashland |
| City: | Ashland |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
| Section: | |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1921 |
|---|---|
| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 19822016 |
| Historic Use: | small retail building |
| Architectural Style: | Commercial Vernacular |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | Simple long red brick commercial building with symmetrical facade that has central entry, a pair of 8/8 windows on either side of entry. Slightly angled parapet wall with cement coping stones framed by pilasters at end. Side was less well finished. Compare Dodd Gymnasium (18-33). 2017 survey information: This one-story, brick, light industrial building is comprised of a larger and taller block to the south and a one-story, flat-roof wing that extends to the north. Regarding the former, this block is framed by a pair of brick pilasters between which is a parapet front with stone coping. A central door is flanked to either side by two, eight-over-eight-light, double-hung sash windows that are set within a plain stone lintel and sill; modern signage above the door reads, Clark Transfer Lines.” Four small basement-level openings are located in line with each of the first-floor windows. A row of soldier brick runs above the first-floor fenestration, above which a stone inset identifies the building’s original function as the “Central Baking Co” and small, square stone accents embellish the central inset. Although now largely covered with full foliage, it is believed that the south elevation of this block continues to retain its original eight window openings, each with their multiple-light sash (as seen on the circa-1980s survey photo in WAHI). The one-story wing to the north features a central loading dock opening that is flanked to either side by a single, eight-light fixed window. The north side of the wing includes a few human-scale entry doors, as well as bays with overhead garage door openings at the rear. Built circa 1921, this brick building was erected by baker Hans Christiansen. Notably, a portion of the property upon which the current structure sits had been the location of a frame bakery building operated by Adolph Johnson, who was known as “the Ninth Avenue Baker.” Following Johnson’s departure from the city, that frame building would continue to host bakeries--including the Ashland Bakery, run by Carl Wiklund (as of 1913) and then later by baker Herman Westberg (in 1917). Also of note, there had previously been a bakery (at 214 7th Avenue West) called the “Central Bakery” which was run by Ole Wikstrand, who had previously worked for Adolph Johnson (in 1905). Although details of presumed business buyouts are not clear, what is clear is that Christiansen razed the frame structure, after which he built the subject building in circa 1921 and established the Central Baking Company. Hans Christiansen was born in Denmark and immigrated to the United States in 1910. As of 1917, he was working as a baker in Streator, Illinois. Although no census information could be found for him in 1920, Hans and his wife Fleure were renting a home on Beaser Avenue and had three small children as of 1930. City directories indicate that the bakery business continued into at least the mid-1950s, by which time it was run by solely by Fleure. The building is identified as vacant as of 1958. |
|---|---|
| Bibliographic References: | 2017 report citations for material below: Sanborn-Perris Fire Insurance Map of Ashland, Wis. (1895, 1901, 1909, 1923); Advertisement, “Adolph Johnson, The Ninth Avenue Baker,” The Ashland Daily Press, 16 December 1904; Commemorative Biographical Record of the Upper Lake Region (1905), 481; Ashland City Directory, 1901, 1913, 1918, 1922; William A. and Margaret Reinhardt to H. P. Christiansen, WD (Lot 12), 4 May 1921, 130/134, #67818. U.S. Federal Census, Population, 1910, 1930; Ashland City Directory, 1954, 1958, 1962. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |