251 E MAIN ST | Property Record | Wisconsin Historical Society

Property Record

251 E MAIN ST

Architecture and History Inventory
251 E MAIN ST | Property Record | Wisconsin Historical Society
NAMES
Historic Name:Omro Woolen Mill
Other Name:Cottonwood Condos
Contributing:
Reference Number:46417
PROPERTY LOCATION
Location (Address):251 E MAIN ST
County:Winnebago
City:Omro
Township/Village:
Unincorporated Community:
Town:
Range:
Direction:
Section:
Quarter Section:
Quarter/Quarter Section:
PROPERTY FEATURES
Year Built:1874
Additions:
Survey Date:19902021
Historic Use:industrial bldg/manufacturing facility
Architectural Style:Italianate
Structural System:
Wall Material:Cream Brick
Architect:
Other Buildings On Site:
Demolished?:No
Demolished Date:
NATIONAL AND STATE REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
National/State Register Listing Name:Not listed
National Register Listing Date:
State Register Listing Date:
NOTES
Additional Information: F IN THE PHOTO CODES IS FOR FCS AND R IS FOR RED. ARCHITECTURAL/ENGINEERING SIGNIFICANCE: THIS BUILDING AND THE NEARBY OLD CITY HALL (ALSO ITALIANATE IN DESIGN) ARE THE MOST ARCHITECTURALLY PROMINENT BUILDINGS ON OMRO'S MAIN STREET. THE MOST CONSPICUOUS FEATURE OF THE FOUR-STORY TOWER WITH A LOW-PITCHED HIP ROOF, WIDE EAVES, DENTICULATED BELT COURSE AND, AT THE TOP, STILTED-ARCH OPENINGS IN PAIRS ON EACH FACADE. ORNAMENTATION ADORNS THE TOWER'S ROOF TOP. ONE DRAWBACK IN THE GABLE-ROOFED STRUCTURE IS THE WINDOWS. THEY ARE MODERN, RECTANGULAR VERSIONS SET WITHIN THE ORIGINAL WINDOWS' CROWNED, SEGMENTALLY ARCHED OPENINGS. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: LOCATED ALONG THE FOX RIVER, THIS STRUCTURE AT ONE TIME MAY HAVE BEEN THE MOST PROMINENT INDUSTRIAL BUILDING IN OMRO. ITS NINETEENTH AND EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY HISTORY IS THAT OF A WOOLEN, FELT AND POSSIBLY HOSIERY MILL. AFTER STANDING VACANT FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, IT WAS USED BY A PRODUCE COMPANY HEADED BY GEORGE DAGGETT. (A,B,C,E,F,G,H) East Main Street was once Water Street. 2021 - This cream brick Italianate building was constructed in 1874. The three-story building features a stone foundation and a side-gabled, asphalt-shingled roof with wide overhanging eaves. It is symmetrically arranged, with a square four-story tower projecting from the center of the primary south-facing entrance, and three bays of evenly-spaced windows on either side. The main entrance is located in the east side of the tower beneath a modern metal awning. The front of the tower contains a centered window at each story, with a wooden cornice wrapping the tower at the level of the eaves, a dentilled brick cornice above that, and paired, stilted-arch openings on each façade. The wide, plain wooden cornice and deep eaves of the flat tower roof is capped by four-sided scroll-cut wood filigree. Windows throughout are modern one-over-one double hung replacements, although the original segmentally-arched openings have been retained.
Bibliographic References:STROLLING THROUGH OMRO'S PAST, CITY OF OMRO, 1995. 690 BIBLIGRAPHIC REFERENCES: A. SIGN ON BUILDING. B. 1973 SURVEY CARD, LAND RECORDS. C. CITY ASSESSOR. D. QUITCLAIM DEED, WARRANTY DEED. E. WARRANTY DEED, DEED. F. WARRANTY DEEDS, DEEDS, QUITCLAIM DEEDS. G. WARRANTY DEED, QUITCLAIM DEEDS, DEED. H. LOCAL HISTORIAN.
RECORD LOCATION
Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin

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