Property Record
1085 E MINERAL ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | PLATTEVILLE BREWERY |
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| Other Name: | SWISS VALLEY FARMS DAIRY PLANT |
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| Reference Number: | 46459 |
| Location (Address): | 1085 E MINERAL ST |
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| County: | Grant |
| City: | Platteville |
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| Year Built: | 1872 |
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| Additions: | 1964 |
| Survey Date: | 2005 |
| Historic Use: | brewery/distillery/winery |
| Architectural Style: | Astylistic Utilitarian Building |
| 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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| Additional Information: | THIS MID-19TH CENTURY BREWERY COMPLEX IS COMPOSED OF A MAIN THREE-STORY STRUCTURE THAT HAS A RECTANGULAR SHAPE, A STONE EXTERIOR, A SLIGHTLY SLOPING ROOF, AND SEGMENTAL ARCHED WINDOWS OF SIX-OVER-SIX PANES. A STRING COURSE OF PATTERNED BRICK SEPARATES THE SECOND STORY FROM THE THIRD. MANY LARGE ATTENDENT STRUCTURES HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE BREWERY (NOW A CHEESE FACTORY) SINCE IT WAS RECONSTRUCTED AFTER A FIRE IN 1872. THIS COMPLEX IS AN INTERESTING COLLECTION OF EARLY COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS. ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE: THIS STRUCTURE IS AN EXAMPLE OF 19TH CENTURY UTILITARIAN ARCHITECTURE. IT IS IMPORTANT OT THE COMMUNITY BECAUSE IT REPRESENTS ONE OF ITS OLDEST BUSINESSES AND BECAUSE IT HAS RETAINED SOME OF ITS 19TH CENTURY CHARACTER. HISTORIC BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE: THE PLATTEVILLE DAIRY NOW OCCUPIES THE BUILDINGS OF THE PLATTEVILLE BREWERY WHICH DATES BACK TO THE LATE 1860'S. THE ORIGINAL BREWERY WAS BUILT BY DENNIS CENTLIVER IN 1868. IT WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE, THEN REBUILT IN 1872. THE BREWERY PASSED THROUGH MANY OWNERS, ENDING WITH FRITZ HOPPE IN 1900. THE BREWERY CLOSED DURING PROHIBITION. THESE BUILINGS WERE SOLD TO A LOCAL DAIRY IN 1937, FOLLOWING A FIRE AT THEIR DAIRY. (SEE BIB. REF. F). THERE WERE MANY OWNERS OF THE BREWERY DURING ITS LONG LIFESPAN. CENTLIVER OWNED IT IN 1868, KEMLER IN 1872, BRISCOE AND RAMSTEAD IN 1875, KEMLER IN 1878, GEO. WEDEL IN 1884, HOPPE AND MUELLER IN 1892, FRITZ HOPPE IN 1900, AND LIST IN 1915. (SEE BIB. REF. A, D). AFTER ITS TRANSFORMATION TO A DAIRY-RELATED PLANT THIS BUILDING UNDERWENT NUMEROUS CHNAGES AND IT IS NOW DWARFED BY THE LATER BUILDINGS AND WINGS THAT HAVE BEEN ADDED TO IT. 1995- "This 19th century commercial complex includes a two-story stone brewhouse erected in 1872 for the Platteville Brewery. The first floor of the brewhouse is built into the hill with the exposed section facing north toward the creek. Two openings pierce this story: a rectangular doorway and another doorway next to it with a round-arched top of dressed stone. on the second story is a series of round-arched windows with dressed stone arches and sills. The window sash in this story are modern replacements. A third story of brick was obviously added sometime after 1872. This story is separated from the second story by a beltcourse of brick dentils. The windows on this story also have round-arched tops and sills of dressed stone, but they retain their original semicircular-headed four-over-four sash. To the west, a one-story section is also built of stone with a round-arched doorway. West of that is a series of other functionally designed 19th and 20th century structures. Additions also extend to the south. The original section of this building was erected in 1872 for the Platteville Brewery. The 56' x 56' two-story stone structure was built as the brew house for the brewery, which also included at that time an owners' residence, a barn and an ice house. The Platteville Brewery was begun in 1868 by Dennis Centliver. Centliver sold it in 1871 to John Kemler. The brewery underwent several changes of ownership, including Richard Briscoe and H. F. Rhemstedt (1875-1882), and Fritz Hoppe (1890-1913). During Prohibition the brewery was closed but it reopened as the Platteville Brewery in 1934. After a fire in 1937 the complex became a dairy plant, which it remains to this day. This resource is listed on the Wisconsin Inventory of Historic Places. This was the only brewery to operate in Platteville. It was a moderate sized brewery compared to other small town breweries in Wisconsin (Salem, p. 265). Breweries typically were not large employers, but the value of their products generally made them one of the larger industries in town. This appears to be the case in Platteville, which, besides the twelve or so zinc mines in and around the city at the turn-of-the-century (Sanborn maps), did not have much other major industry. The other industries in Platteville during the historic period included one or two small creameries and a butter tub factory. No other pre-World War I industrial buildings are known to remain in Platteville. Although the original brew house remains, it has been added onto many times. This has seriously compromised the historic integrity of the brewery." -"USH 151, Dickeyville to Belmont", WisDOT# 1209-02-00, Prepared by Katherine Hundt Rankin (Preservation Consultant) for Rust Environment & Infrastructure Inc, 1995. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. SANBORN-PERRIS MAPS, CITY OF PLATTEVILLE, 1884, 1892, 1900. B. RICHARD GOODELL, INTERVEIW, MAY 10, 1983. C. RICHARD BARDEN, INTERVIEW, MAY 3, 1983. D. HOLFORD, HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY, 1900, P. 498. E. GRANT COUNTY HISTORY, 1881, P. 725. F. KROLL, WAYNE, BADGER BREWERIES. P. 111. G. APPENZELLER, LINDA. "HISTORY OF PLATTEVILLE." INCLUDED IN: RESOURCE COMMITTE OF GRANT COUNTY. GRANT COUNTY HISTORY; 1900-1976. GRANT COUNTY, 1976, PP. 454-455 (ILLUSTRATED) |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |