Property Record
27 N MAIN ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Fischer's Fond du Lac |
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| Other Name: | FdL Cinema |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 54256 |
| Location (Address): | 27 N MAIN ST |
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| County: | Fond du Lac |
| City: | Fond du Lac |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1925 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1988 |
| Historic Use: | theater/opera house/concert hall |
| Architectural Style: | Neoclassical/Beaux Arts |
| Structural System: | Unknown |
| Wall Material: | Tile |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | North Main Street Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 3/6/2002 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 10/19/2001 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | Photo code #2: 74FD-27/37. This 3 story Beaux Arts theatre building is constructed of brick with a terra cotta facing on the front wall. The upper floors of this building are elaborately decorated with classical motifs, including fluted pilasters with acanthus leaf and scroll capitals; a frieze of small panels of rosettes and swags; a tri-partitate window decorated with an entablature of a curvilinear gable, a decorated shield, and decorated moldings. A large marquee projects from the buildings. It features "Fond du Lac" in neon lettering, and a plain white surface with black lettering. The marquee sits over a metal overhang. The first floor consists of large windows and a recessed entrance. This building is a fine and decorative example of the Beaux Arts style. The Beaux Arts style was a turn of the century decorative style that reflected the return to classicism by architects who studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. Popular for large institutional buildings, it is a style that features elaborately decorated classical motifs. This building has an abundance of these details. If interior details are extant and suggest that this theatre was a "movie palace", the building would have additional architectural significance. This building was constructed for Fisher's Fond du Lac Theatre, later just the Fond du Lac Theatre. It may have been one of Fond du Lac's "movie palaces," theatres that were constructed in the 1920s to serve the booming silent movie audiences of the era. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. City Directories for the city of Fond du Lac, on file at the Fond du Lac Public Library, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. B. Sanborn-Perris Maps for the City of Fond du Lac, on file int he Archives of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. C. Tax Rolls for the City of Fond du Lac on file in theArea Research center of hte university of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Library, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |