Property Record
1344 E WASHINGTON AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | FULLER AND JOHNSON MANUFACTURING COMPANY OFFICE |
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| Other Name: | Fyfe's Corner Bistro |
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| Reference Number: | 71335 |
| Location (Address): | 1344 E WASHINGTON AVE |
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| County: | Dane |
| City: | Madison |
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| Year Built: | 1885 |
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| Additions: | 1899 1909 |
| Survey Date: | 2001 |
| Historic Use: | small office building |
| Architectural Style: | Neoclassical/Beaux Arts |
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| Wall Material: | Brick |
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| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. Madison Historic Landmark: 9/7/2004. Map code is 0709-131-0213-6. Associated with Madison industrialist John A. Johnson. This former office building is the last remnant of a twenty-acre complex called the Fuller & Johnson Manufacturing Company. In 1880, John A. Johnson and Morris E. Fuller purchased a small plow manufacturing company and soon renamed it Fuller & Johnson. Within a few years, the two bought an old factory building at the corner of E Washington Avenue and Dickinson Street and, by 1885, it "was the largest and most conspicuous enterprise in Madison." The company's chief product was the "Bonanza Prairie Breaker" plow; however, the company also manufactured other farm machinery. Also in 1885, the company built the main block of the extant office building with other sections being built in 1889 and 1909. In 1900, the company began to manufacture small, general-use gasoline engines, which became its main focus when the company sold its farm machinery line. The company remained in business until 1929. During its tenure, the firm was a leader in employee benefits. Specifically, it offered low-rent housing to employees and had profit sharing with supervisors. The building's next occupant was the Credit Union National Association, Inc., which utilized the building into the 1950s. |
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| Bibliographic References: | WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL 12/31/1885. ASSESSOR. TAX RECORDS. WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL 1/11/1910. The Tenney-Lapham Neighborhood: A Walking Tour, 1997, Madison Landmarks Commission. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19810511&id=2t5LAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AIsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6610,1665887&hl=en |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |