Property Record
1516 COMMERCIAL ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Fritz Meat Market / Bangor Meat Market |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | Country Style Beauty Shop |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 72454 |
| Location (Address): | 1516 COMMERCIAL ST |
|---|---|
| County: | La Crosse |
| City: | Bangor |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
| Section: | |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1891 |
|---|---|
| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 19922020 |
| Historic Use: | retail building |
| Architectural Style: | Queen Anne |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Bangor Commercial Historic District |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | 10/11/2022 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 2/18/2022 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | This 1-story Queen Anne commercial building was constructed in 1891. It is rectangular in plan with red brick walls and a flat roof. The building shares party walls on both sides. The front elevation faces south and is symmetrical in plan with a recessed center entrance flanked by downsized, single-pane shop windows with wide bands of wood framing. The entrance consists of a single metal-framed glass door. The bulkhead wall below the shop windows is clad in newer brown brick. In place of a wide band of transom windows that originally spanned the storefront is a band of board and batten siding above which is mounted a shed-roofed awning clad in asphalt shingles. The storefront took on its present appearance between 1977 and 1992. The remainder of the wall above the storefront is decorated with original ornamental brickwork arranged in horizontal bands featuring a variety of patterned brickwork. The façade is capped by an ornamental metal cornice that features heavy end brackets and a triangular parapet at the center that bears the building’s year of construction (1891). This building was constructed in 1891 for Henry Fritz. It served as a butcher shop for much of its history, first as the Fritz Meat Market and later as the Bangor Meat Market. Although the building shares a wall with the Elsen House Hotel, the fire that began in the Elsen House in October of 1899 and damaged a number of buildings did not destroy the Fritz Meat Market. The building’s original storefront contained large four-pane shop windows on each side of the recessed center entrance, multi-pane basement windows in below-grade recesses rather than bulkhead walls, and three bays of three-pane transoms spanning the facade. By 1977, the original elements of the storefront had fallen into heavy disrepair and were replaced with the existing downsized shop windows, brick bulkhead walls, and asphalt-shingled awning prior to 1992. The building served as a butcher shop under various owners until 1984. Since at least that time, the building has functioned a hair salon and beauty parlor and is currently known as the “Country Style” salon. |
|---|---|
| Bibliographic References: |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |