Property Record
102 S MAIN ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Felix Store Building |
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| Other Name: | Felix Store Building |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 72712 |
| Location (Address): | 102 S MAIN ST |
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| County: | Vernon |
| City: | Viroqua |
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| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1930 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1995 |
| Historic Use: | retail building |
| Architectural Style: | Twentieth Century Commercial |
| Structural System: | Unknown |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Viroqua Downtown Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 7/17/2003 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 4/11/2003 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| 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. This one-story brick Twentieth Century Commercial Style building was built to house the Felix Store, a general store and department store. The building was a joint project of local merchant M.J. Felix and the Leonard Gay Investment Co. of Madison, WI, and the still unknown architect is reputed to have been from Madison as well. The building was well known locally because its method of construction created an interior that had no obstructing posts or pillars to obstruct the view of the customers, a first in Viroqua in a building of this size. 1995- "This one-story rectilinear plan Twentieth Century Commercial Style building was built in 1931 to house the Felix Store. The building measures 80-feet-deep x 50-feet-wide, has a poured concrete foundation, a full basement story, and brick over hollow tile exterior walls, and its main facade faces east onto Main Street. The original nearly full-width storefront of this building has now been replaced with a modern one that has a somewhat similar design, but the original transom lights that spanned the width of the storefront have now been covered over and a modern flat canopy now extends across the width ot the building just below this transom as well. The remainder of the facade is still intact, however, and the original Art Deco style-influenced parapet wall with its decorative brick work is still intact and still contains its two capital letter ''F". This building was a joint project of local merchant M. J. Felix and the Leonard Gay Investment Co. of Madison, Wisconsin, and the still unidentified architect is also reputed to have been from Madison as well. The building was well known locally for its method of construction. Tne construction of the roof is the only one in the state of Wisconsin, in buildings the size ot the Felix Store. The hip roof is held up by wooden trusses and I-beams, eliminating pillars and supporting posts in the store. Go in and notice that there are none to obstruct one's view. lt is a new departure in building construction. This building has been continuously occupied by the Felix Store, a general store and department store, since it first opened. It was also surveyed by tne SHPO in 1990." - "USH 14 Transportation Study ", WisDOT ID #1646-07-00, Prepared by Timothy F Heggland (1995). |
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| Bibliographic References: | Vernon County Censor. November 11, 1931, p. 1, and November 18, 1931, pp. 2 and 3. Vernon County Heritage. Viroqua: Vernon County Historical Society, 1994, p. 225. Zalewski, June. #28;Main Street meandering: Historic Walking Tour in Viroqua, Wisconsin.#29; Wisconsin Humanities Commission, 1990. Viroqua Vernon County Broadcaster 6/27/1996. Take a Walk on Main Street: Historic Walking Tours in Wisconsin's Main Street Communities, Wisconsin Main Street Program, 1998. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |