Property Record
110-112 N 3RD ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | John Raabe; Robert Water; Water and Wieseman Saloon |
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| Other Name: | Elsner's TV and Repair |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 74775 |
| Location (Address): | 110-112 N 3RD ST |
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| County: | Jefferson |
| City: | Watertown |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
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| Year Built: | 1863 |
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| Additions: | 1890 |
| Survey Date: | 1986 |
| Historic Use: | retail building |
| Architectural Style: | Commercial Vernacular |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Cream Brick |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Main Street Commercial Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 6/2/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | Originally two cream brick buildings, this building presently exhibits a common facade veneered by masonry blocks that is further characterized by various sized rectangular windows with multipaned lights irregularly placed as dictated by the arrangement of the earlier buildings. The south store built in 1862 after fire destroyed the earlier building, owned by Water and Wieseman, has a remodeled storefront featuring a full-length transom window. The north store built later around 1890 for John Raabe and originally used as a cigar factory has a similar storefront. Originally two legal properties, this double-store building was remodeled in the 20th century in a contemporary manner devoid of historic ornament. Although this building is not architecturally significant, the Water and Weisman and the Raabe buildings contribute to the historic character of the proposed Main Street Commercial Historic District. Between the 1880s and prohibition, one half of this building was a saloon operated by a number of different owners. In the other half of the building were a number of retail businesses including a cigar store, a tailor shop, and during the 1910s and 1920s, a barber shop. This building has some historical interest as the location of a number of retail businesses. None are individually historically significant but they contribute to the overall development of commerce in the Main Street Commercial Historic District. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) Tax Records, City of Watertown, 1860-1910, Area Research Center, Library, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. (B) Sanborn-Perris Insurance Map. (C) C. Hugo Jacobi, "Reminiscences of Early Days in Watertown," Watertown Daily Times 3/19/1924. (D) Watertown City Directories, 1866-1930, Watertown Public Library, Watertown. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |