| 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.
Built in 1905-1906 by Alfred C. Clas of Milwaukee, this two and one-half story red sandstone house is Richardsonian Romanesque in style, with rock-faced masonry, classical details and a massive silhouette. Sheboygan County Landmark. There is a carriage house on the property.
Clas of Milwaukee, one of the state's most prominent architects, designed this imposing house for a coal wholesaler who owned the Reiss Steamship Company. This English-inspired Jacobethan design employs detailing popular during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I in the decades around 1600, such as the steeply pitched roof and parapeted gables. The walls are of rock-faced brownstone, a sandstone quarried along Chequamegon Bay and prized for its rich dark color. The dark walls, wall dormers, and parapets, embellished with knob finials, give the building a heavy look, an impression amplified by groups of windows with massive stone lintels and stone mullions. A stone porch with a spindle-balustraded roof deck shelters the entry, and a porte-cochère extends from a side elevation toward the rear. The sense of weight and solidity, combined with such elegant touches as diamond-paned leaded-glass transoms in the first-floor windows, convey wealth and prestige.
2020-2024 Targeted Resurvey of Sheboygan recommendation write-up:
Rising two-and-one-half stories, this Tudor Revival-style (specifically Jacobethan) house is largely side-gabled in form and constructed of rock-faced brownstone, a type of sandstone that was quarried along Chequamegon Bay. Parapet endwalls detail the roofline, while a parapeted wall dormer identifies the west entrance elevation. Sheltering the entrance is a stone-constructed, open porch from which a cloth awning extends. A stone balustrade extends to either side of the central porch area and an additional balustrade outlines the porch roof. Windows throughout the house are generally regularly arranged, with many featuring double-hung sash and a projecting stone lintel above. Some windows feature diamond paning. A porte cochere extends from the north side of the house and a free-standing carriage house/garage with living quarters is located behind the house.
Designed by Milwaukee architect Alfred C. Clas, this house was completed in 1906 for Peter & Mattie Pape Reiss. Peter Reiss was born in 1867, the son of Clemens Reiss, the founder of the C. Reiss Coal Company. At the age of fourteen he worked as a clerk in the store of Herman Herbst, and later worked in the German Bank for two years, after which he joined his father in the family firm. From the company’s incorporation in 1888 until 1902, he served as the company secretary, after which he became president, which he continued until his death in 1926. In addition to being president and chairman of the board of the coal concern, he was also chairman of the board of the Reiss Steamship Company, a director of the Northern Furniture Company, the Pittsburg Coal Company, the Security National Bank, and a trustee of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company in Milwaukee and of Marquette University. He was also involved with the development of St. Nicholas Hospital, as well as the Anna M. Reiss Home for the Aged, which was dedicated in honor of his mother. He was also a member of several local fraternal organizations. In 1893, he married Mattie Pape and they had three children; Mattie died in 1951. The house then passed into the hands of the two Reiss daughters, who both lived in Chicago and it was used by them for long weekend getaways. Daughter Carita bought out her sister’s share of the house in the 1960s and she resided in the home until her death in 1971. For the next fourteen years, the house was owned by the third generation of Reisses, Joan and Frank Ribich Sr., after which it was used as office space for various businesses operated by the family. The house was designated a Sheboygan County landmark in 1977. In 1995, great-grandson Frank Ribich Jr. bought the house and it served as The Brownstone Inn, a bed and breakfast, until circa 2015. The house is no longer owned by the Reiss family.
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| Bibliographic References: | LJM Architects, Inc. City of Sheboygan, Wisconsin: Architectural and Historical Intensive Survey Report. City of Sheboygan Historic Preservation Commission & Department of City Development; 2002, 2004 & 2006.
Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript.
Citations for the 2020-2024 Targeted Resurvey of Sheboygan recommendation write-up:
“Solve Domestic Problem by Giving Swell Blowout,” The Oklahoma News (Oklahoma City, OK), 15 October 1906, 3; “Peter Reiss Passes Away at Pinehurst, His Country Home,” The Sheboygan Press, 7 September 1926, 1, 18; “Mrs. Mattie P. Reiss Rites Held Here This Afternoon,” The Sheboygan Press, 29 October 1951, 10; “Mrs. Carita Winston,” The Sheboygan Press, 28 August 1971, 14; Jami Lemke, “Grand Idea: Magnificent Mansions will be Reborn as Brownstone Inn,” The Sheboygan Press, 4 October 1995, C3-C4; Ann Potempa, “An Old New B&B,” The Sheboygan Press, 4 August 1996, 17; Kurt Rentmeester, “Peter Reiss: Business and Community Leader,” The Sheboygan Press, 28 November 1999, 3; Ann Grote-Pirrung, “Breakfast at the Brownstone is Berry, Berry Beautiful,” The Sheboygan Press, 14 February 2005, A8-A9; Marsha Weisiger, et. al., Buildings of Wisconsin (Charlottsville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 2016), 264. |
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