Property Record
8321 W GREENFIELD
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | August Rosenthal Corn Husker Co. |
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| Other Name: | MEURER'S BAKERY |
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| Reference Number: | 9219 |
| Location (Address): | 8321 W GREENFIELD |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | West Allis |
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| Year Built: | 1900 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2007 |
| Historic Use: | industrial bldg/manufacturing facility |
| Architectural Style: | Astylistic Utilitarian Building |
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| Wall Material: | Brick |
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| Demolished?: | Yes |
| Demolished Date: | 0 |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | SHAPED GABLE COPING. CORBELLED CORNICE. The Rosenthal Corn Husker Co. was located here until 1954 when Meurer's Bakery bought the property. Only a portion of the original factory complex is extant. The Rosenthal Corn Husker Co. was the pioneer manufacturer in West Allis having been located there from 1900. The first husking machine, an invention of August Rosenthal, was produced in Milwaukee in 1889. Demand was so great that expansion was necessary. A site was located on Greenfield Ave., across from State Fair Park, and adjacent to the Chicago and North Western rail spur that led to the Fair Park. To raise the capital to buy the four acres from Stutley Henderson, Rosenthal sold one of his patents to the John Deere Co. The company prospered during the first half of the twentieth century, developing additional machinery to separate ears from stalks, cut up the stalks and husks, and blowers to deliver the feed to the haymow. Previously surveyed in 1980; no longer extant in 2007. |
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| Bibliographic References: | West Allis Enterprise 9/1907. Burbach, Julius, Historical Review of West Allis, West Allis, 1927, p. 73. Burbach, Julius, West Allis "A City of Marvelous Growth", (n.p., n.d.) p. 81. West Allis Star 4/1/1977. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |