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311 N Main St

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Property Record

311 N Main St

Historic Name:
Shawano County Courthouse

Other Name:
Shawano County Courthouse

Reference Number:
119696

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Property Location

Location (Address)

311 N Main St

County

Shawano

City/Village

Shawano

Township

Unincorporated community

Town

Range

Direction

Section

Quarter Section

Quarter Quarter Section

Property Features

Year Built

1958

Additions

Survey Date

2000,2025

Historic Use

courthouse

Architectural Style

Art/Streamline Moderne

Structural System

Wall Material

Limestone

Architect

Foeller, Schober, Berners, Safford & Jahn

Other Buildings On Site

Y

Demolished

No

Demolished Date

Additional Comments

Courthouse is still in excellent and largely original condition. Jail next door (405 N. Main St.) built the year before and was designed by the same architects. 2025: The Shawano County Courthouse Complex consists of the Powerhouse (AHI #119823) and Courthouse at 311 N Main Street and the Jail (AHI #119697) at 405 N Main Street. The first county courthouse and jail were constructed at the 311 N Main Street property in 1853. The courthouse was replaced in 1879, and a separate jail building was constructed in 1902. The Powerhouse was constructed between 1913 and 1926 to serve the courthouse. The current courthouse and jail were designed by prominent Green Bay architecture firm Foeller, Schober, Berners, Safford & Jahn between 1956 and 1958. The Shawano County Courthouse is a two-story Art Moderne style building located on the west side of Main Street between W 3rd and W 4th Streets. Constructed in 1958, the building has a rectilinear footprint, concrete foundation, limestone exterior walls, and flat roofs with parapets. The exterior cladding is comprised of various sizes of rectangular limestone pieces, and the facades are symmetrically arranged. Fenestration consists of single-pane and three-part aluminum frame windows with smooth stone sills. The primary façade (east elevation) has a central recessed entrance characterized by aluminum framed window walls on the first and second stories separated by a corrugated metal panel with signage reading “SHAWANO COUNTY COURT HOUSE.” A carved stone depiction of the Scales of Justice is centered above the entrance. On either side of the entrance are 13 fenestration bays with a continuous row of windows on the first story and alternating windows on the second story. Similarly styled, but slightly shorter wings extend from the north and south (side) elevations. Each has a central entrance flanked by four two-story fenestration bays. The entrances are accessed by concrete steps with concrete half walls and metal railings.

Bibliographic References

Berners-Schober Assoc. archives. Original drawings extant. Dedication plaque in lobby.

National And State Register Of Historic Places Listings

National/State Register Listing Name

Not Listed

National Register Listing Date

State Register Listing Date

Contributing

courthouse Art/Streamline Moderne

Shawano
County

Shawano
Community

1950-1959
Decade

National and State Register Listing

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Architecture & History Inventory

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Attribution

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