click zoom to display a high-res image
Property Location
Property Features
Designed by the firm of Childs & Smith of Chicago, this building was constructed in 1951 for what would eventually become the American Family Insurance Company. In 1927, Herman Wittwer founded the Farmers Mutual Auto Insurance Company of Madison. The company grew steadily and by 1943 was licensed to sell insurance throughout most of the Midwest. After World War II, the entire insurance industry witnessed a remarkable boom and Farmers Mutual annually garnered $10 million in premiums by 1950. Such a large level of business required the company to construct the $1.36 million subject facility because it had outgrown the Boyd Mansion headquarters located at 312 Wisconsin Avenue. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the company continued a high degree of growth. In 1962, because the company was entering many urban markets, the name was changed to American Family Insurance Company. Despite several massive additions, the company outgrew this structure and moved to a new facility on the outskirts of Madison in 1992.
October 2014 - This office building was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Childs & Smith and was constructed in 1951 as the new headquarters for the Farmers Mutual Auto Insurance Company of Madison (later the American Family Insurance Company). The broad, two-story concrete structure has a box-like form with long bands of windows and a central projecting bay with a two-story framed glass entry. Both the windows and glass entry are replacements. The building is oriented diagonally to face the corner of East Washington and Commercial Avenues.
Massive, unadorned concrete wings with regular arrays of windows were added to both ends of the building, presumably to accommodate company growth. Together, the additions tripled the original footprint of the building. Construction dates for the wings are unknown, but they appear to have been built outside the historic period. In the early 1990s the American Family Insurance Company relocated to a new facility in Madison. The building is now occupied by the State of Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
March 2018 - appearance unchanged since 2014
National And State Register Of Historic Places Listings
Architecture & History Inventory
The Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory (AHI) is a digital source of information on historic buildings, structures, and objects that have been surveyed by the State Historic Preservation Office in Wisconsin. Each property has a digital record providing basic information about the property and images.
Questions?
Wondering about if your property is eligible or notice some information on this property needs to be updated, reach out today!
Email UsAttribution
For a credit line: Wisconsin Historical Society, Creator, Title, Unique Identifier.
The Unique Identifier can be found at the top or bottom of the page for each item. The name of a downloaded file is NOT the unique identifier.
For bibliographic citations please consult the UW-Madison Libraries Citation Research Guide to ensure compliance with appropriate style guidelines.
Access Property Records
Some properties have more materials (correspondence, clippings, historical information, etc.) not in the digital record. If a 'Site File' exists, it's noted in the 'Additional Comments' field. Contact us for an appointment to view these materials.
