500 PUBLIC AVE & 419 PLEASANT ST

500 PUBLIC AVE & 419 PLEASANT ST

Rock

Beloit

1923

1980

large office building

Exotic Revivals

Terra Cotta

Krieg, Hetherington & Hetherington, Chicago

No

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. Combining elements of the Classical Revival with those of the progressive Sullivanesque commercial style, the Wisconsin Power and Light building is a significant example of the most elaborate commercial architecture in Beloit. The three story building, faced with a coat of glazed terra cotta (in simulation of marble) is crowned with an Egyptian styled cornice, and the piers and mullions are capped with Corinthian-like detail. But if the ornamental illusion is historical, the structural impressiveness of the building is not. Divided into seven structural bays across the north and south elevations, ad five across the east and west, the exterior is divided by the piers and mullions which rise from the top of the first story to the cornice, while the spandrel is recessed behind it. The facade is anchored by projecting pavilions and the central entry is articulated by a projecting pavilion as well. The effect is at once classical and modern, suggesting by physical structure as well as ornament a sense of stability and permanence. The Beloit Professional Building, long known as the Wisconsin Power & Light Company Building, was built in 1923 by the Beloit Water, Gas and Electric Company, a Wisconsin Power & Light predecessor company.

(A) Beloit Daily News 4/20/1994. (B) Blueprints (according to letter from Gordon A. Rice, Executive Management, Inc., July 2, 1976), RCHS Archives. (C) Beloit City Directories, 1919-1928.

Not Listed