There once was a building near the corner of High Avenue and
Division Street in Oshkosh. It was on
the north side of the street and was for many years the home of Muza Sheet Metal
but was demolished to make way for a parking lot. The building was erected sometime between
1886 and 1889 and was numbered as 80 and 82 High Street. The first occupant was C. E. Angell and
Company, a dealer of grass and garden seeds and may have he who had the
building put up. The second floor was the residence of William Mainland, the secretary
and superintendent of the Oshkosh Gas Light Co. The seed company was at that address in 1900
but by 1903 the Oshkosh Spice Co. was there and by 1910, E. B. Morley a provider
of crockery and glassware occupied the space.
I had always suspected the structure to be the work of
William Waters and here’s why; The building is of a template often used by
architect Waters, that is, two store fronts on either side of a stairway to the
second floor. The upper floor had a
single arched window on center and sets of triplet windows with elegant arched
tops on each side. Although I only knew the building as painted
brick I speculate it was of a cream-colored brick and not a red pressed
brick. Bands of limestone trim completed
the façade for a stylish appearance.
