William Waters and the early Oshkosh Schools

On January first 1867 William Waters found himself newly arrived, newly wed and newly established as an architect in Oshkosh Wisconsin, just nineteen days before he had married Catherine Follett after traveling from New York State. The young professional set about the practice of architecture. Two jobs were to come his way that first year: the Harding Opera House and St. Peter's Church. Both projects were plagued by funding woes and lingered for years before completion. But young William had a great deal going for him; he was twenty four years old, handsome, well schooled and experienced with a strong work ethic. His wife's father had been the third mayor of the city and although deceased, the former mayors' family was still politically influential. It was not long before Waters developed a relationship with the city and its' school board, a relationship that would serve him well to end of his days.

At that time there were seven public schools in the city. The notated map above shows location and gives a brief explanation of the structures under consideration. In May of 1868 the city was in need of a new school house in the 4th ward to replace a building on corner of Jefferson and Merritt Streets. Mr. Waters was given the job of designing the new building to be located on lots between Jefferson and Mt. Vernon Sts. just north of Merritt. By early September it was nearly complete. The two story frame structure fronted on Jefferson St. and was transverse in form with three front entrances and a tower at the center. There were two main rooms on each floor measuring 32' x 33' x 15' high. The school board further decided to relieve overcrowding down in the second ward. To that end, it was proposed to move the vacant school house on the corner of Merritt and Jefferson about a half mile to the corner of Otter and Mill Sts. where it would be joined with a building already on the site. Mr. Waters was given the job of overseeing the move and refurbishing of the two schools.

Come 1869 the school board was dealing with a number of over crowed schools. That May another school was being considered for the forth ward with drawings supplied by Waters. The site was the corner of Jefferson and Irving Sts. The newspapers of the time are silent as to appearance of the building and its size. Also a mystery was if it was intended to augment or replace the building from the previous year. Another problem was the fifth ward, which covered a great deal of real estate and was served by two schools, both in need of improvement. The first of these was at the south east corner of Elm and Vine Sts. and the other in the remote suburb of Algoma. The board opted for additions to both locations and Waters drew plans as well as served as superintendent of construction. Here again there are no descriptions in the press. On the south side of the river the 3rd Ward School was said to be a well lighted, ventilated and warmed building but badly crowed. The school boards committee recommended an addition rather than a new building. Lots adjoining the school were purchased and Mr. Waters drew plans for a sympathetic addition. Construction was started in June and was completed by September, the addition and wing more than doubled the size of the school. Above is an image of the completed Third Ward School as well as a wood cut of the First Ward School from the collection of the Oshkosh Public Museum. Of interest is the similar architectural style of both schools. Perhaps the original architect of the Third Ward Schools and the First Ward School were one and the same.

A Tale of Two Banks

Oshkosh came into the twentieth century as an economic power house and the city was showing it. The wealthy in town were replacing unfashionable older homes and the newly rich were building large stylish dwellings along Washington Avenue, Algoma Blvd. and Jackson St. The well to do yachtsmen built a new club house that was the envy of all other clubs. Businesses were in a mood to update as well. In 1903 the Oshkosh Logging Tool Company built a substantial factory on the south side of the Fox River. That same year the German American Bank was considering a new building and the State Bank of Oshkosh was incorporated.

Bank buildings had long been a specialty of William Waters, over the years he'd designed seventeen structures devoted to that purpose. It was not surprising the German American Bank turned to Mr. Water for its new building. The bank was in need of more space and decided to build on the west side of Main St. between Peal and High Sts. The construction contract was awarded to C. R. Meyer Company. Mr. Waters presented an elegant classical style building replete this Corinthian columns flanking the front doors. Waters had done a number of structures in that style since 1900; the Oshkosh Public Library and the Oshkosh Yacht Club, both were classically inspired. The bank opened in 1904 as the New German American Bank and occupied the space until the late 1960's when a new building was put up and the old was demolished. An early photo of the bank show "New German American Bank" inscribed in the frieze just below the cornice. A later image reveals a change; the inscription reads "New American Bank". The anti-German sentiment engendered by the war forced the change.

The State Bank of Oshkosh was newly incorporated in 1903, working out of offices on Oregon St. between 8th and 9th Streets. By 1910 the bank could afford to erect a new building. Plans were drawn by Waters and construction was started by C. R. Meyer as contractor. The edifice was to be be rough-hewn limestone, a building material Waters had used successfully in so many impressive structures such as Trinity Episcopal Church, Moses Hooper residence and the Algoma Street Methodist Church. These two bank buildings were unalike in style and surface texture but identical in fenestration. All of the New German American Bank's building was given over to bank business. It was the intention of the State Bank to rent the second floor as a way to generate income. After sometime a tenant was found. At the Library Board meeting of October 1, 1912 it was decided to open a south side branch library on the second floor the State Bank of Oshkosh. After the bank failed the library stayed and occupied the entire building.

Appleton residences Part Two

In "Appleton residences part one" three houses from the 1880's were reviewed. This post will deal with three more dwellings from later dates. As the decade of the 80's came into full flower Mr. Waters altered his approach to the Queen Anne style. These later works show a more ornate and delicate nature. The same elements; porches, bay windows and chimneys are prominent but feel different as does the mass of the structure. There is a greater variety of surface texture and ornamentation. Varied fenestration adds visual appeal.

The dwellings under consideration were all of wooden frame construction, two date from 1885 and one from 1890, all have been razed. They are the Peabody home, A. W. Patton residence and the Stimson house. Mr. Peabody was a successful merchant, operator of the Pettibone and Peabody dry goods store. In 1885 he had a charming Queen Anne style house built near the Lawrence campus. A porch rapped around two sides and access was gained by steps on either side. The first story was clad with clapboards and the second with shingles. There is a bay which rises from the second floor to the attic and there is an elegant oval window above the porch. An ornate cartouche occupies the space between two gable windows and the gables are supported gracefully curved brackets. At sometime Lawrence acquired the place and used it for a while and later demolished it to accommodate a new building.

A. W. Patton was the president of the Patton Paper Co. and resident of Neenah prior to having a home built in 1885 on Appleton's Park St. The structure was covered with clapboard siding and had porches at both ends and a small entry porch with a bay above at the center of the front elevation. To the left, a second story bay window extended to the attic floor. The gable at that end of the house was bolstered by four small brackets and the gable was filled with two windows and decorative wood work. At the far right was a pavilion with a projecting second floor bay, the gable of which was braced by curved brackets and adorned with a long, narrow, hooded window.

 J. E. H. Stimson was a successful photographer and needed a big place to raise their seven children.  The family had many addresses over the years but none of them was the house designed by Mr. Water. It's a mystery as to why the house was never built. 

Appleton residences Part One

Appleton played an important part in the development of northeastern Wisconsin. As early as 1847 it was established as a seat of learning with the charter of Lawrence University and the seat of county government in 1851. In the early 1870's the city was already a hub of commerce and manufacturing. William Waters found the aggressive community a good place to do business.

An earlier post mentions Waters' Italianate residential work but there was much more to architectural activities in that fair city. He designed not only dwellings but banks, stories, hotels, churches and schools, Mr. Waters was responsible for the design of some thirty two buildings in Appleton. That is the number that can be verified. There are probably more undocumented commercial and residential works yet to be discovered.

Waters initial efforts besides the

Goff and Whorton residences were for

the most part commercial structures

including one for Mr. Whorton and his business partner. As the 1880's bloomed William Waters was doing more residential work. Eleven homes can be attributed to Mr. Waters. This post will feature three dwellings from the years 1881 and 1882. They are the homes of H. J. Rogers, J. R. Wood and H. D. Smith. All are the Queen Anne style and are of a large and

robust nature. Architectural

features to note are large porches,

bay windows and prominent chimneys.

Consider first the Rogers home, situated on a bluff above the For River and fronting on Prospect Avenue, the house was built of brick with porches on three sides. It could have been regarded as the finest dwelling built in 1881. Rogers a mill operator also owned the Appleton
Gas Light utility and was convinced in 1882 to have his mill and new house wired for electricity, thus becoming the first house in America to be lighted with electric lights.

H. D. Smith a banker and investor

built his house on East John Street

next to J. R. Wood. Mr Wood was an

Appleton pioneer and banker with

large holdings in the Upper Peninsula.

His home was designed to accommodate a large family. It was a spacious wooden frame structure with a porch and a baloney above.

There was a small

porch at the side of the

house. Next door, the Smith place was also of wooden frame construction and boasted a large front porch and bay window. Three large chimneys

tower over the roof line which is crowned with decorative iron work.

Some years after Mr. Smiths' death his widow donated the house to Lawrence University.

Intricate brick work

The commercial buildings designed by William

Waters in the late 1860's and early 1870's featured

some fairly intricate brick work. Many of these devises seem to serve as hallmarks to him as architect and date of design. That is not to say other architects didn't employ the same elements

but they are often seen in Mr Waters' buildings.

As noted in other posts Waters used a design template for some commercial buildings that consisted of two stores with a stairway to the second floor between them. The front elevation

of this design would have walls each side of the building and two more walls on either side of the central stairway. The end of these walls, although not a broad expanse, provided ample room for

ornamentation. In some cases the bricks would be stepped out to form a small plain. Within that plain some bricks were recessed to form a cross as seen in example one.

Most of the fancy brick work was confined to the wall surfaces on the second or third floors. Often Waters would add recessed panels to fill the space between the window openings, shown in example two. Example three shows another aspect worthy of note, the inverted corners of the window openings. These were the same height as the recessed wall panels. The effect was to give the wall a rhythmic segmented look. In some instances the architect chose to add brick bands of contrasting color as well as courses and caps of limestone. Other limestone trim might include keystones above the window or a plinth block at the base of a decorative lintel.

Other architects would sometime add a cornice of wood to a brick structure. Mr Waters used brick to create the cornice. By stepping the bricks away from the wall he was able to fashion niches and recessed panels as in example five. Mr Waters was fond of incorporating a central pediment, see example six. these too were achieved by building out from the wall and recessing certain areas.

The fire of 1874

The fire in August of 1874 consumed the buildings along both sides of Main St. from Algoma St. north to Irving St. and east to Broad St. Many of the structures designed by William Waters and erected after that blaze remain to this day.

An imposing edifice is the Wagner Opera House at the corner of Main and Merritt Streets. Wagner had maintained an establishment on that corner since the late 1860's. To the left is an image of the hall as it appeared in 1872. The fire destroyed the original structure and Wagner rebuilt using plans drawn by Waters. Not long after construction was finished Mr. Wagner decided to get out of the opera house business and sold the place the the First Methodist Episcopal Church.

The Methodists

must have liked the

hall for they remained there until the 1960's. After the Methodists moved the building had many different uses. There have been some alteration over the years; enlarged window on the south elevation, the tower and front pediment were removed and the building was re-roofed some time early in the twentieth century but still remains much as it was when constructed. One curious aspect is its color. Many years ago the brick on first and second stories and cleaned but the third floor was left a dark brown giving an odd appearance.

The Harding Opera house also went up in flames. It was a Waters designed and was erected in fits and starts. Located just north the the First National Bank, construction began in 1867 but was halted dew to lack of funds. Work resumed in 1870 and was completed by 1872. There were two stores flanking a central entrance to the auditorium on the second floor like that seen in Wagner's hall. There are no images of this structure that I know of. After the fire the Fraker Opera house was built on the same lot but was not of Waters' design.

Is is ironical that another building affected by the

conflagration was the Phoenix fire house. Built in 1871, it shared the same basic design as that of the Brooklyn fire house just across the river on Sixth St. The Phoenix however lay in the path of the blaze and was left a burnt out shell. Rising from the ashes like its name sake the fire house was rebuilt and served for many years. Eventually

the building ceased to server the fire department and was sold. By the 1940's the structure had been converted to retail space, sans the tower and observatory. In the photo montage above, with images from the collection of the Oshkosh Public Museum, is pictured the house shortly after construction with a brave fire fighter standing at the peak of the gable. Just below is seen the aftermath of the fire and to the right of that the rebuilt Phoenix with an observatory added atop the tower. There is also a picture of the wallpaper store it became. The building withstood the test of fire but not the test of time. It fell to the wrecker's ball in the 1970's to make way for a parking lot.

After the fire

By the early 1870's Oshkosh was well on it's way to becoming an important city of manufacturing and commerce. It did suffer a few set backs, however. With a reliance on wood as a construction material and the fire fighting technology of the time the city was prone to destruction by fire. Five times; 1859, 1866, twice in 1874 and finally in 1875 major portion of the business district were consumed by flames and subsequently rebuilt. I will devote the next few entries to Waters' post conflagration works.

The fires of 1859 and 1866 destroyed

much of what was the business district

to varying degrees. The first fire in May of 1874 had no effect on the businesses along Main St. In August another conflagration consumed a large area from Main and Algoma / Washington Sts. north to Irving and as far east as Broad St. There is a dearth of information about reconstruction after these four fires. The blaze of 1875 and its aftermath was the subject of much newspaper print. Starting a few blocks west of Main St. near the river the flames, pushed by strong winds moved to the east and north destroying much of what lay in its path from Ceape St. to Washington St. and to the east well past the Court House.

Reconstruction started soon after, as the newspaper account will attest. Mr. Waters office was drawing "Plan by the yard" as draftsman J.P. Jensen put it. Waters had under his purview some 35 commercial structures that year. Perhaps one of the most interesting undertakings was the east side of Main St. from Ceape to Otter St. Misters Griffin, Ernst and Hubbard owned adjoining lots and were convinced to build identical buildings. In this row of stores the architect uses a form described in an earlier post, two stores with a stairways leading to the second floor between them. The row consists of four such buildings with single slightly larger store between the last two at the right, as seen in the first image. In the next block up Waters designed buildings for H. Bammessell and R. McKenzie, as well as others. The buildings were not adjacent as implied by the second image. All but one of the building on the east side the next block north were of Waters' design.

A structure of particular beauty was the Union Bank located on the northwest corner of Main and High Sts. It featured a cut corner entrance with an arched opening and recessed doors. Above the doors was arched window flanked by columns supporting a cornice upon which rested an arched pediment. Beyond the pediment was something like a plinth inscribed with the word bank. On the Main St. elevation pilasters either side of a large arched window supported small ledge. There were pilasters as well on the second floor bolstering a cornice. A set of double window filled the center of the wall. The fenestration along the the south elevation was regular with rows of four windows from foundation to the second floor. Pilasters at the west end the the building define another commercial space with a window and entrance gained by a small flight of steps. There were two window on the second floor.