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Monday, May 31, 2010
Three Sisters
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Saturday, May 29, 2010
Commercial Structures
Commercial buildings were a large part of Waters' practice. Some of his earliest commissions were buildings devoted to business and he continued designing business blocks until the end of his career. Many of his early jobs in Appleton and the fires which destroyed Oshkosh's Main St. gave Mr. Waters ample opportunity to build his skill with regard to store front design. There was one design template in particular that served his clients well. This design consisted of one building with two stores with a stairway to the second floor between the stores. The store front layout depended on client need. Many had a central recessed entry flanked by large display windows. In some cases the entrance was to one side, as seen here in the Commercial Bank,
On the second floor twin or triplet windows provided light and ventilation to offices or flats. At the center of the structure, above the stairway was a single window. This design is well suited to long rows of buildings. A study of business houses from the 1870's will show a few examples of this design template. Mr Waters may not have been the genesis of this design but used extensively were it would work well.
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Tuesday, May 25, 2010
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Friday, May 21, 2010
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The building displays complete symmetry and is topped with Queen Anne style belfry. The structure is no longer standing.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Small Schools
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Around the turn of the century Mr. Waters designed a number of small school buildings all based on the same plan. The first of these was Menasha's Forth Ward School built in 1891. This was followed in 1897 by the Dartford School
(Green Lake) and the Punhoqua School in Oshkosh. Winneconne's West side School and the Edgar grade school were built in 1901. The buildings were of an efficient and straight forward design which proved affordable and appealing to the clients. I will publish images of the other schools later.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Waters' birthplace
I've noticed that the current biographies of William Waters erroneously cite his birthplace as Franklin County New York. Mr. Waters was born in the village of Franklin in Delaware County New York. Delaware county is near Pennsylvania in southern part of the state and was in the late 1700's the destination for many migrants from New England. Waters' grandfather removed from Hebron Connecticut to Delaware county in 1798 and commenced to raise crops and children. Waters' father served as town clerk for a term or two and also became a well to do merchant with a local dry good store. William Waters Sr. and his wife Elizabeth had three children two sons and a daughter, William was the eldest.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Opening statement
I have for many years been interested in the history of Oshkosh, Wisconsin and in particular the architect William Waters, of that city. It is my hope that this blog will serve as a clearinghouse for information about Mr. Waters as well as a sounding board for any opinions on subjects under consideration. I intend to add images of building and engage in discussion about same. Perhaps there will be persons as interested in this subject as I am.
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