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.

Waters and the Italianate style

In the late 1860's and early 1870's the Italianate style was very popular with the wealthy home builder. William Waters designed many fine dwellings in this style both of brick and wood. In such cities as Oshkosh he designed the S. M. Hay residence, Appleton the homes of E. C. Goff and J. H. Whorton and in Neenah the same design served both C. B. Clark and Frank Shattuck.

Mr. Hay's brick house was situated near the corner of Algoma Blvd. and Jackson St. A three and a half story tower with observation window at the top was flanked to the right by a pavilion with a low pitch roof supported by decorative brackets. A transverse pavilion flanks the other side. The fenestration was regular with double windows from the foundation to the second floor at the front of the house. The tower held the front entrance which is gained by a flight of seven steps. Above the doors was balcony in front of a set of double windows which were shaded by a decorative canopy. Beyond the canopy was a set of triplet windows just below a projecting railing surrounding the observatory at the top. The tower was capped by a low pitch roof bolstered by twenty brackets and crowned with a small spire. Along the first floor of transverse pavilion was a porch which was accessed from the tower. There were two single window on the porch which were echoed on the floor above. Around the corner on the first floor was a six window bay with a set of double windows above it.

E. C. Goff's house on Prospect Avenue in Appleton was nearly a mirror image of the Hay residence with exception of the bay which was on the front of the house. The building underwent extensive remodeling early in the twentieth century and would not be recognized now as the same structure. Just down the street from the Goff place is the residence of J. H. Whorton. It has remained unchanged since the alteration of the front porch. There is a three story tower to the right, the front of which has a single arch topped window on the first and second floors just below a frieze. Above the frieze, the third floor has two arch topped window on each side. Yet another frieze is above the window with four sets of paired brackets on each side bracing a low pitch roof. Here as with the other designs a spindly spire finishes it off.

At the center of the building is the front door that was originally cover by a small porch and above that a window. Sometime in the 1890's perhaps the front porch was expanded and cover the entire front of the house. To the left is a pavilion with sets of arch top double window on the first and second floors. A small balcony once graced the front of the widows of the first floor but was removed to make way for the porch. At the top of the gable wall is a round window ringed by four keystones like the points of a compass rose. There is a frieze with paired brackets supporting cornice returns and a low pitch roof. Smaller bracket ascend to the peek of the roof on the under side of the eaves on both sides.

An image of the C. B. Clark and Frank Shattuck residences can be seen in an earlier post "Two for the price of one"

What about Fond Du Lac?

In my early research on William Waters, I carefully noted every city in which Mr. Waters worked.

It was apparent that Oshkosh, Appleton and Neenah and Menasha were fertile ground for the architect's talents. It seemed however that

the city of Fond Du Lac was fallow as there was never any mention made of his work in that city. As research opportunities broadened, an article from 1902 came to my attention. The notice was regarding the departure of William Waters Jr.

from the firm in order to take a position with the army in the Philippines. A short list of cities where the firm had worked included; Green Bay, New Lisbon and Fond Du Lac. The hunt was on, I scoured every online photo archive I could think of looking for any residential, commercial, religious or governmental building that had the look of a "Waters' Job".

Eventually my research lead me to the State of Wisconsin Collection and the Fond Du Lac archives. There in "A Souvenir of Fond Du Lac County Wisconsin", published by C. O. Stiles some time around 1904, I saw a picture of the P. B. Haber residence. Something about the house in the picture was reminiscent of a Waters design. I thought of the George Bergstrom home in Neenah. It shares some of the same characteristics with the Haber home. The gambrel roof that extends to the first floor is found on both structures. The upper porch railings are similar. The

treatment of the gable end while not found on the Bergstrom house is seen in other Waters designs from about that time.

I also considered the time line. No image of the

Haber place appears in an 1898 photo review

of Fond Du Lac, just the 1904 souvenir. Then there is the matter of the written record. An extensive article on Waters published in 1893 lists nearly all the important structures by him to that date. Fond Du Lac and Haber's residence are absent. The city only comes up in the 1902 article. This all leads me to believe the Haber house was built about 1900.

I asked a friend living in Fond Du Lac to see if the Haber place was still there and if so send me pictures. Indeed the house is still there, sans a portion of the front porch and resided top to bottom with beige siding. It is once again a private dwelling after many years as the property of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Now I must find proof that Waters drew the plans for this once graceful building.

Commercial building mystery

It is often easy to recognize certain commercial structures as being the work of William Waters if one know what to look for. Many banks or retail buildings planned for a conner location feature a forty five degree angle cut corner providing another surface for doors, windows and ornamentation. This can be

seen in all the images in this post.

The first image is that of the Commercial Bank of Oshkosh,

from digital collection of the Oshkosh Public Library.

It was built in 1883 and still stands on the southwest corner of

High and Main Sts. although the front of the building has been

altered. The second bank pictured is the Commercial Nation Bank of Appleton, from the collection of the Appleton Public Library. Constructed in 1885, it was destroyed by fire

in the 1920's. Next is the Peterman Block in Merrill

which original housed a bank and several retail concerns. Today it's an Ace Hardware store. All three of these building came form

the drawing board of William Waters. The similarities are

obvious.

Characteristically the entrance is emphasized with a pediment above the door supported by columns. The second or third floors have large windows. A set of small triplet windows occupy the space just below another pediment at the top of the wall. These pediments generally bear an inscription regarding date of construction, name of builder or building purpose. The fenestration of the building is regular often with large double windows set within an arched niche. Decorative brick work such as contrasting courses or bricks set diagonally add visual interest to exterior wall.

The last two buildings pictured here may also be the work of

Mr. Waters. However my inquires about the architect have gone unanswered.

The first of the two is the Pratt block which still stands in downtown Ripon. The second was an office building commissioned by Henry Sherry of Neenah. The Sherry building stood on the corner of W. Wisconsin Av. and Church St. and was demolished many years ago. Waters had many commissions in Ripon including residences, a school, bank and opera house. He certainly may have found other work as well. As for Mr. Sherry's office building, Waters designed the Sherry residence, he may well have been asked to do the office too.

The similarities between the Pratt Block and the Sherry office are too great to be coincidental. The five building are so much alike one can easily conclude that Waters was architect for all.

William Waters and Tudor style Part II

Architectural change is a gradual progression, by the coming

of the twentieth century myriad stylistic changes had become popular. The ornate features of Queen Anne were no longer in fashion. The less cluttered look of colonial revival, foursquare and prairie school were in vogue. Mr. Waters embraced the new trends, satisfying client's desires for au courant designs.

On April 22, 1905 the Northwestern Weekly announced that J. H. Wall, president of Wall-Spalding Lumber Co. was to build a sixteen room dwelling at a cost of $8,000 on the corner of Algoma Blvd. and Light St. from plans drawn by Waters. The paper makes no mention of the style to be used. The original structures ground floor has siding of clapboards and a large front porch with a brick arch feature adjacent to the front entrance. The second floor is clad with cedar shingles above which rise gables with a half timber look. The building is still there and was expanded about one hundred years after construction to better serve as a domestic abuse refuge.

In September of 1906 the Northwester Weekly reports that Phil Sawyer has started construction of a fine home on Algoma Blvd. at a cost of $16,000. Mr. Sawyer was the son of Senator Philetus Sawyer and Edger Sawyer's brother. He served as secretary-treasure for the Oshkosh Gas Light Co. The report goes on to say the plans were done by William Waters in the old English style and will be the first of its kind in Winnebago County. "The walls of the first story are of large paving brick and the walls from there to the roof a combination of timbers and plaster, the timber dividing the plaster into panels for the windows." The dimensions of the house are 51 x 54 feet. On the front elevation, to the left is a pavilion, the second floor of which projects over a large bay window. At center is an arched entry with set triplet windows above.

The entrance is flanked on one side by long porch and to the right is a porte-cochere.

Included here is an elevation for a house much like that of Mr. Sawyer. It is from the archives of the Oshkosh Public museum and is by the hand of William Waters. Perhaps it is a preliminary

idea for the Sawyer residence.

William Waters and Tudor style Part I

The Tudor Revival style in America had reached its zenith by the mid to late 1920's. It was the choice of the well to do and many fine examples can be seen throughout the country. The style is typified by a ground floor of either brick or stone block and the second floor of half timber construction. A fully developed style by the start of the great depression, its roots can be seen in buildings of the late nineteenth century.

In the 1880's the predominate style for most of the better class of residential architecture was Queen Anne.

It is within this form William Waters first features some Tudor design elements. In the H. J. Rogers house of Appleton a half timber like construction is seen on a portion of the second story. Later with the highly Queen Anne design of H. Babcock's residence in Neenah Waters again employs the half timber look on the upper part of the tower as well as the second floor of the front pavilion.

It was not uncommon to update ageing structures by altering or

adding porches. Sometime around 1900 the front porch and porte-cochere of the Babcock house were remodeled, giving it an even greater Tudor appearance. The changes may well have been the work of Mr. Waters. This top image is of the Babcock residence after alterations were made. The other two sketches are from the archives of the Oshkosh Public Museum and were likely done by Waters himself as preliminary ideas for clients.