Whoa! It’s WHAT time again! This week we head over to the westside to Westwood Drive- the former home of Wausau Insurance (a/k/a Employers Mutual Liability Insurance Co. and Employers Mutual of Wausau) and now part of the Aspirus Hospital Complex. The complex includes a 3-story building, a 4-story building in the middle, and a 2-story building in the back
This complex was erected in 1967 in a Brutalist/Contemporary style. One hallmark of this style are the pre-cast, concrete slabs used for construction. The windows and solid areas create a continuous pattern of void/solid around the buildings. The first level windows of the main building give it the distinct look of hovering above the ground. The three buildings are connected using a second story bridge.
The complex was designed by Chicago architectural firm Childs and Smith. They also designed Employer Mutual’s first office home on Grant Street (now City Hall). Also of note are several buildings in Stevens Point of their design: Sentry Insurance building on Strongs Avenue, Old Main at UWSP, First Baptist Church and St. Peter Catholic Church.
The buildings were part of Nationwide Insurance in 1985, changing to Liberty Mutual in 1998 (as Wausau Insurance went through company changes). In 2016 the complex was sold to Aspirus.
