Welcome to July and WHAT! By request we are back on the avenue checking out the big, red brick beauty at 202 Grand Avenue.
This Italianate, built in 1876, for Jacob and Bertha Kolter, was designed by J. F. Becker. The Italianate design is seen in the tall, rounded windows; overhanging eaves; and decorative brackets at the roofline. Other features include the circular windows and the large front door (which was saved from the Wegner house on First Street).
Kolter was best known for owning the Kolter Music Hall located Third and Washington Streets. The hall brought in bands and theater acts until it was razed around the turn of the century. It was replaced by Washington Square.
Kolter also spent time as a quarry worker, owned a local bakery, and sold farm implements over the years.
This home was also owned by Frederick and Mathilde Kickbusch. He was a local lumberman and volunteer firefighter. He also served in a multitude of political roles including: three terms as county treasurer, alderman, and county supervisor. In 1877 he was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly as an Independent Greenbacker. In 1893 he was chosen to act as Consul to his native Stettin in Pomerania.
More recently the building has become home to a variety of businesses and residents in the apartments.
