Welcome to Autumn in Wausau! A great day to do a bit of research about a cool, old building – this time at 1701 and 1703 6th Street. You probably haven’t noticed all the cool brick details in this building as you are heading down this busy street.
The Wausau City Assessor records the building as being built in about 1877 in a Commercial/Retail style. It is a wood frame with brick. Whereas this can be seen as a very plain style, this building has many wonderful details. The front includes a parapet at the roofline. The windows all around include corbels, and there is dental work in several places. The south side includes a bay window and a door with special brick inlay at the top.
The 1883 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map (see photo below) notes that it is a two story building with two separate businesses (General Merchandise and Meat Market) with apartments on the second level. It also notes that there is a firewall that goes several inches above the roof.
These two addresses have seen a variety of businesses through the years – we have tried to highlight some of these through the last almost 150 years.
From the Wausau City Directories:
1895 and 1901
1701: Henry Pagenkopf’s General Store
1703: Keifer Brothers Meats (also at 308 Jackson Street
1910
1701: Pagenkopf’s General Store
1703: Weichman’s Pharmacy
1920
1701 & 1703: BFA Pagenkopf’s General Store
1925
1701: BFA Pagenkopf’s General Store
1703: Northside Drugstore (H.J. Wegener owner)
1931
1701: BFA Pagenkopf’s General Store
1703: John Oelhafe Hardware Store
1940 and 1950
1701: BFA Pagenkopf’s General Store
1703: The Bandbox Cleaners (Karl H. Pagenkopf owner)
1956 and 1960
1701: Wausau Freight Sales (Stewart Anderson owner)
1703: The Bandbox Cleaners (Karl H. Pagenkopf owner)
1965
1701: Progress Paint Company (Harold Goetsch owner)
1703: Fitzgerald’s Cleaners & Tailors (Donald Fitzgerald owner)
1970
1701: Manufacturers Shoe Outlet (Robert Gustafson owner)
1703: Katherine K’s Corset Studio (Martha Krueger owner)
1975
1701: Vacant
1703: Katherine K’s Corset Studio (Martha Krueger owner)
1980
1701: Bob’s Resale Shop (Robert Bredeck Jr. owner)
1703: Vacant
1985
1701: Vacant
1703: National Medical Homecare
1991 and 1993
1701: Chet’s TV (Chester Hoffman owner)
1703: Homedco Oxygen Equipment
1995
1701: Chet’s TV (Chester Hoffman owner)
1703: Fit & Trim Associates
2000
1701 & 1703: Chet’s TV (Otto and Linda Tryczak owner- purchased in 1996)
2002
1701: Chet’s TV (Chester Hoffman owner)
1703: Blazin’ Gifts
2005
1701: No listing
1703: Blazin’ Gifts
On a personal note from Christine – I lived in the front apartment when I moved to Wausau in 1993. It was a very long and narrow apartment, with a lot of windows.
