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of shoe production there. Badger Shoe had incorporated in
Milwaukee in 1893, after reorganizing from an earlier shoe company. The directors were Albert and Henry L. Atkins. In 1900 they relocated their factory from St. Paul Avenue in Milwaukee to what is now 1335 Gilson Street in South Madison, possibly to lower their operating costs. After a few years of difficult hiring at that location, they opened another factory on Wilson Street. In 1909 they announced plans to consolidate their operations into a new building.
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In 1989 the building was listed on the NRHP for being an unusual survivor of mid-sized factories from around the turn of the century in
Madison, and for its classic style, which is unusual in a factory. It was also designated a landmark by the Madison Landmarks Commission in 1989. In recent years the
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in 1908. For the new shoe factory he designed a six-story block clad in
Chicago brick. The decoration was simple, but refined for a factory. Bands of windows are uniformly spaced except for the corners where an expanse of solid brick the full height of the building suggests four solid corner columns.
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Shoemaking had evolved in the 19th century from small local shoemaking shops to bigger factories that used machines and unskilled workers for mass-production. Some of the cities along Lake
Michigan had big leather tanneries, and the supply of leather and transportation connections fueled the growth
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which support 2-inch pine planks which were covered in maple flooring. The office entrance at the front of the building led up half a flight of stairs to offices on the second floor, but most of the building was manufacturing space. It was modern for its day, well-lit by the many windows,
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In subsequent years the building was bought by
Crescent Electric and used as a warehouse. Later it was bought by Rowley-Schlimgen, an office supply company. At some point most of the windows were bricked in, which can be seen in photos attached to the NRHP nomination below.
187:. Some community leaders felt that the city needed to diversify by attracting large industries. On the other hand, some government and university workers didn't want their beautiful city between the lakes "soiled by industrial pollution." Growth was slow through the
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The building cost $ 40,000 and the factory began operating in the spring, employing about 250 people. Soon it was producing 2,000 pairs of shoes a day - women's and children's shoes which were sold to the
Chicago wholesaler Heiz and Schwab. Sales boomed during
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The location chosen on Blount Street was in a low-lying section of the isthmus which had been called the "Great
Central Marsh." Filling and development of the area began in the 1890s, with many streets there built up with
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Badger Shoe hired
Ferdinand Kronenberg to design their new factory. Kronenberg was born in Germany around 1877 and apprenticed in Madison. He had designed homes around Madison and the
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In the 1920s shoe materials shifted from leather to synthetics, and more shoes began to be imported. Shoe manufacture became less profitable. After the onset of the
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below the third-floor windows and the sixth-floor windows also suggest a stable base and a lighter top. The building is topped with a
203:-fill, and mixing industry with residential use. The rail lines ran by a few blocks to the south, providing good transportation.
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Alexander
Companies restored the windows and converted the building to Das Kronenberg Apartments.
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Inside, the framework is wood, with 10-inch square wood posts supporting 8x10 and 10x12 wooden
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Industrial buildings and structures on the
National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin
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National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Badger State Shoe Company
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than most other cities in the area, which grew as mill towns. By the end of the
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Madison was founded to be Wisconsin's capital and from the start was more
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is a classically-styled 6-story shoe factory built in 1910 in
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National Register of Historic Places in Madison, Wisconsin
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well-ventilated, and with an automatic sprinkler system.
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and in 1917 Edward C. Wolfram, an industrialist from
315:Gary Tippler; Carol Lohry Cartwright (1988-10-30),
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16:Historic place in Wisconsin, United States
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375:. Historical Landmark Database.org
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354:. Wisconsin Historical Society
278:. Wisconsin Historical Society
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19:United States historic place
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373:"Badger State Shoe Factory"
352:"Badger State Shoe Company"
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123:Architectural style
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323:National Park Service
91:43.08136°N 89.37847°W
118:Ferdinand Kronenberg
167:on April 11, 1989.
96:43.08136; -89.37847
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64:Madison, Wisconsin
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70:Coordinates
394:Categories
379:2012-02-03
358:2021-12-25
328:2021-12-25
282:2021-12-25
262:References
82:89°22′42″W
79:43°04′53″N
241:Watertown
181:Civil War
115:Architect
140:89000232
58:Location
221:cornice
185:foundry
171:History
228:joists
213:corbel
201:cinder
332:With
219:iron
107:Built
155:The
110:1910
135:No.
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
