The Louis Hirsig House is a small Prairie Style house designed by Alvan Small and built in 1913 in Madison, Wisconsin. In 1974 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.[1]
Louis Hirsig House | |
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| Location | 1010 Sherman Ave. Madison, Wisconsin |
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| Coordinates | 43°5′14″N 89°22′33″W / 43.08722°N 89.37583°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | c. 1913 |
| Architect | Alvan Edmund Small |
| Architectural style | Prairie School |
| NRHP reference No. | 74000072 |
| Added to NRHP | December 2, 1974 |
History edit
Louis Hirsig was born in 1876 forty-five miles south of Madison in Monroe. Starting at age 14 as an apprentice tinsmith in Monroe, he worked his way into the retail business in Madison.[2]
About 1913 Hirsig commissioned Madison architect Alvin Small to design a home. Small designed the house in the compact-cubicle form of Prairie Style, with a brick foundation, with stucco walls, with broad eaves that emphasize the horizontal, and with a side-gabled roof covered with flat red tile. The bands of windows are typical Prairie style. The trim-boards give a hint of half-timbering. A shed roof porch shelters the front door and echoes the main roof above.[3]
Alvin Small was born nearby in Sun Prairie, and began work for the architects Allen Conover and Lew Porter, then a year for Louis Sullivan in Chicago, then back to Madison for several partnerships.[3] Small also designed the stylistically very different Grimm Book Bindery.[4]
By 1934 Louis was partnered in a hardware store called Wolff-Kubly & Hirsig Co. on the capitol square, at 17 South Pinckney.[5] A charter member of Madison Rotary, Louis was involved in many civic organizations, including Red Cross, and the Chamber of Commerce. He died in 1959.[2]
In 1974 the Hirsig house was added to the NRHP as a locally significant, good example of compact-cubical Prairie Style.[3] The following year it was designated a landmark by the Madison Landmarks Commission.[1] It is located within the Sherman Avenue Historic District.[6]
References edit
- ^ a b "Hirsig House". Historical Marker Database.org. Retrieved 2012-02-04.
- ^ a b "Louis Hirsig". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
- ^ a b c Gordon Orr (1974-08-19), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Hirsig, Louis, House, National Park Service, retrieved 2022-06-28
- ^ "Grimm Book Bindery". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
- ^ "Wolff-Kubly & Hirsig Hardware Store". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2022-06-28. Includes a photo of Hirsig's store in 1934.
- ^ "1010 SHERMAN AVE". Wisconsin Historical Society. January 2012. Retrieved 2018-05-29.