County of building: Franklin County
Location of building: W. Main St., 3rd bldg. E. of Elm St., south side, Washington
Built: 1880
Architectural Style: Second Empire
Classified: B-3 & commercial
Current Occupant: Country Living General Store
District Map
"Italianate/Second Empire, 1865-1900. Coded B.
These closely related styles are represented by fourteen
buildings, ten of which are two or three story brick buildings with
storefronts and flats above. Most are concentrated along Main Street.
The salient stylistic features are bold, projecting cornices with wood
brackets (some with incised scrollwork panels), or corbelled brickwork
imitating brackets, and dormered mansard roofs. In other respects the
buildings differ little from the standard 19th and early 20th century
planar brick façade articulated with segmentally arched windows. ... also feature Italianate cornices as the primary stylistic element.
"Residential (c. 1849 - 1930) . Coded 3
This designation denotes fifteen buildings used only for residential
purposes (all are detached, single-family except for two detached,
multi-family), as well as numerous buildings which mix residential use
with commercial and a few which are institutional/residential or
industrial/residential and are doubled coded as such.
"Commercial, Coded With Black Bar
This designation indicates that historically the building (or part of
it) was used for commercial purposes. Since very few properties were
constructed exclusively for commerce, the black bar code at the front of the property parcel generally refers to a first story storefront.
" ... The
Italianate and closely related Second Empire or Mansard styles
eventually supplanted the neoclassical as the fashionable commercial
image in Washington. Most examples are concentrated along Main Street. The profiles of their prominent projecting cornices
and dormered mansard roofs introduced a new visual dimension which
enlivened the streetscape. ... The modernizing of 216 W. Main around 1885 with
a new mansard roof and storefront confirmed popular acceptance of the
style. Standing in 1864 when H.M. Mense held title, the building was
purchased in 1885 by Joseph Schmidt, an 1870 emigrant from Freiburg,
Germany, who established his jewelry firm in the new storefront. ... " ~ NRHP Nomination Form, PDF pages 4-6. 15 & 16
"Built: 1880
Style/Design: Second Empire
This building quite possibly is a "modernized" version
of the side gabled building that appears in the 1869 Bird's Eye View on this
site. The rear roof slope suggests the mansard was a later addition. In
1880, the parcel was owned by the H. M. Mense Est., and in the late 1880's by German born jeweler/watchmaker, Joseph Schmidt who conducted his
business here into the 1920's. (Born in 1852, Schmidt emigrated in 1870.)" ~ DNR Historic Survey, phase II & III PDF pages 620-622
Plaque Mounted on Outside Wall:
SCHMIDT JEWELRY STOREAfter four years in business, Joseph H. Schmidt purchased this building in 1880 and his "Schmidt Boss Jewelers" continued for 110 years through three generations of the Schmidt family.
c.1863