The Jefferson Avenue Historic District in

Janesville, Wisconsin Janesville is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. It is the county seat and largest city in the county. It is a principal municipality of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Madison–Jane ...

is a historic neighborhood east of the downtown of mostly middle-class homes built from 1891 to the 1930s. It was added to the State and the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2006. Starting with Janesville's founding in the 1830s, most of its early neighborhoods grew west of the Rock River. After the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, homes were built east of the river too. Homes in what is now the Jefferson Avenue district were built from 1891 to the 1930s in styles of that period. Here are some good examples of the different styles, roughly in the order built. * The Harry and Lillian Brown house at 1018 Oakland Ave is a 2-story cream brick

Queen Anne-style The Queen Anne style of British architecture refers to either the English Baroque architecture of the time of Queen Anne (who reigned from 1702 to 1714) or the British Queen Anne Revival form that became popular during the last quarter of the ...

house built around 1891. It has the complex roof, asymmetry, and fish-scale shingles in the gable peaks typical of the style. Harry owned Brown Bros. Shoes and Boots on E. Milwaukee Street. * The N.B. Robinson house at 115 S Garfield is a 2-story Queen Anne-style house built in 1895. Like the Brown house it is asymmetric, with a complex roof, and shingles in the gable ends. Unlike the Brown house above, the walls are clad with clapboard and an asymmetric porch wraps around one corner of the house - a typical feature of Queen Annes. The porch is framed with turned posts and spindles. A matching carriage house sits behind the house. * The Helen & William Jones house at 102 Forest Park Blvd is a 2.5-story house built in 1908, with elements from various styles. The general form is a cube - the

American Foursquare The American Foursquare or American Four Square is an American house style popular from the mid-1890s to the late 1930s. A reaction to the ornate and mass-produced elements of the Victorian architecture, Victorian and other Revival styles popul ...

style that was becoming popular then. The complex roofline and rudimentary corner tower/bay are drawn from Queen Anne style. And the columns supporting the porch come from the

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...

style that was also becoming popular. Henry Jones was a real estate dealer. * The Edwin & Mary Bailey house at 102 Jefferson Ave is also at its core an American Foursquare house, but this one has a Neoclassical

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

on the front with four colossal Tuscan columns. Edwin was a partner in Pond and Bailey, which dealt in "ladies clothing." * The William P. & Jessie Langdon house at 1024 Oakland Ave is a

Dutch Colonial Revival Dutch Colonial is a style of domestic architecture, primarily characterized by gambrel roofs having curved eaves along the length of the house. Modern versions built in the early 20th century are more accurately referred to as "Dutch Colonial Re ...

house built in 1920. The signature feature of this style is the house's

gambrel A gambrel or gambrel roof is a usually symmetrical two-sided roof with two slopes on each side. (The usual architectural term in eighteenth-century England and North America was "Dutch roof".) The upper slope is positioned at a shallow angle, w ...

roof. William was a building contractor and real estate dealer. * The Harry & Clara Summers house at 334 Jefferson Ave is a 2-story brick house built in 1921. It hints at

Prairie Style Prairie School is a late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hip roof, hipped roofs with broad Overhang (architecture), ove ...

in its low-pitched roof, bands of casement windows, and the bold horizontal lines in the front porch and sun room. Harry was an architect. * The William Lathrop house at 302 Jefferson Ave is a 2-story brown brick

Georgian Revival Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Georg ...

house built in 1925. Typical elements of the style are the symmetry, hip roof, and brick exterior. William headed an insurance agency. * The Bernard & Claribel Palmer house at 323 S Garfield Ave is a 2-story house on a large lot designed in fine Colonial Revival style by Madison architect Frank Riley and built in 1926. Bernard was the son of a founder of

Parker Pen The Parker Pen Company is a French manufacturer of luxury writing pens, founded in 1888 by George Safford Parker in Janesville, Wisconsin, United States. In 2011 the Parker factory at Newhaven, East Sussex, England, was closed, and its productio ...

, an attorney, and a civic leader. * The Fifield house at 200 S Garfield Ave is a 2.5-story

Tudor Revival Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...

house designed by Law, Law & Potter of Madison and built in 1928. The steep roof surfaces and

half-timbering Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

are typical elements of the style. Fifield was a physician. * The Stanley & Lydia Anderson house at 226 Forest Park Blvd is a 2-story Modern-style house clad in concrete and built in 1941. Stanley was a plastering contractor.

References

{{reflist Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Rock County, Wisconsin