The Schlegel Building
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Images
Schlegel Bakery around 1900. Owner Gotliebb is standing in front of the horses and his wife, Gertrude is in the Black dress and white apron. No one else is identified. WCHS 019,300
WCHS 015,260
Crock given away to customers by Schlegel's Bakery dating to around 1910. WCHS 1962.112
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Originally a wood frame structure, Gottlieb Schlegel added the Cream City brick façade to the building in 1907 and it soon became known as the Schlegel building. Gottlieb was known for his family recipes for pies and pastries. He kept barrels of apples on hand for baking as they could be kept fresh out of season. Incidentally, that is where the name of the current antique business in the building, The Apple Barrel, comes from..
After Gottlieb’s retirement in 1924, the bakery was leased to Hugo Krueger. In 1931 the business was returned to Gottlieb Schlegel at which time his daughter, Mrs. Clarence Kircher ran the business with Ernst Stellbrink as baker. By 1938, after Schlegel’s death, Ernst Stellbrink leased the business from Mrs. Kircher and became manager. The bakery closed in the 1950’s but the building has been home to many businesses: office supply store, pet store, ceramics outlet, pizzerias, and an antique stores.
Sources
Leadership West Bend Class of 2018. Historic Downtown West Bend Walking Tour. West Bend, Wisconsin. 2018.
Ostermann, Steve. "Spirited past haunts Main Street Antiques." West Bend News (West Bend) July 22nd 1998.
Wendelborn, Richard. Schlegel's Bakery. Written for a West Bend High School American History Class, accessed at the Washington County Research Center. Published May 5th 1941.
Unknown photographer. Original photograph owned by the Washington County Historical Society.
Photographer Ethel Gill on behalf of the Washington County Historical Society. Original photograph owned by the Washington County Historical Society.
From the object collection of the Washington County Historical Society. Property of the Washington County Historical Society.