Frederick's Commerical Building

Now, we will explore the historical buildings along Washington Avenue in downtown Cedarburg. This is where the full history of Cedarburg actually starts. The majority of the buildings here on Washington Avenue are registered in The National Register Of Historic Places. Cedarburg has the most historic buildings in Wisconsin that are on the National Register Of Historic Places.

 First on this stop is the Frederick's Commercial Building, which today is now Heritage Lighting Gallery. Its establishment in 1904 clearly shows the twentieth-century feel of the early 1900s. As with many buildings in Cedarburg, it is designed and built out of limestone. When it was built, it was used as a furniture store originally. Then years later, Henry Ford's groundbreaking Model T was being rolled off revolutionary assembly lines. The building would not be used as an assembly factory for his cars, though, but was then converted into a Ford dealership where he sold his cars, such as the Model T. In the years ahead; it was converted again into other types of businesses. A sweet shop, a grocery store, and a drug store establishment. During the later years of the Great Depression, in the late 1930s. High school students would use it as a hangout location, which eventually became a popular spot. As any teenager in the late 1930s would do, students would occupy booths, drink malts, sodas, and other snacks and drinks, and play music on the establishment's jukebox. This building has seen change time and time again, making it unique here in Cedarburg.

A Walk Through Yesterday: In Cedarburg Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Historical Society, Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, Lauterbach Ford, Cedarburg, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, 13375.