1750 Ohio Street (Racine, Wisconsin): Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox building
| coordinates = {{coord|42.70809|-87.83757|display=inline,title}}
'''1750 Ohio Street''' is a building in the city of [[Racine, Wisconsin|Racine]], [[Wisconsin]], on the southwestern corner of [[Byrd Avenue (Racine, Wisconsin)|Byrd Avenue]] and [[Ohio Street (Racine, Wisconsin)|Ohio Street]]. The [[Racine County Bike Trail]] runs behind the building. It consists of 84,000 square feet of space on the ground floor, with a 16,000-square-foot mezzanine.<ref name=vacant-2000/>▼
| name = 1750 Ohio Street
| image = 1750 Ohio Street, 2011.JPG
| building_type = Industrial, former retail
| location = [[Racine, Wisconsin|Racine]], [[Wisconsin]]
| start_date = 1975
| opened_date = April 1, 1976
| owner = [[Rogan's Shoes]]
| developer = [[Schostak Brothers and Co.]]
}}
▲'''1750 Ohio Street''' is a building in the city of [[Racine, Wisconsin|Racine]], [[Wisconsin]], on the southwestern corner of [[Byrd Avenue (Racine, Wisconsin)|Byrd Avenue]] and [[Ohio Street (Racine, Wisconsin)|Ohio Street]]. The [[
Built in 1976 to house [[Kmart 4477|Racine's first Kmart store]], which moved out of the building in 1992, the building is
==History==
===Construction (1974–1976)===
In 1858<ref>[http://racinecounty.net/Redding%20and%20Watson/Redding%20and%20Watson.htm "Redding & Watson's Map of Racine County - 1858"], racinecounty.net.</ref> and 1873,<ref>[http://racinecounty.net/1873%20RK%20Map/1873%20RK%20Map.htm "Map of Racine and Kenosha Counties - 1873"], racinecounty.net.</ref> the future location of 1750 Ohio Street was the southeastern corner of the farm of A. B. Crane. By 1893, the eastern third of Crane's farm had been sold to M. George, who also owned the property to its north. George's 65-acre property was bounded by what is now [[Washington Avenue (Racine, Wisconsin)|Washington Avenue]] on the north, Ohio Street on the east, the [[Racine–Sturtevant Trail]] (formerly the [[Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad]]) on the south, and [[Perry Avenue (Racine, Wisconsin)|Perry Avenue]] on the west.<ref>[http://racinecounty.net/East%20End%20Racine%20County/East%20End%20Racine%20County.htm "Map Drawing - East End of Racine County - 1893"], racinecounty.net.</ref> In 1930, this same area was owned by [[J. E. Rowland & Sons]], a local real estate company.<ref>[https://online.flowpaper.com/7695073a/MapBook/#page=5 "Racine County Map Book - 1930"], racinecounty.net.</ref>
The area surrounding 1750 Ohio Street was annexed by the city of Racine in 1959.<ref name=opposes-rezoning>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43871956/the_journal_times/ "Plan Board Opposes K mart Rezoning"], [[Racine Journal Times]], March 28, 1974, pages 1A and [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43872994/the_journal_times/ 3A].</ref> The [[S.S. Kresge Company]], owners of the Kmart chain, stated in 1971 that they were considering opening a store in Racine.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43870929/the_journal_times/ "K Mart Considers Racine"], [[Racine Journal Times]], June 23, 1971, page 6C.</ref> In March 1974, [[Schostak Brothers and Co.]] of [[Southfield, Michigan]] proposed building 140,000 square feet of retail space at the site.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43871745/the_journal_times/ "Propose Shopping Center"], [[Racine Journal Times]], March 20, 1974, front page.</ref> Schostak's proposal included a supermarket and an 84,000-square-foot space for a discount department store. The [[Racine Journal Times]] speculated that Kmart was planning to fill that space, which the S.S. Kresge Company did not deny.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43871571/the_journal_times/ "K mart Believed to Be Store for Proposed City Development"], [[Racine Journal Times]], March 22, 1974, front page.</ref>
Schostak's initial plan for the site was to be built on a 15-acre plot, which included roughly 13 acres already zoned for light manufacturing (M-1) and 1.7 acres zoned for multiple-family residential housing (R-4). The City Plan Commission rejected Schostak's proposal to rezone those 1.7 acres so that it could be part of their shopping center, saying that the area was zoned residential by the county before it was annexed by the city, and "had been set up as a buffer between residents to the north and the light manufacturing area to the south." It was also concerned that the center's proposed entrance at the south end of [[Perry Avenue (Racine, Wisconsin)|Perry Avenue]] would lead shoppers to use that residential street to get to the [[Westgate Mall Shopping Center (Racine, Wisconsin)|Westgate Mall Shopping Center]], creating traffic problems there.<ref name=opposes-rezoning/> Schostak revised its plans to avoid using the 1.7 acres, which are now the site of [[Chateau I and II Apartments (Racine, Wisconsin)|Chateau I and II Apartments]]. Local residents opposed to the development proposed in June 1974 that the city's zoning ordinances should be changed, so that shopping centers could no longer be built in areas zoned for light manufacturing.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43873295/the_journal_times/ "Obstacles to confront request for K mart"], [[Racine Journal Times]], June 6, 1974, front page.</ref>
Regardless of zoning issues, the proposed development was unpopular among local residents. The [[Racine Unified School District]] wrote to the city plan commission in opposition, saying it was concerned that a shopping center at the location would create problems for the nearby [[Giese Elementary School (Racine, Wisconsin)|Giese Elementary School]] and [[Starbuck Middle School (Racine, Wisconsin)|Starbuck Junior High School]]. City director of planning Thomas Wright described the site as "the worst place in the world for a commercial enterprise", and the city plan commission rejected the proposal in a 4–3 vote.<ref>Herman, Robert J. [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43873821/the_journal_times/ "Plan agency turns down K mart shopping center"], [[Racine Journal Times]], June 13, 1974, front page.</ref>
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* On May 21, 1991, pallets behind the store caught fire and the fire department was called at 1:50 p.m.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43891447/the_journal_times/ "Racine Fire Calls"], [[Racine Journal Times]], May 22, 1991, page 5A.</ref>
===Vacancy and Rogan's Shoes (1992–present)===
[[File:Kmart 4477, abandoned in 1995.png|thumb|The abandoned building, photographed in 1995 by Mark Hertzberg, with a cart from [[Shopko 27|Shopko store #27]] in the foreground.]]
With the closure of the Kmart store, the building was left vacant. Kmart's 25-year lease would not expire until April 30, 2001, leaving the retailer to look for tenants to sublet the building.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43892635/the_journal_times/ "Kmart putting 205 stores on auction block"], [[Racine Journal Times]], July 2, 1995, page 9A.</ref> [[Johnson Worldwide Associates]], a sporting goods manufacturer and distributor controlled by [[S.C. Johnson & Son]], considered moving its headquarters into the building in 1993 along with several other sites, but ultimately decided to construct a new building at [[1326 Willow Road (Sturtevant, Wisconsin)|1326 Willow Road]] in [[Sturtevant, Wisconsin|Sturtevant]].<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43892241/the_journal_times/ "JWA plans building"], [[Racine Journal Times]], December 8, 1993, pages 1A and [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43892332/the_journal_times/ 11A]</ref>
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==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category: Buildings on Ohio Street (Racine, Wisconsin)]]
[[Category: Former Kmart stores in Wisconsin]]
[[Category: Rogan's Shoes]]
[[Category: Headquarters in Racine, Wisconsin]]
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