APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – A fire in downtown Appleton burned down one of the city’s historic buildings.
What was last Author’s Kitchen and Bar had a lot of historical value in the city of Appleton.
“It was built in 1883 and was the oldest feed mill in the city.”
Melanie Thurber, a librarian with the Appleton Public Library says Henry Hauert built his business Hauert & Son Flour Mill. They possessed the building until at least 1925.
Thurber says she heard from a co-worker what the building became next.
“He was actually talking about the shoe store that he had known that had been there for a long time as well.
That was Bohl & Maeser’s Shoe Store which was founded in April 1913 though it is unknown when they moved into 201 N. Appleton Street.
From 2000-2006 the first floor of the building was leased by Molly’s Bar and Grill, then from 2006-2018, Il Angolo occupied the location before moving to their current location on College Avenue.
“They had incredible woodwork and just the length of time that it had been operating as a business,” Thurber said. “You can’t really rebuild that kind of integrity in a building.”
Author’s Kitchen and Bar opened for business under a year ago, in late June of 2018.
