County of business: Franklin County
Location of buusiness: W. Main St. 2nd store front W. of Cedar St., north side, Washington
Built: 1885 - 1940
Classified: D & Commercial
Current Occupant: Bleckman Machine & Supply Co.
District Map
First, these are two separate building, but the NRHP has them as one, so will submit as one. The correct address of the 1885 building in 405, the 1940 addition is 409.
" ... Blacksmithing, an essential service of the town throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, is represented by the building at 409 W. Main Street, constructed in the mid-1880s by Hannoverian John F. Bleckmann and remodeled and enlarged circa 1940 by his descendants who continued one of the town's primary blacksmith and machine shops." ~ NRHP Nomination Form, PDF page 19
"Early Twentieth Century, circa 1905-1940. Coded D .
This group of twenty-one buildings includes numerous one and two-story commercial buildings, four residential buildings, a gas station, depot, Masonic Lodge, and a parochial school. All show influence of progressive 20th century design traditions, including Craftsman, Bungaloid, Art Deco and Moderne. The Craftsman aesthetic is best expressed ... eaves supported by large wood brackets and rectangular openings with tripart upper sash; and in several commercial / residential buildings which feature facades with glazed brick or terra cotta patterning along with terra cotta stringcourses and cornice coping. These buildings usually employ rectangular windows with tripart upper sash. ... several other buildings have corbeled
brick cornices resembling Craftsman brackets; the earlier buildings
(circa 1910) typically employ segmentally arched openings." ~ NRHP Nomination Form
Commercial . Coded With Black Bar
This designation indicates that historically the building (or part of
it) was used for commercial purposes. Since very few properties were
constructed exclusively for commerce, the black bar code at the of the property parcel generally refers to a first story storefront." ~ NRHP Nomination Form
Historic Marker on Building:
BLECKMAN BUILDING
Johann "Friedrich" Bleckmann built his first blacksmith shop in 1834. His son Fritz and grandson Henry J. built the eastern part of this building in 1888. "Bleckman's" is the oldest business in Washington.
1888
"Facade added 1947 consisting of yellow brick banded by red brick above and below first and second floor openings and below roof line. Small attic openings (ventilation). Original facade contained brick arched window openings first and second floor. Attic level with brick cornice treatments similar to Buescher Pipe Factory at 401 Main Street as seen in photo taken in 1927.
"Built by Frederic Bleckman, a German immigrant, who arrived in 1833. He lived in a log house four miles west of Washington. He also had a log shop where he made plows and blacksmithed. He moved to town in the 1840's establishing his business. By 1888, he built at 409 Main Street. Bleckman family still operates this business as an auto repair shop.
"Two rear additions; to east (at rear) 1919 addition; to the west (rear) 1925 addition" ~ Washington Historic Survey Phase II-III, page 649