Historical designation sought for Artstone houses

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM - Citing a 'unique collection' of concrete and precast stone houses, the New Ulm Heritage Preservation Commission is seeking to establish a special designation for Artstone buildings in the city.

Owners of buildings constructed by that company will be eligible to have their home designated as a historic property if the city agrees to allow the designation.

The commission unveiled its plans after a property-by-property presentation on Artstone buildings at Turner Hall last week.

The commission has already established designations for houses from other eras in New Ulm.

Artstone houses and buildings are eligible for designations because they have value as a part of the growth of the city, state and country. They also have distinguishing characteristics and represent a particular kind of architecture, according to a recent commission study.

Artstone makes stone from cement aggregates, which is mixed with a cement base and poured into wooden molds. New Ulm has 23 American Artstone properties, many of them houses that were built in between 1920 and 1938.

Historical preservation consultant Dan Hoisington said New Ulm has more Artstone buildings than most other cities in the state.

"They represent a period when concrete buildings were a fad in the 1920s," he said. "A lot of these are really well-preserved."

Hoisington recently completed a study of those properties. The study was sponsored by the Heritage Preservation Commission using a state grant.

Anne Makepeace, president of the commission, said a historical designation would be voluntary if and when one is established.

Started in 1910 as the Fairfax Cement Works, the Saffert-Guggisberg Cement Company moved to New Ulm in 1916 and changed its name to American Artstone in 1932.

Artstone's first New Ulm building was built in 1917. Most of the its homes were constructed between 1924 and 1929. Later projects included the gas station that now houses Weeds and Reeds, the trim for the auditorium at New Ulm Middle School, the old Public Library and Museum, parts of the Lamplighter Bar and Grill building, parts of the Valley Bank & Trust Company and parts of the Biebl Ranweiler building.