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J.R. Watkins Medical Products Company, 1911-13
George Washington Maher
150-178 Liberty Street, Winona
This was the first of three progressive commissions Maher carried out in Winona for the Watkins family, one of his wealthiest clients; they also commissioned him to design a house, Rockledge (since razed, see Razed Structures Tour), and the Winona National and Savings Bank (see previous tour stop). The Watkins Company, founded in 1868 as a manufacturer of patent medicines, continues to occupy the office and manufacturing buildings; the former was designed in 1911, the latter in 1913. The luxurious main offices, finished in 1912, were executed in Maher's trademark classical-modern style. Highly symmetrical, the marble-clad building has a central domed entrance hall that features a large art-glass window depicting Sugar Loaf Mountain, a Winona landmark; gold leaf covers the dome's interior. Art-glass lunettes adorn the north and south entrances, and art-glass skylights illuminate the office spaces. Maher and Louis J. Millet, who worked with Sullivan and Elmslie on the glass for the National Farmers' Bank in Owatonna, collaborated on the window design. The building houses a small museum that tells the history of the company. next stop > |