Rotunda
Built in 1913 as the first federally owned Post Office in Waukesha, it is one of the best remaining examples of Classic Revival Architecture in Waukesha. The structure was built on a historic triangle previously occupied by the First Methodist Church. The federal government purchased the property for $15,000 dollars in 1908 from First Methodist Church. The church was subsequently torn down and the new post office finished in 1913.
It served as a Post Office until 1961 when the Post Office moved to its present site at 300 E. Broadway. The semi-circular portico, supported by six fluted Doris columns, embraces half of the cylindrical lobby, which features a Corinthian colonnade and coffered dome with a stained glass skylight.
On April 22, 1963, it became Marine National Bank of Waukesha. In 1971 the First National Bank bought the building from the Marine National Bank. The First National Bank was subsequently acquired by Bank One.
Bank One sold the building to the Huelsman family in 1992. The building was used as an office building until 2001. In 2001 the Huelsman family substantially remodeled the building, restoring the interior to better reflect the original interior of the post office. At this time the Rotunda was converted to a banquet hall and has operated as such to the present.
The building is on the national register of historic places.
Marker is at the intersection of West Broadway and Gasper Street, on the right when traveling east on West Broadway.
Courtesy hmdb.org
