National Register of Historic Places

Woodard, Lee, and Sons Building

Owosso, Shiawassee County, Michigan
Listed
November 4, 1980
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
80001914

About this property

The Lee Woodard and Sons Building is a former factory building located at 306 South Elm Street in Owosso, Michigan, USA. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It is now Woodard Station Lofts. By 1900, Lyman Woodard's Furniture and Casket Company had grown large enough to warrant constructing an additional building. Woodard built a large four story brick factory building directly adjacent to his existing plant and began equipping it. Unfortunately, demand for finished wood products began to decline. In 1904, Lyman Woodard died, causing a crisis at the firm. His son, Lee, stepped in to restore the company's health. When woodworking products failed to revive the company, Woodard turned to metal furniture and converted the factory's equipment. By the mid-1920s, Woodard was again prominent in the furniture-making business and began constructing an addition to the factory. The Great Depression took its toll and, by 1942, the Woodard Furniture Company had liquidated its assets. In 1942, Lee Woodard converted the factory to make components for the war effort. After the war, he resumed furniture production, concentrating on metal furniture. Production continued for the next few decades and, in 1995, the company moved its factory and offices into a new building. Later, the original 1900 building was converted into loft housing, containing commercial space and residential lofts. The Lee Woodard and Sons Building is a large four-story brick factory. The building has tripled sets of four-over-four double hung sash windows in bowed arch brick openings. The only details on the exterior are brick pilasters at two bay intervals and a simple dentilated brick corniceline. A c. 1925 addition is ten bays wide and has the same basic window pattern, but with windows in trabeated brick openings.

Location

306 S. Elm St.
Owosso, Shiawassee County, Michigan
42.99495, -84.17832

Categories

INDUSTRY
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Woodard, Lyman, Furniture and Casket Company Building
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0.1 mi
Woodard, Lyman, Company Workers' Housing
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0.1 mi
Michigan Avenue-Genessee Street Historic Residential District
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0.1 mi
Gould, Ebenezer, House
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0.2 mi
Lincoln School
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0.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Woodard, Lee, and Sons Building listed on the National Register?

Woodard, Lee, and Sons Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 4, 1980.

What type of historic resource is Woodard, Lee, and Sons Building?

Woodard, Lee, and Sons Building is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Woodard, Lee, and Sons Building?

The period of significance for Woodard, Lee, and Sons Building is recorded as the industrial era.

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