The Paine’s initially purchased a site outside of Oshkosh on the south shore of Lake Butte des Morts for their “country estate”. However, they realized that it would be difficult for the public to visit there and eventually decided upon the property on Algoma Boulevard. Construction began in 1927, and the exterior structure was completed
Goettmann Printing was founded about 1911 by Edward W. Goettmann (1889- 1975), son of local cigar maker Michael Goettmann and his wife, Ida. By 1914 his younger brother, Earl C. Goettmann, joined the business, and later became owner. The 1919 City Directory listing reads “Goettmann Printing Co, the; Earl C. Goettmann, Mgr and Propr; Catalogue,
The building is a Twentieth Century Commercial building style with very geometric ornament and parapet treatments suggesting heavy influence of the Art Deco period. When comparing this structure’s design to other car dealership buildings of this style and period, the Gibson Auto Exchange’s design exhibits an excellent integration of ornamentation and massing.
Ephraim E. Stevens was born in Maine in 1851 and came to Oshkosh with his parents the following year. As a young man he worked as a sailor on the Great Lakes before learning the building contractor’s trade in Green Bay. He returned to Oshkosh to take advantage of the opportunities for construction presented by