A landmark designation recommendation for 404 W. New York Ave. was unanimously passed by the city’s Landmarks and Plan Commission March 3 at City Hall.

If approved by the Oshkosh Common Council, the designation would help protect the property from being demolished or architecturally altered, preserving one of Oshkosh’s historic homes.

To homeowner Rich Green, historic buildings represent more than architecture.  

“Historical architecture lays the foundation for lasting memories,” Green said. “It is irreplaceable, truly irreplaceable. We must preserve what we have.”

The home was built in 1902 by the L. Frank Gates family, who managed the Diamond Match Company, Oshkosh’s largest employer at the time. 

The house features exotic wood, intricate woodwork and carvings, leaded bevelled glass windows, and early-20th-century technology, including an electric dinner bell, a maid call button beneath the dining room table and a speaking tube from the master bedroom to the kitchen.

After the Gates family, Frank Sullivan moved in and founded Triangle Manufacturing Company, which is known for inventing the ball bearing and the Lazy Susan. Green’s father David, a former employee at the company, later developed a connection to the home before his family purchased it in 1963.

Green said he is proud to live in such a historic home.

“This is one of the most significant homes in Oshkosh,” Green said. “It has many merits, including near-perfect architecture and fascinating inhabitants who not only made history in Oshkosh but had the civic integrity to help build a great city.”

For the Green family, the house is more than a personal connection; it also stands as a reminder of the industrial roots that helped shape the community during wars.

“The house represents not only a glorious period in architecture, but it also exemplifies the deep history of Oshkosh as a manufacturing powerhouse,” Green said.

Regardless of the history, Green’s personal relationship with the house remains important.

“My family moved there in 1963, the year the Beatles were on the ‘Ed Sullivan Show,’ which I remember clearly,” Green said. 

This ruling to make the house a landmark was a long time coming, Green said.

“It’s been my dream, and the dream of my parents, both now deceased, to landmark the property,” Green said.

Tom Perry, the council chairman, said landmark designations are rare for private homes during his time on the commission.

“I am not sure in my eight-plus years on the commission I have ever seen a house before,” Perry said. “We have done statues in parks before, but I can’t remember a house.”

Common council member Ed Bowen said older generations still remember the loss of the Athearn Hotel, as well as ongoing struggles to maintain the EB Davis House and Merrill School.

“Some of that is unavoidable over time, obviously, but some of it speaks to an attitude in the city that has not traditionally been all that concerned with historic preservation,” Bowen said. “To see someone consciously look to establish their property as a landmark to be preserved and go through the labor-intensive process to get there is great.”

Bowen said the process and restrictions that come with landmark status can discourage some property owners.

“Any alterations to a landmark property must be reviewed by the city’s Landmarks Commission to ensure the work maintains the historic character of the property,” Bowen said. “This requirement often scares owners from pursuing landmark status because it could impact a future sale, as a future owner may not want to invest in preserving the historic character.

Bowen is optimistic that Green’s landmark will create more movement for other historic resident owners going forward. 

“I’m hopeful that the activity here will show other owners that there are historic structures all over this city with rich histories that are hiding in plain sight, just like this one was for years,” Bowen said.

Green said he is hoping this inspires other historical site owners in Oshkosh to take the necessary steps to preserve their history.

“I sincerely hope that landmarking my house will be an example to others that they should also step up to protect our heritage,” Green said. “Oshkosh is a very special place. It’s up to us, the property owners who care, to celebrate our city for generations to come.”

Diamond Match Company was located on High Street until it was demolished in 1966, after which UW-Oshkosh built the Kolf Sports Center on the site.