May 21, 2021 – Hartford, WI – The new owners of the Millstream Building, 120 N. Main Street, in Hartford were whooping it up this week with a ribbon cutting on their front stoop.
“New owners, new future,” yelled Bill Ohm and then the giant scissors sliced neatly through the orange ribbon. Birds flew and a wave of cheers rose from the sidewalk.
The building, which dates to 1886, according to Ohm, is in a “good structural state.”
“We had the opportunity to move my wife’s company and we were looking around the area and with an interest in history we found this,” said Bill. “We closed in early December 2020 and one of the highlights is the top floor used to be the old Eagle’s Ballroom.”
Some of the businesses currently located in the Millstream Building include: Staffing Support Specialists, Classy Secrets Salon, Hartford Area Development Corporation and Chasing Sunsets Photography, LLC
Historically the building has been home to an indoor golf facility in 1927, a funeral parlor, Saga Travel and the upper level was once the Eagles Club. “They owned the building from just after WWII to the 1970s,” said Ohm.
There was also a meat locker in the building. “You could buy fresh or frozen meats and then store it there,” Ohm said. “They had 227 rentable lockers and it was called Artic Circle.”
The one plan that is still on the table is possibly turning the lower level into a brew pub. That was something identified in the City’s strategic development plan in 2016.
The plan for the Millstream Building focused on development of a restaurant / brew pub on the lower level with an outdoor patio along the creek and residential above.
“That is one of the things we’re definitely looking at but nothing to report yet,” said Ohm.
