WATERTOWN — Mention a spiral staircase in this city and the first thought is the Octagon House. Built on a hill in 1854 by John Richards as a promise to his bride-to-be, the home's three stories and its cupola are accessed via a staircase that winds through the center of the building. Richards, who arrived here on foot in 1837 as one of the city's first settlers and who would become the first lawyer in Jefferson County, designed the home to include central heating, running water and ventilating systems, something nearly unheard of at the time.
The bricks used to build the house were hauled from Milwaukee over the Plank Road, which had been completed a few years earlier. An original metal spiral staircase is the primary means of access between floors of the historic hydroelectric powerhouse in Watertown. This view is looking down into the basement.
JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL But just down the hill from the Octagon House and the nation's first Kindergarten building is a spiral staircase that for more than 100 years has been largely obscured from the public eye. It's located in the brick and concrete powerhouse building that towers along the west bank of the Rock River and is adjacent to the dam. Unlike the Octagon House, the powerhouse's spiral staircase is in the southwest corner of the rectangular building and connects the basement to the second floor.
Accessing the third floor is an arduous adventure up a steep metal staircase that resembles more of a ladder, and one that wo.
