Stop 13 (Downtown Trail) – Dufrenne Building

1834 Parmenter Street
Middleton WI 53562

A black-and-white image of a two-story corner building with "Dental Parlors" sign. Four people stand in front, and the store displays clothing in the window. Dirt street and wooden sidewalk visible.

Historic two-story brick building with a corner turret, housing shops on the ground floor. Fire escape and signposts visible outside. Clear sky in the background.

Black-and-white photo of a vintage furniture store interior, filled with wooden tables, chairs, and lamps; two people stand near the back—a glimpse into Middleton History along the renowned Middleton History Trail.

About

Downtown Middleton Historic Walking Trail Stop 13:

While the Dufrenne Building is not a historic landmark, the building does have strong historical significance in Middleton. When the Dufrenne family built this brick mercantile store in 1898, the family already had a long history in Middleton business. Their story began in 1869 at the corner of Hubbard and Parmenter Streets when Frederick F. Dufrenne, Sr., a German-born Civil War veteran, established partnerships first with Samuel Thuringer and subsequently with David Lyle. Dry goods and hardware were sold on the first floor of the new DuFrenne building while the second floor provided offices for Charles F. Allen, a physician, and Erwin Schuster, a dentist. The Dufrennes eventually moved to Madison. Under subsequent owners, the building served many commercial purposes. It was a grocery store, furniture store, hardware store, funeral home, printing shop, bakery, and now a gift shop.

Status: Currently, the upstairs consists of private apartment units. The downstairs is home to the artisan gift store The Regal Find, which is open for customers.