Future of Sheboygan's Billy Bud chimney sweep statue is uncertain. Here’s what we know.

Alex Garner, Sheboygan Press
·3 min read
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The spires of Central High School, right, and the sweep atop the historic smoke stack by the Henry Jung Apartment complex are silhouettes in the fog, Tuesday, March 15, 2022, in Sheboygan, Wis.
The spires of Central High School, right, and the sweep atop the historic smoke stack by the Henry Jung Apartment complex are silhouettes in the fog, Tuesday, March 15, 2022, in Sheboygan, Wis.

SHEBOYGAN – What will happen to the Henry Jung Apartments smokestack and chimney sweep is unclear.

Billy Bud, the statue atop the former Jung Shoe Manufacturing Company building, was taken down earlier this month.

The Historical Preservation Commission and the apartment manager discussed Billy Bud and the smokestack's futures at an Aug. 10 meeting.

Here’s what we know about the historic building features.

Who is Billy Bud?

Billy Bud is a 6-foot, 5-inch and 75-pound chimney sweep statue. It's made of stainless-steel rods, fiber glass and plaster.

It sat atop the smokestack at the Henry Jung Apartments, 620 S. Eighth St., since August 1992, according to Sheboygan Press clips from the Sheboygan County Historical Research Center.

Jung Shoe Co. moved to the Eighth Street site in 1906. It was sold in 1984 but closed five years later because of foreign competition. The company operated for nearly 100 years.

Duke Corning from Custom Metals of Madison, makes adjustments on the Billy Bud statue before it's put atop the Jung Shoe Co. chimney, as seen, August 1992, in Sheboygan, Wis.
Duke Corning from Custom Metals of Madison, makes adjustments on the Billy Bud statue before it's put atop the Jung Shoe Co. chimney, as seen, August 1992, in Sheboygan, Wis.

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Madison developer Randall Alexander — who redeveloped the Jung Shoe Co., Leverenz Shoe Company and Balzer Wagon Works buildings into apartments — commissioned Bud Wall to create Billy Bud. Wall was an art professor at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

Billy Bud has no connection to author Herman Melville’s character, although Wall told the Sheboygan Press in 1992 the statue has ancestral connections to chimney sweeping and riding on ships to the U.S.

Where will Billy Bud go?

The property owners intend to put Billy Bud back on top of the apartment building, likely on the North Eighth Street side, Property Manager Katharin Watson said at the commission meeting.

She said Billy Bud is in “great shape” but needs some restoration. The statue was taken off the smokestack and moved to a temporary spot.

Billy Bud won’t go back on the smokestack because the owners have plans to take the 90-foot smokestack down to 20 feet, Watson said. It would essentially be level with the top of the building.

Watson said she wasn’t sure if Billy Bud could go on another chimney when asked by the commission.

“To not be on a chimney seems out of place,” commission member Steven Jaeger said. “I'd rather see him on a different chimney because he should be on a chimney. He's a chimney sweep.”

Restoration costs for Billy Bud haven’t been researched yet, according to Watson.

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Will the smokestack come down?

It’s unclear right now.

The building owners and city commission both believe they have jurisdiction over the chimney.

The Jung Shoe Co. building received a Sheboygan County Landmarks Ltd. plaque in spring 1983, but it was added to the state and national registers of historic places in November 1991 and January 1992, respectively.

The Billy Bud statue, added to the building in summer 1992, was not included in the historic designation.

The Jung Shoe Manufacturing Co. building as seen in an April 1983 Sheboygan Press story about the building receiving county landmark designation.
The Jung Shoe Manufacturing Co. building as seen in an April 1983 Sheboygan Press story about the building receiving county landmark designation.

Peter Mayer, chairman of the commission, said the commission’s initial recommendation for the historic designation status of the building gives them a say in what happens to the building, specifically the chimney.

He said it’s an essential component of the building’s architecture.

Watson said the property owners received permission to tear down the chimney. However, Mayer said a city demolition permit wouldn't be necessary for a chimney, only building demolitions.

Member Wendy Schobert was told the smokestack is “pretty much shot.”

Complete restoration could cost up to $1 million because of its poor condition, according to initial estimates shared at the meeting. Tearing down part of it would cost about $325,000.

Watson said "it's pertinent" to move forward with plans "as soon as possible."

“It needs to come down, it's dangerous,” she said.

What happens next?

Mayer requested no action be taken on the smokestack until it's discussed more at the Sept. 14 commission meeting.

Contact Alex Garner at 224-374-2332 or agarner@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @alexx_garner. 

This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Billy Bud chimney sweep statue in Sheboygan taken down, future unknown