HomeMy WebLinkAboutSurvey and Evaluation of the Central Business District Iowa City Iowa compiledSurvey and Evaluation
Of the
Central Business District
Iowa City, Iowa
Prepared for the
Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission
Prepared by
Marlys A. Svendsen
Svendsen Tyler, Inc., Sarona, Wisconsin
April 2001
City of Iowa City
City Council
Ernie Lehman, Mayor
Connie Champion Mike O'Donnell, Mayor Pro-tem
Ross Wilburn Steven Kanner
Irvin Pfab Dee Vanderhoef
Steve J. Atkins, City Manager
Historic Preservation Commission
Mike Gunn, Chair Summit Street Representative
Susan Licht, Vice-Chair At-Large
Ann Freerks At-Large
Richard Carlson At-Large
Michaelanne Widness At-Large
Peter Jochimson Woodlawn Representative
Doris Malkmus Moffitt Cottage Representative
James Enloe East College Street Representative
Marc Mills Brown Street Representative
Loret Mast College Green Representative
Planning & Community Development Department
Karin Franklin, Director
Robert Miklo, Senior Planner
Scott Kugler, Associate Planner - CBD Survey Project Manager
Table of Contents
i. Introduction 3
ii. Methodology 4
iii. Development Overview 5
iv. Summary of Findings and Recommendations 9
v. Historic Preservation Incentives for CBD 13
vi. Amendment to Multiple Property Documentation Form "Architectural and Historical
Resources of Central Business District Neighborhood (1855 - 1950)"
Statement of Historic Contexts E-1
Associated Property Types F-89
Geographical Data G-103
Summary of Identification and Evaluation Methods H-103
Major Bibliographical References I-107
2
i. Introduction
In 1992 the City Council and Historic Preservation Commission for Iowa City adopted a
comprehensive historic preservation plan to guide future preservation activities of the city. The
plan set forth aggressive goals and objectives to identify and protect historic resources significant
to Iowa City's past. The year 2000 was set as a reasonable deadline for completion of efforts to
survey historic resources in residential neighborhoods and commercial districts. Completion of
the Central Business District Survey in 2000 accomplishes another step towards meeting this
important objective.
Other surveys and National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) nominations completed since
1992 include the following:
• "Muscatine Avenue Moffitt Cottage Historic District" (NRHP, 1993)
• "Historic Resources of Iowa City, Iowa" -Multiple Property Documentation Form
(NRHP, 1994)
• "Brown Street Historic District" (NRHP, 1994)
• "Historic and Architectural Resources in College Hill, Iowa City, Iowa, 1839-1944"
(NRHP, 1994)
• "College Hill Historic District" and the "East College Street Historic District" (NRHP,
1994)
• "Architectural and Historic Resources of the Dubuque/Linn Street Corridor, 1839-
c.1940" (1996)
• "Survey and Evaluation of a Portion of the Original Town Plat of Iowa City,"
(Phase I) and "Historic Folk Housing of Iowa City, Iowa, 1839-C.1910" (1997)
• "Architectural and Historic Resources of the Longfellow Neighborhood Area, Iowa
City, Iowa, C.1860-C.1946" (1996,1998)
• "Survey and Evaluation of a Portion of the Original Town Plat of Iowa City,"
(Phase II) "Architectural and Historical Resources of Original Town Plat
Neighborhood (Phase II), 1845-1945 (1999)
• "Survey and Evaluation of the Goosetown Neighborhood (Phase III),"
Architectural and Historical Resources of Goosetown Neighborhood (Phase III), 1855-
1945 (2000)
The entire Central Business District (CBD) Survey Area is contained in the southwest portion of
the Original Town of Iowa City platted in 1839 (see page E-2). It contains approximately 135
properties located on 15½ blocks roughly bounded by Clinton Street on the west, Van Buren
Street on the east, East Jefferson Street and the alley south of Jefferson Street on the north, and
East Burlington Street on the south (see Figure 2, p. 18).
3
Work on the CBD Survey began in the fall of 1999. Photography was completed during October
and November 1999 and November 2000. Historic research was conducted during the winter
and spring of 2000. Site forms were completed during 2000. The survey report was written
during the fall of 2000.
The Central Business District Survey was completed under the authority of the City of Iowa
City, Iowa with direction from the Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission, Mike Gunn,
chairperson. Marlys A. Svendsen with Svendsen Tyler, Inc. of Sarona, Wisconsin served as both
historian and architectural historian for the project. Scott Kugler, Associate Planner for the City
of Iowa City's Planning Department, was the project manager. Interns John Adam, Mary Hunt
and Karmin Bradbury completed photography and other research assignments for the project.
ii. Methodology
The overall purpose of this study was to identify historic resources that individually or
collectively meet the criteria for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. A full
description of the methodology employed is contained in Section H of the Multiple Property
Document Form appended to this report beginning on page 103.
Work on the Central Business District Survey was completed over a 13-month period beginning
in the fall of 1999 and concluding in November 2000. Eight buildings in the CBD Survey Area
were identified as having been previously listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Listing dates appear in parentheses below.
• Congregational Church, 30 North Clinton Street (1973)
• College Block Building, 125 East College Street (1973)
• Trinity Episcopal Church, 320 East College Street (1974)
• Old Post Office, 28 South Linn Street (1979)
• George & Harriet Van Patten House, 9 South Linn Street (1983)
• Boerner-Fry Company Building/Davis Hotel, 332 East Washington Street (1983)
• Franklin Printing House, 115 South Dubuque Street (1986)
• Paul-Helen Building, 207 East Washington Street (1986)
4
Four National Register properties are located on the north and west edges of the CBD Survey
Area.
• Old Capitol National Historic Landmark (1972)
• Pentacrest Historic District (1978)
• Park House Hotel, 130 East Jefferson Street (1978)
• St. Mary's Church & Rectory, 220 East Jefferson Street (1980)
One National Register listed property was destroyed by fire in 1999 - the former Opera House
Block at 210 South Clinton Street. Another downtown property was determined eligible for the
National Register earlier this year - the Englert Theatre, 221 East Washington Street.
Preparation of an amendment to the 1994 Multiple Property Documentation Form, Architectural
and Historical Resources of Iowa City Central Business District Neighborhood (1855 -1950),
was the final outcome of the CBD Survey. The Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission and
the staff of the State Historical Society of Iowa will review the initialdraft. Revisions will be
made based on their suggestions.
iii. Development Overview
The survey identified development trends experienced in Iowa City's Central Business District
during the past 16 decades, and classified them as similar to evolutionary patterns in commercial
development found in many American communities. Such evolutionary patterns are often
described as "organic," in that a downtown is not the product of a single property owner, a single
architectural designer, or a single historical period. Rather, it represents the collective financial
investment and architectural preferences of hundreds of individual owners and business
operators through many generations. In Iowa City where considerable property is owned by the
University of Iowa and the municipality, the role played by institutional planners and property
managers also contributed substantially to the organic pattern.
When established in the 1840s and 1850s, downtown Iowa City faced onto the six-acre Capitol
Square. Old Capitol served the territory, then the state as the statehouse.. A mix of small-scale
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frame and brick commercial buildings, churches and dwellings were built on the north, east and
south sides of the square. These early buildings were utilitarian in design, serving basic needs
of the new settlers and were soon replaced. Iowa Avenue was planned as a wide boulevard
from Capitol Square on the east edge to Governor's Square on the west edge of the Original
Town Plat. Although a governor's mansion was never built, its 120-foot width made Iowa
Avenue the widest and most important thoroughfare in the city despite the fact its symbolic role
never materialized.
Other street widths in the CBD ranged from 80-feet for most of the north-south streets
(Dubuque, Linn, Gilbert, and Van Buren) to 100-feet for the east-west streets (Jefferson,
Washington, College, and Burlington). Because it fronted onto Capitol Square, Clinton Street
was given the more generous width of 100-feet. One block east of Capitol Square along the
north side of Iowa Avenue a city park was platted with nearby reserves for churches and a
school. South Market, one of three public squares on the Original Town Plat, was established
three blocks away between Gilbert, Van Buren, College, and Burlington streets.
The railroad arrived in Iowa City at the end of 1855 and the capital was removed to Des Moines
two years later. In a decision that would eventually have profound significance, the state
legislature established a university in 1847 willed the abandoned capitol to it in 1857. Capitol
Square became its campus with the now established business district surrounding it on three
sides. First generation commercial buildings gradually were replaced with two and three-story
brick commercial blocks. After the Civil War more substantial church structures replaced
earlier ones, an opera house appeared, and several additional University buildings were erected.
The downtown continued to serve as the economic and social crossroads of the community.
The decade of the 1870s produced the largest number of extant buildings in the downtown -
two dozen or 17% of all present structures. Mostly two-story, narrow-front commercial
buildings with residential flats for their owners on upper levels, by 1880 these buildings lined
Clinton and Dubuque Streets and adjoining blocks. Clothiers, tailors and milliners favored
Clinton Street; most banks built along Washington Street; saloons and billiard halls selected
Dubuque Street; and a collection of hardware stores, boot and shoe sellers, drygoods
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establishments, jewelers, bakeries, and hotels scattered along the intervening blocks. Fire was
the greatest hazard of this era and occurred regularly. Many catastrophic fires created
opportunities for new buildings in their places.
The 1880s and 90s produced changes in the use of both public squares in the downtown. South
Market was changed from a brush-covered localized dump to a railroad depot site for both
passengers and freight. In 1890 the city authorized transfer of the city park block to the
university. A series of new buildings were constructed here including Chemistry Hall and
Homeopathic Hospital as well as the first sections of the University Hospital during the
following decade. Construction of more ornamented buildings continued during the 1880s and
the 1890s with 20 still surviving from this period. More than one-third of the currently existing
buildings in the downtown were built prior to 1900.
During the decades prior to World War I, the downtown experienced a building boom.
University enrollment grew, new buildings were added to the Pentacrest Campus, and the
hospital complex was expanded three times. Streets were paved using brick, electric street
railways began operation, and retail trade thrived. Twenty buildings survive from this boom
period, including several that define the downtown skyline today. They included a multi-story
bank and office building, a major hotel, and a new theatre to replace the declining opera house.
A civic corridor replaced residences along and near Linn Street with advent of a public library,
post office, and several fraternal halls joined City Hall then located on the northwest corner of
Linn and Washington streets.
Downtown development declined during the 1920s and 1930s. The most significant change was
the appearance of national and regional franchise stores. The first had appeared prior to World
War I and continued to thrive despite the Great Depression. A number of buildings went
through receivership. The rapid rotation of businesses that typified downtown Iowa City
continued.
Several trends in 20th century technology and popular culture manifested themselves in the
downtown prior to World War II. The arrival of the automobile spawned construction of
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service stations, car dealerships and garages including several along Burlington and south of
College Street along Linn and Gilbert streets. Tobacco shops, confectioneries, soda fountains,
billiard halls and movie theatres sprang up in existing buildings scattered throughout the
business district. The only major building constructed in the decade prior to World War II
housed the Iowa City Press-Citizen newspaper. Less than a dozen buildings constructed during
the 1920s and '30s survive.
The 20 years that began with World War II saw the population of Iowa City nearly double.
Enrollment at the University fluctuated dramatically before leveling off in the late 1950s.
Shortages and workforce disruptions during the war stifled downtown development during the
early 1940s. An ample supply of office and retail space discouraged additional development
during the following decade despite a robust retail climate. As a result, the general size and scale
of buildings in the business district remained unchanged. The same core blocks provided a mix
of retail shops, banks, theatres, hotels, service stations, office buildings, restaurants and civic
buildings with a handful of residences scattered in. Only seven buildings erected during these
two decades survive today.
Downtown property owners and municipal leaders focused attention on solving traffic
congestion and parking problems during this period. In the late 1940s parking meters were
introduced and the first municipal parking lots were built on parcels along the eastern edge of the
downtown. Congestion was addressed by street widening, removal of boulevard or median
strips, and installation of traffic signals.
The last four decades of the 20th century in downtown Iowa City have been dominated by the
debate over urban renewal. Introduced in about 1960 as a strategy to revitalize an aging city
center, measures eventually were broadened to include the construction of new municipal
buildings and parking ramps as well as proposals for street closures. The strategy of acquiring
and demolishing aging buildings to provide larger parcels for redevelopment proved nightly
controversial. Bolstered by the receipt of federal funding, this policy eventually resulted in
clearing 11 acres of land or nearly six city blocks. Simultaneously, the University built major
new buildings in the three blocks extending along the north side of Iowa Avenue.
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By 2000 the CBD Survey Area had become intensely developed commercial blocks consisting
of two and three-story buildings plus a scattering of multi-story bank, office and apartment
buildings accompanied by parking ramps and a hotel. A multi-block pedestrian mall had been
installed along College Street between Clinton and Linn streets and on Dubuque Street between
College to Washington streets. The university's central campus extended for three blocks along
the north edge of the survey area from the Pentacrest to Gilbert Street. A collection of civic and
institutional buildings was located along the east edge. The south edge is marked by a
transportation corridor along Burlington Street. The Old Capitol Center, a multi-story shopping
mall, was located south of the Pentacrest along the west edge of the CBD.
iv. Summary of Findings and Recommendations
The Central Business District Survey Area includes a variety of building types and forms ranging
from attached narrow-front commercial buildings to freestanding fraternal halls and classroom
buildings. Portions of the area were first settled when Iowa City served as Iowa's territorial and
then state capital. All of these first generation, temporary structures have since been replaced
with more permanent buildings one or more times. Approximately 135 primary structures were
evaluated during the Central Business District Survey. Site forms were completed for all
buildings including structures constructed during the past several decades. Due to turnover of
some businesses during the survey, or the construction of new buildings, several revisions were
necessary. Approximate number counts by various categories include:1
• 100 retail and/or office buildings
• 5banks
• 10 buildings containing a minimum of 10 apartments
• 3 churches
• 3 libraries
• 1 mortuary
• 4 hotels
• 2 theatres
• 2 miniparks and 1 pedestrian mall
• 5 parking lots and 3 parking ramps
• 11 university-owned or leased properties (approximately 30% of CBD Survey Area)
• 5 municipally-owned buildings
• 7 buildings constructed as single-family dwellings
'Some buildings may appear more than once due to multiple uses or applicable categories. Categories used
in this summary include both current and original uses.
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A range of American architectural styles spanning the latter half of the 19th century and the 20th
century are represented by the buildings in the CBD Survey Area. The work of important local
and Midwestern architectural firms and designers is represented in modest as well as large-scale
buildings. They include Chauncey Lovelace of Iowa City, Proudfoot and Bird and their
successor firm - Proudfoot, Bird & Rawson - of Des Moines, Dieman & Fiske of Cedar Rapids,
Liebbe, Nourse & Rasmussen of Des Moines, Vorse, Kraetsch & Kraetsch of Des Moines;, H.L.
Stevens Co. of Chicago, Kruse and Klein of Davenport, and J. Bradley Rust of Iowa City. Their
work and that of other designers and craftsmen whose names are not known include examples of
the Greek Revival, Italianate, Classical Revival, Beaux-Arts, Georgian, and Moderne styles.
Individual Eligibility: Approximately 64% (87) of the primary buildings are more than 50 years
old with the remaining 36% (48) less than 50 years old. Of the 135 extant primary buildings,
slightly less than one-third appear to meet the National Register of Historic Places Criteria for
Evaluation as individually significant architecturally and/or historically. These same properties
would also meet the criteria for local landmark designation because the criteria used are the same
under the Iowa City Historic Preservation Ordinance. In the table which appears on pages F-
101-106, buildings already listed on the National Register are designated as "NRHP" and
National Register eligible properties are designated by "E". Buildings not considered eligible for
the National Register are designed as "NE".
Historic District Eligibility: Portions of two potential historic districts, the Downtown Historic
District and the East Jefferson Street Historic District identified in a previous survey, are located
in the CBD Survey Area. The Downtown Historic District has an irregular boundary defined by
Iowa Avenue and the alley south of Iowa Avenue between Linn and Gilbert streets on the north,
Clinton Street on the west, and Gilbert Street on the east. The southern boundary follows the
alley south of Washington Street between Clinton and Linn Street and then follows Linn Street
south to include the old Iowa City Public Library at the southeast corner of Linn and College
streets and then continues east along College Street to Gilbert. The pedestrian mall blocks along
College Street and the newly constructed buildings facing Iowa Avenue and College Street
immediately west of Gilbert Street are excluded. The district contains the best preserved
10
commercial buildings in the CBD including examples of Greek Revival, Italianate, Renaissance,
Romanesque, Classical Revival, Georgian, and Moderne style building designs. It also includes
a collection of public buildings constructed prior to World War I in a "civic corridor" along the
east edge of the CBD.
Built during more than 15 decades, these buildings record the story of Iowa City's economic
and social center. As with most organically developed business districts, its buildings express
the individual taste of their builders, the architectural styles and aesthetics popular during a
considerable period of time, and the range of materials available for construction and/or
subsequent remodeling. Despite the loss of dozens of buildings to urban renewal efforts during
the 1970s, a sufficient number of contributing buildings survive to qualify portions of the
surveyed area for National Register designation as a historic district.
Since substantial differences exist between the nature of buildings developed east of Linn Street
and the balance of the district, an alternative to including the "civic corridor" in the Downtown
Historic District would be to designate individual structures in the corridor separately. Several
of these buildings are listed already in the National Register. Others are eligible. This option
should receive careful consideration.
A small portion of a second historic district lies along the north edge of the subject survey area.
The portion of the CBD Survey Area in the East Jefferson Street Historic District includes the
north half of the block located between Clinton Street, Jefferson Street, Dubuque Street and
Iowa Avenue and the building at the southwest corner of Jefferson and Gilbert streets. The
balance of the district extends along the north side of Jefferson Street from Clinton Street to just
east of Gilbert Street. The East Jefferson Street Historic District includes an important
collection of Iowa City churches as well as a several well-preserved residences dating from the
late 19th or early 20th century. Several residences were associated with important historic
persons in Iowa City. Portions of the downtown campus originally affiliated with the
University medical school and hospital are included in this district since they fall within the
historic period of the balance of the East Jefferson Street Historic District. They also
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demonstrate the manner in which the downtown campus evolved prior to World War I to
include the blocks bounded by Clinton Street, Jefferson Street, Gilbert Street and Iowa Avenue.
Historic Preservation Overlay Zones: Iowa City's zoning ordinance provides special protection
for properties that qualify either as a local historic district or a historic landmark under the
designation "historic preservation overlay zone (OHP)"2. All areas identified as eligible for the
National Register of Historic Places individually or as a historic district qualify for local
designation and protection. It is recommended that, through time, the Historic Preservation
Commission seek designation of all properties identified as National Register eligible in the
amendment to the Multiple Property Documentation Form, Architectural and Historical
Resources of Iowa City Central Business District (1855 -1950). Highest priority should be
given to designating individually eligible properties with particular attention to any identified as
threatened.
Conservation Overlay Zones: Iowa City's zoning ordinance also provides for special protection
of older neighborhoods under the designation "conservation overlay zone (OCD)"3 or
conservation districts. Currently the first conservation district is being considered by the Historic
Preservation Commission after approving design guidelines. The OCD Zone or conservation
district is designed to "conserve the unique characteristics of older neighborhoods"; to "provide
for design review of new construction or alteration of existing buildings to assure compatibility";
to "encourage the retention and rehabilitation of existing dwelling units"; to "stabilize property
values and encourage reinvestment" and "to protect the environmental setting of historic
landmarks and historic preservation overlay zones in close proximity to or surrounded by OCD
zones."
To qualify as a conservation district, the majority of the buildings of an area must be at least 50
years old and less than 60% of the buildings would qualify as contributing structures to a historic
district. Based on these qualifications and the purposes listed above, a strong case can be made
for designating the blocks identified above as a historic district rather than a conservation;
2Iowa City Code, Section 14-6J-3. 3Iowa City Code, Section 14-6J-4.
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district. The Downtown Historic District contains a total of 72 properties of which 58 or 81%
are contributing structures and 14 or 19% are non-contributing structures due to age or integrity.
As a result this area would not qualify as a conservation district.
A strategy of establishing a conservation district should be carefully considered. In order to
comply with the conservation district ordinance, a significantly larger number of non-
contributing properties would need to be present through the inclusion of a larger area. The
situation under which this would make sense is if the determination is made that the core blocks
of the "traditional" downtown including those buildings between the alley north of College
Street and north of Burlington Street between Clinton and Linn streets were also included. This
approach should be pursued with due deliberation since it would have the effect of "diluting" a
historic district, a strategy that may be inappropriate.
v. Historic Preservation Incentives for CBD
There are four incentive programs available at the federal, state and local levels designed to
encourage rehabilitation of properties listed on, or eligible for, the National Register of Historic
Places. To be eligible for the programs, a property must be individually listed on, or eligible for,
the National Register or considered a contributing structure within a historic district that is listed
on, or eligible for, the Register.
Federal: At the federal level the Historic Preservation Tax Incentive Program provides a 20%
investment tax credit (ITC) to owners of certified historic properties who complete a certified
rehabilitation. The National Park Service holds ultimate responsibility for determining which
properties are eligible for the tax credits and whether rehabilitation meets the standards
established for historic buildings. Initial application is made through Judy McClure, Historic
Preservation Architect (judy.mcclure@dca.state.ia.us) at the Community Programs Bureau of the
State Historical Society in Des Moines. Application fees are charged for review of applications
based on the estimated cost of the rehabilitation. Fees are waived for projects of less than
$20,000.
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Eligible tax incentive projects must meet several additional tests. The building that is being
rehabilitated must be defined by the IRS as "depreciable," that is, used in a trade or business or
held for the production of income. The amount of the rehabilitation must be "substantial". The
IRS defines substantial projects as those involving the greater of $5,000 or an amount equal to
the owner's adjusted basis in the building. Expenses incurred in an ITC project may occur
during a two-year period or be phased over a five-year period. For phased projects, plans must
be approved prior to work commencing.
The application process for Federal ITC projects involves three parts. Part 1 of the Historic
Preservation Certification Application - Evaluation of Significance asks the owner to identify
what is historically significant about the subject property. Part 2 of the Historic Preservation
Certification Application - Description of Rehabilitation asks the owner to document the
condition of a building with photographs before work commences, to describe various parts of
the building being rehabilitated, and to provide a detailed explanation of the work planned. For
larger projects, plans showing existing conditions and new floor plan arrangements are required.
All work on ITC projects must be completed in conformance with the Secretary of the Interior's
Standards for Rehabilitation. Part 3 of Historic Preservation Certification Application -
Certification of Completed Work is filed at the end of a project. Photographs showing the
building in its post-rehabilitation state are submitted with final cost estimates.
For projects with a planned duration longer than 24 months, an owner is allowed to phase
completion of the work for a period of up to five years. In these instances, the tax credit can be
taken incrementally as work proceeds rather than waiting until the project is completed. Both
Part 1 and Part 2 of the application must have been approved by the National Park Service before
work began. Then work may be spread over five years and the tax credit taken based on the
value of the work completed during each tax year. For example, if a $500,000 project is spread
equally over five years ($100,000 in qualifying expenses for labor, materials and outside
contracts annually), the owner is eligible for $20,000 in federal investment tax credits each year.
When the project work is complete, a Part 3 application is completed and submitted.
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State: In July 2000 Iowa established the Iowa Historic Property Income Tax Credit which
provides a state income tax credit of up to 25% for qualified rehabilitation costs. This program
can be used in tandem with the federal ITC described above. As with the federal ITC, eligible
properties include those listed on, or eligible for listing on, the National Register and those that
are contributing structures to a historic district. In addition, if a property is a locally-designated
landmark as the result of a local government action, it becomes eligible for the 25% state ITC.
Designation of a local historic district and individual landmark designation by the Iowa City
Historic Preservation Commission would have the effect of making properties eligible for the
25% state ITC.
The program is expected to operate much as the federal ITC operates with applications reviewed
and approved by the State Historical Society of Iowa in Des Moines. Similar criteria for
approval as those described above for the federal ITC apply to the state ITC projects. Initial
application is made through Beth Foster, National Register Coordinator at the Community
Programs Bureau of the State Historical Society of Iowa (beth.foster@dca.state.ia.us) in Des
Moines.
The third incentive program was established in 1990. It is based on state enabling legislation and
local initiative. Iowa's Historic Property Temporary Tax Exemption Program encourages the
rehabilitation of historic buildings by allowing county governments to abate increases in local
property taxes resulting from completion of a certified rehabilitation. The program provides a
combination of full exemption for four years from any increased valuation resulting from the
work, and decreasing exemption (up to the new valuation) during the subsequent four years. To
be eligible a minimum of $5,000 of rehabilitation investment must be made. Before completing
the three-part application, it is advisable to estimate the adjusted basis and the total rehabilitation
investment for the project to determine whether it will likely meet the "substantial rehabilitation"
test. Criteria for approval are similar to those described above for the federal and state ITCs.
Initial application is made through Judy McClure, Historic Preservation Architect at Community
Programs Bureau of the State Historical Society of Iowa (judy.mcclure@dca.state.ia.us) in Des
Moines.
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City: In 1999 the City of Iowa City adopted a state-authorized Urban Revitalization Plan for the
Central Business District. The Urban Revitalization Tax Exemption Program that was adopted
in conjunction with this plan likely will make use of the state's Historic Property Temporary Tax
Exemption Program obsolete. Tax exemption schedules differ slightly for the two programs and
the city's tax exemption program requires a local application process rather than a state
application procedure. Both programs require construction work to conform to The Secretary of
the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation. Local tax exemption projects must be approved by
the Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission in the same manner that certificates of
appropriateness are considered under the Iowa City Historic Preservation Ordinance.
The city's Urban Revitalization Tax Exemption Program provides a competitive advantage for
historic buildings over non-historic buildings. This results from making tax abatement available
for both commercial and residential uses in historic buildings while limiting non-historic
buildings to commercial uses. In practice this means that the rehabilitation of an historic
building that includes apartments on the upper floors is eligible for a greater level of tax
abatement than a non-historic building with the same set of uses.
The Urban Revitalization Plan also provides a disincentive for the demolition of historic and/or
architecturally significant structures by making new construction projects that require the
demolition of such buildings ineligible for property tax exemption. Initial application for the
Urban Revitalization Tax Exemption Program is made through David Schoon, Economic
Development Planner with the Planning and Community Development Department for the City
of Iowa City (david-schoon@iowa-city.org).
16
Figure 1: Map of Iowa City with Central Business District Survey Area (shaded) U.S.G.S. Iowa
City West (7.5), 1983
17
Figure 2: Map of Iowa City showing survey boundaries for potential Downtown Historic
District and East Jefferson Street Historic District (shaded)
IS
Figure 4: Map of University of Iowa Campus showing individual buildings and University of
Iowa building numbering system. Properties listed in, or eligible for, the National Register of
Historic Places are in italics.
/. Old Capitol
2. SchaefferHall
4. Jessup Hall
8. Macbride Hall
11. Old University Hospital (Seashore Hall)
16. School of Journalism
18. Medical Laboratory Building (Biology
Building)
19. Hall of Anatomy (Biological Sciences
Library)
20. Isolation Hospital
22. College Of Engineering
23. MacLean Hall
184. Phillips Hall
188. Spence Laboratories of Psychology
203. Van Allen Hall
300. Jefferson Building (former Hotel
Jefferson)
316. Lindquist Center
448. Biology Building East
490. Old Iowa City Public Library
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NPS Form 10-900-b
(June, 1991)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Multiple Property Documentation Form
This form is used for documenting multiple property groups relating to one or several historic contexts. See instructions in How to Complete the Multiple
Property Documentation Form (National Register Bulletin 16B). Complete each item by entering the requested information. For additional space, use
continuation sheets (NPS Form 10-900a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer, to complete all items.
New Submission X Amended Submission
A. Name of Multiple Property Listing
Historic Resources of Iowa City, Iowa
B. Associated Historic Contexts
(Name each associated historic context, identifying theme, geographical area, and chronological period for each.)
Architectural and Historical Resources of Iowa City Central Business District, 1855 -1950
C. Form Prepared by
name/title Marlys A. Svendsen
organization Svendsen Tyler, Inc. Date October 2000
street & number N3834 Deep Lake Road telephone (715) 469-3300
city or town Sarona __ state Wisconsin zip code 54870
D. Certification
As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, I hereby certify that this documentation
torn meet/ the notional ReaMer documentation standards and sets forth requirements for the listing of related properties consistent with
the National Register criteria. This submission meets the procedural and professional retirement/ /et forth in S6 Cnt Port 60 and the
Secretary of the Interior'/ Standard/ and Guidelines (or flrcheoloau and Historic »re/erralion. ([_] see continuation sheet for additional
comments).
Signature and title of certifying official Date
State or Federal agency and bureau
I hereby certify that this multiple property documentation form has been approved by the National Register as a basis for evaluating
related properties for listing in the National Register.
Signature of the Keeper Date of Action
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
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Architectural and Historical Resources of Iowa City Central Business District, 1855 -1950 Iowa
Name of Multiple Property Listing State
Table of Contents for Written Narrative
Provide the following information on continuation sheets. Cite the letter and the title before each section of the narrative. Assign page numbers
according to the instructions for continuation sheets in How to Complete the Multiple Property Documentation Form (National Register Bulletin 16B).
Fill in page numbers for each section in the space below.
Page Numbers
E. Statement of Historic Contexts 1
(If more than one historic context is documented, present them in sequential order.)
F. Associated Property Types 89
(Provide description, significance, and registration requirements.)
G. Geographical Data 103
H. Summary of Identification and Evaluation Methods 103
(Discuss the methods used in developing the multiple property listing.)
I. Major Bibliographical References 107
(List major written works and primary location of additional documentation: State
Historic Preservation Office, other State agency, Federal agency, local government
university, or other, specifying repository.)
Paperwork Reduction Act Statement This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate
properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a
benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.).
Estimated Burden Statement* Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 18.1 hours per response including time for reviewing
instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of
this form to the Chief, Administrative Services Division, National Park Service, P.O. Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127; and the Office of
Management and Budget, Paperwork Reductions Projects (1024-0018), Washington, DC 20503.
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Architectural and Historical Resources of Iowa City Central Business District, 1855 -1945 Iowa
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E. Statement of Historic Contexts
/". Introduction
Iowa City's founding and early development are discussed in the original Multiple Property
Documentation Form (MPDF) for "Historic Resources of Iowa City, Iowa" (submitted and approved
by the NPS in 1994). The "Brown Street Historic District" was listed in the National Register of
Historic Places (NRHP) in 1994 under the historic context "Iowa City Neighborhoods: Town and
Country (1840 -1940)." Other historic contexts relating to three chronological periods of
development and a fourth relating to the development of the University of Iowa (Ul) located off
campus were included in this MPDF as well. The "Muscatine Avenue Moffitt Cottage Historic
District" was listed in the 1993 under a separate historic context "The Small Homes of Howard F.
Moffitt in Iowa City and Coralville".
Since 1994 five amendments to the original MPDF have been developed to cover the previously
developed historic contexts or based on intensive-level surveys of specific neighborhoods in Iowa
City. They include:
• "Architectural and Historic Resources of the Dubuque/Linn Street Corridor, 1839-C.1940"
(completed 1996),
• "Historic and Architectural Resources in College Hill, Iowa City, Iowa, 1839-1944" (approved by the
NPS in 1997) with two historic districts, the "College Green Historic District" and the "East College
Street Historic District (both listed in the NRHP in 1997),
• "Historic Folk Housing of Iowa City, Iowa, 1839-c.1910" (completed 1997),
• "Architectural and Historic Resources of the Longfellow Neighborhood Area, Iowa City, Iowa,
c.1860-c.1946" (completed 1998),
• "Architectural and Historic Resources of Original Town Plat Neighborhood (Phase II), 1845-1945
(completed 1999, listed 2000) and
• "Architectural and Historic Resources of the Goosetown Neighborhood (Phase III), 1855-1945
(completed 2000).
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Architectural and Historical Resources of Iowa City Central Business District, 1855 -1945 Iowa
Name of Multiple Property Listing State
This amendment builds on the survey work and each of the MPDF amendments created beginning
in 1994. It deals with the Central Business District (CBD) blocks located opposite Capitol Square
of the Original Town Plat of Iowa City recorded in 1839 (Figure 1) with approximately 135 principal
buildings located on 15 blocks and 1 half-block. Figure 2 shows the boundaries for other survey
projects and National Register historic districts in Iowa City.
Figure 1: Map of iowa City showing the 1839 Original Town Plat. The survey area is shaded1
1 Taken from "Map of Iowa City drawn by Leander Judson," reprinted in The Palimpsest, (February, 1967) vol. 48,
no. 2, pp. 60-61.
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Figure 2: Map of Iowa City with boundaries for survey projects and National Register historic districts
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//. Description and Overview of Development of Central Business District Survey Area
The Central Business District (CBD) Survey Area is located in the south central section of the
Original Town Plat laid out in 1839 for Iowa City. The Original Town Plat included 100 blocks with
eight lots per block, 31 out lot blocks, two public squares, three market squares, two public parks
and reserves for churches and a school. A promenade bordered the east bank of the Iowa River.
Following the siting of "Capitol Square," which included the equivalent of four city blocks, on a rise
overlooking the river, lots measuring 80 feet x 140 feet were laid out facing the square. A grid
system of streets of varying widths aligned with the compass points stretched in four directions
from the square. Alleys measuring 20 feet ran in an east-west direction except in the blocks
closest to the riverfront promenade between Madison and Front streets (now absorbed into the
University of Iowa campus) and in the two blocks extending along the east side of Capitol Square.
The Central Business District Survey Area is bounded by Jefferson Street on the north, Burlington
Street on the south, Clinton Street on the west and Van Buren Street on the east. The CBD is
located directly east of the Pentacrest Historic District, which is listed in the National Register of
Historic Places (NRHP) and Old Capitol National Historic Landmark (NHL). Previously surveyed
sections of the Original Town Plat (Dubuque-Linn Street Corridor, Phase I, Phase II and Phase III)
lay to the north and east of the Downtown.
The CBD Survey Area includes three blocks of the downtown campus of the University of Iowa
along the north edge with the balance of the neighborhood composed of commercial blocks and
municipally owned land. The physical layout of the CBD is relatively flat with a slight downward
slope from west to east towards Gilbert Street. A more drastic terrain change occurs in the
southeast comer of the survey area adjacent to a short north-south section of Ralston Creek that
parallels South Van Buren Street. There are no other topographic features of consequence in the
survey area.
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As noted above, the CBD contained blocks containing lots facing onto east/west streets with alleys
bisecting the blocks. The exceptions were Block 79 and Block 80 immediately east of Capitol
Square where lots faced Clinton Street and no alley was provided. Iowa Avenue was planned as
wide boulevard leading from the Iowa Territorial Capitol located in Capitol Square to Governor's
Square on the west edge of the Original Town Plat Its 120-foot width made Iowa Avenue the
widest and most important thoroughfare in the city from a practical sense while its anticipated role
in connecting the capitol to the official governor's residence made it the symbolic center of the city.
The widths of other streets in the CBD ranged from 80 feet for most of the north-south streets
(Dubuque, Linn, Gilbert and Van Buren) to 100 feet for the east-west streets (Jefferson,
Washington, College and Burlington). Because it faced onto Capitol Square, Clinton Street had a
more generous width of 100 feet.
A square-block municipal park that is now a part of the University of Iowa's downtown campus was
originally sited north of Iowa Avenue between Dubuque and Linn Streets. Reserves were also set
aside for churches and a school facing the park along Iowa Avenue (Block 66), Jefferson Street
(Block 67) and Dubuque Street (Block 60). Three market squares were situated along a north-
south diagonal line extending from the intersection of Burlington and Gilbert streets to the
intersection of Johnson and Fairchild streets. Two market squares were located in and near the
CBD including South Market located between Burlington, College, Gilbert and Van Buren streets
within the CBD Survey Area. Centre Market was located just outside of the survey area between
Jefferson, Market, Van Buren and Johnson streets.
The church reserves were eventually granted to four denominations and still serve three churches
160 years later. The balance of the church reserves were sold by the churches and converted to
commercial uses. The school reserve was used for an education building that had a varied career
as a part of the public school system and host to two local hospitals. The site was subsequently
transferred back to the state for use in conjunction with the university.
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By the year 2000 the CBD Survey Area had evolved to contain a series of intensely developed
commercial blocks generally consisting of two and three-story buildings with scattered multi-story
banks, office buildings, apartment buildings, parking ramps and a hotel. A multi-block pedestrian
mall extended along College Street from Clinton to Linn streets and from College to Washington
streets. Three blocks of the University of Iowa's downtown campus stretched along the north edge
of the survey area with the former Capitol Square, now known as the Pentacrest, laying to the west
of the CBD. An assortment of moderate to large-scale public and private civic buildings was
located along the east edge with the south edge marked by a major arterial street and a series of
public parking ramps. The Old Capitol Center, a two-story shopping mall, was located south of the
Pentacrest along the west edge of the CBD.
///. Development Patterns
Between 1839 when Iowa City was platted and 1945, the CBD Survey Area underwent several
phases of commercial and institutional development. The physical development patterns and
historic settlement trends associated with a substantial portion of the city sprang from the original
decisions made in the platting of the town and changed in response to historic events.
Territorial and Early Statehood Era (1839-1857)
The first period of development for the CBD Survey Area falls within the Territorial and Early
Statehood (1839 -1857) historic context developed in the original MPDF for "Historic Resources of
Iowa City, Iowa". This period saw a mixture of small-scale commercial buildings constructed on the
east and south sides of Capitol Square as well as a handful of small dwellings. These early
buildings were utilitarian in design serving the basic needs of the new settlers. The buildings were
generally not long lived. Two examples make the point. The Lean-back Hall (non-extant) was built
in 1839 at the northeast corner of Washington and Linn streets. The building was hastily
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constructed of hewn logs and rough board siding. It housed a tavern room, kitchen, dining hall and
a lodging room - multi-purpose functions that were required in 1839. Its hasty construction may
have contributed to its descriptive name and short life.
Like the Lean-back Hall, Butler's Capitol (non-extant) was built to serve a need of the new territorial
capital. Located along the north side of Washington Street just east of Clinton Street, this 60 foot x
30 foot two-story frame building was built by Walter Butler to serve as a temporary meeting place
for the territorial legislature in 1841. Butler's decision to erect temporary quarters for the legislature
had the advantage of drawing guests to his new hotel located a few feet away opposite Capitol
Square on Clinton Street. A year later, the new stone capitol was sufficiently complete to hold the
fifth assembly of the territorial legislature, leaving Butler's Capitol to serve varied uses. Among the
more notorious was its reported use as a house of ill-fame after it was moved a block to the
southeast and became the City Hotel.2
The CBD's earliest buildings continued to be constructed of indigenous materials until after arrival
of the railroad in late 1855. These included local timber processed in water powered and later
steam powered mills, limestone quarried from numerous locations along the Iowa River and brick
manufactured at several area brick works using local clay deposits.
Skilled building craftsmen were among the most valuable citizens in any frontier economy. Thus,
construction of the territorial capitol proved a boon to construction generally since it attracted such
skilled labor. The continued presence of stone masons and cutters after completion of the capitol
(a total of 85 in 1856) encouraged a continuation of stone construction for commercial building
foundations as well as private dwellings. A commensurate number of skilled brick makers and
bricklayers (a total of 80 in 1856) encouraged the early replacement of frame buildings prone to fire
by two and three-story brick commercial buildings in the densely developing blocks south of Iowa
Avenue along Clinton, Dubuque and Washington streets.
2 Information provided by Robert G. Hibbs, local historian, April 2001.
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Craftsmen were essential in constructing churches during the 1840s and 1850s on the church
reserves located along Iowa Avenue and Jefferson Street and further north along Clinton Street.
The Mechanics' Mutual Aid Association of Iowa City organized and applied to the territorial
legislature to use the school reserve to build a school and library in 1841. They completed a two-
story brick building along the east side of Linn Street north of Iowa Avenue a year later. In each of
these instances, the presence of competent stone masons, bricklayers, plasterers, carpenters,
glaziers, steeple jacks, cabinetmakers and laborers was essential.
In general, the buildings constructed in the CBD during the 1840s and 1850s followed the styles,
materials and construction practices of national trends with several local variations. Most buildings
were vernacular in nature with little thought of architectural ornamentation. The exceptions were
buildings that used the Greek Revival Style or its most common features. This may have been
encouraged by the recent completion of the territorial capitol replete with its dome, portico and
Classical proportions. However, since the Greek Revival Style was popular throughout the period
in other eastern Iowa communities the impact of Old Capitol's design can easily be overstated.
Greek Revival styled commercial blocks with two or three stories - often no wider than 20 to 25
feet - gradually filled the block faces. Their storefronts usually consisted of dual entrances (one
for the shop space and the other for upper story offices or residential flats) and a simple
arrangement of multi-light display windows and rectilinear entrance sidelights or transoms. Upper
floors usually had three or four double-hung sash with 6/6 or 9/6 configurations set between stone
lintels and sills or cast iron pediment arches and sills. Brick corbeling and simple cornice moldings
completed the upper edges. Roofs were frequently side gable forms with parapets extending
above the roofline of the front facade.
Near the end of the Territorial and Early Statehood Era (1839 -1857) more substantial commercial
blocks were appearing with slightly more ornamentation. Stylistically they fell into the Victorian
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Renaissance or the Italianate styles. Their upper level windows were frequently embellished with
decorative cast iron or pressed-metal hoods. Brick corbeling treatments continued and pressed
Franklin Printing House, 115 South Dubuque Street
metal cornice designs with brackets and bands of dentils were introduced. A pair of commercial
buildings at 111 and 115 South Dubuque - the oldest to survive in the CBD - were constructed in
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ca. 1856 or soon thereafter and are examples of Renaissance Style. The better preserved of
these two buildings, the Franklin Printing House (NRHP) at 115 South Dubuque Street was built as
quarters for the Iowa Capital Reporter newspaper in 1856. This newspaper was distinguished by
the fact it won a competition to be the official printer of the Iowa General Assembly. As the
Territorial and Early Statehood Era (1839-1857) drew to a close with the move of the state capital
to Des Moines, the Reporter fell out of favor. When the state's political climate turned in the
1860s, the Iowa Capital Reporter was sold and the name changed to the Iowa City Republican.
After the Republican moved to larger quarters in the 1870s, this building housed a restaurant and
saloon operated by F.B. Volkringer known as "Frenchy's Saloon" until the turn of the 20th century. It
held a clothing store and drug store after 1900 with the upper floors taken over by the Hawkeye
Brush Works. Then in 1911 this property was purchased from the Volkringer heirs by John V. Koza
who operated a meat market from the first floor and resided above with his wife, Lucy. Koza's Meat
Market remained here for many years.
The Railroad Era (1856 - 1898)
The late 1850s brought three important historical developments to Iowa City that would
permanently shape its future - the arrival of the railroad in 1855, the departure of the state capital
in 1857 and the opening of the University of Iowa on a permanent basis in 1857. In turn, each of
these developments had a profound impact on the downtown. The Railroad Era (1856 -1898) was
introduced with the laying of track in 1855 from the Mississippi River to Iowa City for the Mississippi
and Missouri Railroad (M&M RR), forerunner of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad.
The much-heralded arrival of the railroad strengthened Iowa City's ties to eastern cities and
increased the flow of settlers moving to and through the community. The fact that it remained at
the end of the completed track for nearly a decade gave Iowa City a major advantages. The
population, which had grown steadily during the decade of the 1840s to 1,250 people in the 1850
census, grew dramatically during the next decade. It doubled by 1854 to 2,570, spiking to 6,316
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two years later in 1856 before leveling off at 5,214 in the 1860 census.
Other important developments of the 1850s transpired nearly simultaneously. With the state
capital scheduled to remove to Des Moines in 1857, the General Assembly granted Iowa City the
favor of permanently locating the University of Iowa here in 1847. Considered a consolation prize
of indeterminate value by many local citizens, the university opened in 1855 in rented quarters in
the former Mechanics' Academy (non-extant) located on the school reserve east of the city park
located along Iowa Avenue. It closed shortly after opening and then reopened in the vacated state
capital in 1857.
During subsequent decades, an assortment of buildings to house university activities was added
on the former Capitol Square and to the blocks immediately east along the north edge of the
survey area. The former Mechanics' Academy was leased to house the University of Iowa Normal
School beginning in 1860. South Hall (south of Old Capitol, non-extant) was completed in 1863 as
a dormitory, but within three years was converted to classroom, academic offices and faculty
residences. The former Mechanics' Academy was purchased by the university and converted to a
men's dormitory in 1866 to replace the lost space in South Hall. Within a few years, North Hall
(non-extant) was completed immediately north of the former capital and the grounds of Capitol
Square were fenced to keep out hogs and other livestock that roamed freely at the time. Other
dwellings constructed to the east and west of the city park were leased for dormitory and
classroom use. In ca. 1871 the men's dormitory in Mechanics' Academy was converted to a 20-
bed hospital managed by the Ul Medical Department with nursing care provided by the Sisters of
Mercy. In 1885 the Sisters of Mercy established a separate hospital but the Academy continued to
serve as classrooms for the Medical Department.
Like Capitol Square, two other public open spaces on the Original Town Plat - city park and South
Market square - became the sites for buildings not originally intended for them. City park was not
a formally landscaped space. It was mostly a collection of native grasses, rarely cut or maintained
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in its early years. It was the site of a number of public celebrations and it likely functioned as an
informal gathering spot for visitors to the downtown and students. Public scales were maintained
at the southwest corner of the park at the intersection of Iowa Avenue and Dubuque Street giving
rise to the regular practice for many years of weighing and selling hay at this intersection (see
photo, page 25).
In 1890 the city council authorized transfer of the city park block to the State of Iowa for use in
conjunction with the university. It was thought at the time that such a move would discourage talk
in the Iowa General Assembly of moving the university to Des Moines - an ever present concern.
Whether the transfer of the park was actually the cause that achieved the desired effect or not, the
university was not moved.
The transfer of park property was not favored by all Iowa Citians. After the university made plans
to build a new Chemistry and Pharmacy Building on the site but before its construction, women
parishioners at St. Mary's Catholic Church located north of the park protested the building's
construction because of the planned felling of trees. Iowa City historian Irving Weber has
described the event as Iowa City's first protest. After a delay, the bishop of the Dubuque Diocese
interceded and the women withdrew so that the work could proceed.
During the decade following the property transfer, two university buildings were constructed in the
former park block during the decade of the 1890s. The Chemistry-Pharmacy Building (non-extant)
was built at the northeast corner of Dubuque Street and Iowa Avenue in 1890 and the Homeopathic
Hospital (non-extant) was constructed at the southeast corner of Jefferson and Dubuque streets in
1894. The first section of the University Hospital, which was connected with the university's Medical
School, was erected in the Linn Street right-of-way east of the former park block in 1897. Just west
of the former park at the northwest corner of Dubuque Street and Iowa Avenue, Close Hall was built
in 1890-91 to house the YMCA and YWCA. The building originally held lounges, meeting rooms
and a gymnasium used by Ul students. In 1927 the YMCA and YWCA were moved to the newly
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completed Iowa Memorial Union. In 1924 Close Hall became headquarters of the Ul newspaper,
the Daily lowan.
Like the city park block, the South Market square saw usage change through time. Located
several blocks east and south of the downtown's more important commercial blocks, the South
Market was also impacted by proximity to Ralston Creek. Though this location made the area
prone to periodic flooding, it also made it more suitable for the routing of a railroad line. This factor
was recognized by the late 1870s and the eastern half of South Market square was leased to the
Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad for a north-south railroad route through Iowa City.
Within a few years both a passenger station and freight house were constructed here. Farther
south, a collection of small and moderate-scale factories, a mill and a brewery located along South
Gilbert Street and the blocks fronting on the trackage constituted Iowa City's primary 19th century
manufacturing district. The use of South Market for railroad purposes would continue for the next
75 years.
During the Railroad Era (1857-1898) the balance of the CBD Survey Area became more densely
developed as local population continued to grow. During the 1860s Iowa City's population
adjusted in response to the inflow and exodus of war bound troops training at Camp Pope. It rose
from 5,214 in 1860 to 6,418 in 1867 and 6,583 in 1869 before declining to 5,914 in 1870. Five
years later in 1875 the city's population showed a modest increase to 6,371. The population
continued to rise slowly during the last decades of the 19th century from 7,123 in 1880 to 7,987 in
1900.
One of the earliest visual representations of the CBD Survey Area is contained in the 1868 "Bird's
Eye View of Iowa City." The map clearly shows Capitol Square with North Hall and South Hall
completed, Iowa Avenue with the city park devoid of buildings, churches along Jefferson Street
north of the city park and commercial buildings along the blocks closest to Capitol Square,
including North Clinton Street. Irregularly spaced dwellings filled the blocks facing Linn Street and
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1868 Bird's Eye View Map of Iowa City with the CBD Survey Area marked3
3Ruger, A. "Bird's Eye View of Iowa city, Johnson County, Iowa." Chicago: Chicago Lithographing Co., 1868.
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to the east and along the streets south and east of the intersection of Clinton Street and College
Street. Both the brewery district to the north of the CBD along Market Street between Linn and
Gilbert streets and the fledgling industrial area along South Gilbert Street are represented.
Residences stretch north and south of the downtown with the block-wide floodplain vacant along
Ralston Creek. Dwellings resume to the east of Van Buren Street. A section of the bird's eye view
map showing the downtown with the Central Business District Survey Area highlighted appears
above on page E-14.
Examination of the dates of extant commercial buildings in the CBD Survey Area reveals the
largest number of buildings dating from the 1870s. Only a few from the 1860s or earlier survive,
although two dozen remain from the 1870s. These buildings are clearly depicted on Sanborn
Maps dating from 1874 and 1879.4 Another 20 survive from the 1880s and the 1890s. They first
appear on Sanborn Maps dating from 1883,1888,1902 and 1899. The number of extant 19th
century buildings totals fewer than 50, or approximately one-third of the buildings in the CBD.
The blocks containing the most intact buildings from the 1870s through the 1890s include the block
of Clinton Street south of Iowa Avenue, the block of Dubuque Street south of Iowa Avenue and
several pockets of buildings in the 100 block of South Dubuque Street, 100 block of College Street
and 200 block of Washington Street.
Subsequent to the 1870s, retailing along the block of Clinton Street south of Iowa Avenue included
establishments ranging from apparel sales and tailoring to bakeries and pharmacies. Several
buildings in the block typify the ownership patterns and changing uses of commercial buildings
during this period. The Moses Bloom Clothing Store was a double-front three-story brick
commercial block built in ca. 1870 at 28-30 South Clinton Street. Johnson County Property
Transfer Records show this property was owned by Moses Bloom and members of his family from
4 The term "Sanborn Maps" is used here to refer to the maps depicting aerial views of downtown blocks from
1874 to 1970. The maps were used by insurance companies through the years for rating buildings.
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prior to the Civil War through World War I. Bloom also owned other parcels in this block to the north
and east. He arrived in Iowa City from New York City in 1857 and opened a clothing store a short
South Half of Moses Bloom Clothing Store, 30 South Clinton Street
time later at this address. His store also included a merchant tailoring business and handled men's
hats and furnishings. When his son-in-law, Max Mayer, joined the business, the name became
Bloom and Mayer.
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Members of the Sanxay family owned the corner lot next door to Bloom's building at 32 South
Clinton Street. They built a three-story Italianate Style brick building in two phases between 1868
and 1874. A hardware store was located in the building during the early 1870s and despite the
building's prominent location at the corner of Capitol Square the shop space was vacant for a time
during the early 1880s. By 1890 the space housed a drug store - the Whetstone Pharmacy -
operated by John Whetstone and later by his son, Robert Whetstone. The business became a
downtown landmark complete with a popular soda fountain and postal station. The building's
Whetstone Building, 32 South Clinton Street
location immediately adjacent to the Ul campus gave rise to the store's motto as a "Store of
Conveniences at the Convenient Corner."
At 16 South Clinton Street F.P. Brossart constructed a three-story brick commercial building with
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Gothic Revival ornamentation in ca. 1870. Through the years, several building owners
operated businesses from the shop space and resided in an apartment above. Sanborn
Namur's Bakery, 16 South Clinton Street
Maps show the shop space held several tailoring businesses, a millinery shop and several
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confectioneries. John Noel had a confectionery that also dispensed ice cream at this site during the
early 1880s and Eugene Namur's Bakery and ice cream factory operated from here for nearly four
decades beginning in the late 1880s. The Namur family resided in an upper level apartment.
According to local historian Irving Weber, the Namur Bakery was famous for its "snowflake bread."
He said the secret of the bread was running the white flour dough between steel rollers a number of
times. Many visitors to Iowa City would take home a loaf.
A fourth building along the block face appeared in the mid-1890s on property owned by William P.
Coast. This two-story brick building was massive compared to most commercial buildings, it had
three shop spaces instead of the usual one or two with an elaborate cornice treatment and
distinctive arched windows. The building Coast constructed was a good example of the Victorian
Renaissance Style. He and his partner, James Easley, operated a clothing store from two of the
shop bays, 10-12 South Clinton Street. A barbershop operated in the south bay. Eventually Coast
and his sons, William O. and Preston, assumed full ownership of the clothing business, adding
mens' furnishings and a merchant tailor trade. The store operated into the 1930s, using the slogan
"From Coast to Coast You'll Find No Better Clothes Than Coasts."
Several barbers operated from the Coast-owned shop at 14 South Clinton, with Arthur Winters' from
the 1920s through the 1950s. By 1930 the Town and Gown Tea Room was located above Winter's
barbershop at 1414 S. Clinton. Other office suites on the upper level were occupied by various
tenants, mostly physicians and surgeons. The site was convenient for their private practices since it
was located just across Clinton Street from the University of Iowa Medical Department during the
1890s. At the turn of the 20th century when the new University Hospital was built, it was located just
1½ blocks east along Iowa Avenue.
The remainder of the Clinton Street block contained buildings of like scale during the Railroad Era
(1857-1898), except for the St. James Hotel. This hotel was opened in 1872 following a
conflagration that destroyed eight buildings at and near the Iowa Avenue and Clinton Street
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intersection in 1867. When opened, the St. James was considered the best of a dozen hotels in the
downtown. Its four-story mansard roofed Second Empire Style design was much admired and
frequently photographed. In 1883 noted railroad engineer and prominent Iowa City banker Peter
William P. Coast & Sons Building, 10-14 South Clinton Street
Day acquired the St. James Hotel. Fifteen years later he remodeled its 50 rooms, advertising the
fact that it was lighted by electricity, was steam heated and had bath connections for the rooms.
The St. James remained a landmark until it burned in 1916.
A block away on Dubuque Street just south of Iowa Avenue a somewhat different pattern of
commercial development was taking form. By the late 1860s this stretch of Dubuque Street
already was in transition. The 1868 bird's eye view map of Iowa City shows a mixture of small-
scale front-gable buildings, row-house residences and a handful of two-story commercial blocks.
Located along a well-traveled entrance road into the downtown, this block proved to be an
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attractive location for restaurants, hotels and saloons. The 1868 city directory shows no fewer than
eight saloons in the block between Iowa Avenue and Washington Street.
Beginning in the late 1860s replacement buildings were constructed, but property owners still
favored smaller buildings than those constructed along Clinton and Washington streets. Instead of
three and four-story buildings, a series of two-story brick buildings were constructed in this block.
Prominent corner lots were the first to receive next-generation buildings. On the southwest
Dubuque and Iowa Avenue comer, the Park House was constructed in 1868 diagonally from the city
park that gave the hostelry its name. It was one of eight hotels in Iowa City when Gotlieb Hunzinger
opened it for business.s By 1881 Hunzinger's widow, Margaret, leased the first floor to Joseph
Dehner to operate as a restaurant. Ten years later she sold the building to Tom and William Pohler.
William Pohler operated a restaurant at the 1 South Dubuque Street Park House site, and his
brother Tom had a restaurant next door. By the turn of the 20th century, William had changed his
business to a grocery and leased portions of the building to other tenants. Power's grocery was one
of 29 operating in Iowa City in 1901. William and his wife Elizabeth lived above the store. The
business continued in the Pohler family with sons Ray and Henry in charge until World War II.
Across Dubuque Street at the southeast corner of Iowa Avenue, Market Hall was constructed about
the same time that the Park House opened. The north half of Block 66 was originally a church
reserve. In 1841 the Universalist Church erected a small brick building that stood here until fire
destroyed it in 1868. After the fire, the Universalists built a new church a block west on the
northeast corner of Iowa Avenue and Clinton Street. J.J. Dietz and Joseph Hummer acquired the
former church site and likely built Market Hall, a two-story brick commercial building, at this
prominent corner location soon after the fire as it appears on the bird's eye view of Iowa City
completed that year (reproduced as page E-14). Like several owners, Dietz's and Hummer's names
5 This should not be confused with a building of the same name at the northwest corner of Dubuque and
Jefferson streets.
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Market Hall, 2 South Dubuque Street
appeared on several other downtown properties during this period.
Market Hall is an example of a two-story Commercial Brick Front form rendered in the Late Victorian
Romanesque Style. The building's fine corbeling and brick arch work remain intact in the north half
but like other structures where ownership has divided buildings, the south half lost its original
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appearance. Market Hall likely took its name from the fact that a meat market was located on the
first floor for many years and a meeting hall was on the upper level. Sanborn Maps show the
shop space held a meat market beginning in 1874 and continuing through 1920. Kimball, Stebbins
& Meyer were listed as butchers here in 1868. Subsequent meat markets included Kimball,
Stebbins, Meyer & Hunt (1875-76,1878-79), Frank Stebbins (1890,1891-92), Franklin Market
operated by Frank Stebbins (1893-94), Messner Brothers Meat Market operated by John and Louis
Messner (1901-02), Mullin, Messner & Co. (1904), and Koza & Kaufmann Meat Market operated by
John Koza and Lou Kaufmann.
Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the upper level of Market Hall changed use
frequently. During the 1870s and 1880s a commercial college (1874), preparatory and normal
school (1879) and business college (1883,1888) operated here. By the 1890s Frank Tanner
operated a carriage repository and agricultural implement business here. A cigar factory was
located here briefly at the turn of the century followed by a dance hall through the 1920s. Another
business that operated from the southeast corner of Iowa Avenue and Dubuque Street without need
of a building was the city market and scales. Here buyers and sellers weighed and measured farm
products such as wagonloads of hay and corn in order to make business transactions.
With a fire an ever present concern along congested downtown streets and following several major
fires on this block in the 1870s, builders turned to masonry materials for replacement structures.
Skilled bricklayers produced excellent masonry work, including well-executed Romanesque window
arches and a rich variety of corbeling details in the cornices of even the more modest buildings (10
and 12 South Dubuque Street). Other buildings featured embossed metal brackets, cornices,
ornamented window hoods and storefront elements (9-11 South Dubuque Street). Multiple
storefronts were frequently grouped in single buildings that through the years have been divided into
multiple ownership (17-21 South Dubuque Street).
The buildings constructed along South Dubuque Street during the 1870s employed Romanesque
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City Scales at intersection of Iowa Avenue and Dubuque Street, ca. 1880s (State Historical Society Collection)
and Italianate style designs and features in simpler, vernacular buildings. New buildings
constructed during the decade included Ham's Hall (ca. 1870) at 6-10 South Dubuque
Street, 12 South Dubuque Street (ca. 1870), the F.J. Epeneter Building (1873) at 7 South Dubuque
Street, 19-21 South Dubuque Street (1874), the J.J. Stach Saloon (ca. 1876) at 17 South Dubuque
Street and the Patterson Block (1879) at 9-11 South Dubuque Street. The north half of the F.J.
Epeneter Building was added in 1883 and the Patterson Block received a major remodeling in
1899.
Ham's Hall at 6-10 South Dubuque Street is a Romanesque Style commercial block that originally
had three storefronts. Only the south third at 10 South Dubuque Street remains intact today.
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Sanborn Maps show the first floor held a billiards parlor or saloon beginning in 1874 and continuing
through 1888 - one of many locations in the block where such businesses existed during this period.
A flour and feed business operated by Val Miller began here in ca. 1890 and a few years later was
taken over by Philip H. Katzenmeyer. Philip Jr. and later his brother George joined their father in
the business shortly after 1900. The Katzenmeyer family business continued at this location until
ca. 1914 when it was relocated to 335 South Gilbert Street.
South third of Ham's Hall, 10 South Dubuque Street
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Farther south at 17-21 Dubuque Street, another three-bay commercial building was constructed in
phases between ca. 1874 and 1876. The south bay is the oldest section constructed for the firm of
Maresh and Holubar, who operated a tin shop and stove business from 21 South Dubuque Street
from 1875 through ca. 1882. It is likely that the arched metal cornice joining the three storefronts is
an example of their much-touted metal working skill.
Maresh and Holubar sold their third of the building to Joseph Barborka who moved his jewelry store
from just up the street at 9 South Dubuque Street. Large-scale clock work appears to have been
one of Barborka's specialties having built and/or installed the tower dock at St. Mary's Catholic
Church in 1867 and the City Hall clock in 1881 as well as a large sidewalk clock in front of his store,
which was a downtown landmark during the decades before 1900. By 1901 the business included
his children, Wilhelmina Barborka as a metal engraver and Joseph as both a jeweler and optician.
During later years the building housed a confectionery and restaurant.
The center and north bays of the building located at 17 and 19 South Dubuque Street were built
soon after the section to the south housing Maresh & Holubar was completed about 1874. Like the
south bay, their designs blended qualities of both Romanesque and Italianate styles, including
round-topped windows and a bracketed cornice. James Scanlon owned the center bay where he
operated a saloon until he sold the building in 1884 to Moses Bloom, a prominent downtown clothier
and Iowa City mayor. After a short-lived restaurant, Bloom leased the space to a series of furniture
stores including those operated by F.J. Schneider and William Hohenschuh who incorporated the
undertaking trade with their furniture business, a common practice for a century. The building at 19
South Dubuque Street continued as a furniture store until after World War I with each of the three
building sections under separate ownership. The funeral business was moved into a new building
at 13 South Linn (see photo page E-67).
Sanborn Maps show the north bay at 17 South Dubuque Street contained a variety of retail uses
beginning with a saloon in 1879 operated by J.J. Stach. Within a few years Stach switched his
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J.J. Stach Saloon, Scanlon Saloon and Maresh & Holubar Tin Shop/Barborka Jewelry Store, 17-21 South Dubuque Street
trade from spirits to boots and shoes. The passing of the Stach Saloon in the mid-1880s reflected
the shift away from saloon keeping downtown, as all such establishments had disappeared by 1901
from this block. The nature of shoe trade was changing from one-person manufacturing and repair
shops during this period to separate retailing and manufacturing establishments. Stach's store was
listed as one of nine "dealers" in boot and shoe sales in 1890. Another eight firms are listed as
"manufacturers" while in previous years the two groups were combined in a single list. The Stach
family's shoe store continued from this location with Phi! and Joe assisting their father for more than
three decades.
The Patterson Block at 9-15 South Dubuque Street was the largest construction project undertaken
along this block during the 1870s. L.B. Patterson was an attorney with considerable real estate
interests when he undertook construction of the four-bay, cream-colored brick building between
1874 and 1879. The metal cornice has a date block indicating the year "1899." it is probable that
this date is when the facade was updated and a unifying cornice installed. The resulting design
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North One-quarter of Patterson Block, 9 South Dubuque Street
changes gave the building a Victorian Renaissance Style with a dentiled cornice and garlanded
window hoods.
In later years, separate ownerships of the component sections of the Patterson Block resulted in
breaking up the building's stylistic unity. This factor combined with the destruction of the south half
of the Patterson Block by a fire in the 1980s has left only the north bay, 9 South Dubuque Street,
E
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intact. This bay held a variety of retail tenants during the late 19th century including a boot and shoe
shop, jewelry store and restaurant.
The balance of the CBD retains individual buildings or clusters of commercial buildings from the
1870s, 1880s and 1890s intermingled with 20th century buildings. The 100 block of College Street
contains two well-preserved buildings constructed during the 1870s - the Dooley Block at 109
Dooley Block, 109 East College Street
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College Street and the crown jewel of College Street, the College Block Building at 125-127 East
College Street (see photo page E-31). A third building at 115 College Street is nearly identical to
the Dooley Block but not as welt preserved.
The Dooley Block was constructed in ca. 1874 when the built-up portion of the business district
generally extended along the blocks to the north and west of this property. The building's design
blends Romanesque and Italianate styles with distinctive bracketed cornice and elaborate semi-
circular window hoods. Frank Dooley acquired the property after the Civil War, and it is likely that
the building was under construction when the 1874 Sanborn Map was completed. It held the
Hazard & Pratt Hardware Store when completed and by the turn of the 20th century housed the
Opera House Exchange, the first of several saloons on the premises. When prohibition arrived, the
business changed to a pool hall or billiard parlor and tobacco shop with Henry Musack the proprietor
from before World War I through the late 1920s. The building housed a series of grocers during the
1930s including Piggly Wiggly Grocers in 1930 and Self-Serve Grocery from the mid-1930s through
World War II.
Several years after the Dooley Block was completed, Iowa City architect Chauncey Lovelace
bought a lot at 125-127 East College Street to build a double-wide, two-story brick
commercial block he designed. Lovelace, also a contractor, partnered with Robert Spencer
Finkbine in the architectural firm of Finkbine and Lovelace since before the Civil War. The
design of his new building was statement of Victorian exuberance. The account of the
building's construction in 1878 read like a well-placed advertisement for Lovelace.
The front of Mr. Lovelace's new block will be decidedly handsome and ornate.
The windows will be of plate glass and capped with elaborate galvanized
ironwork, the top of the building to be surmounted with a conspicuous cornice. It
is something new, just what the street architecture of this city needs. (Daily
State Press, Iowa City, Iowa, August 15,1878)
It appears Lovelace built the College Block or "College Street Block" (NRHP) as it was originally
called, partly on speculation. Charles Barrow operated a grocery store from the east shop space
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from shortly after it was completed through ca. 1912. Tenants changed frequently in the west half,
however, and included a drug store, drygoods store, saloon, produce market and confectionery
before World War I. In ca. 1895 Lovelace moved his architectural practice into one of the second-
floor offices.
College Block, 125-27 East College Street
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The 1870s brought several Second Empire Style commercial blocks to the downtown. As with the
St. James Hotel opened on the southeast corner of Clinton Street and Iowa Avenue iin 1872, this
style was usually reserved for larger buildings and frequently for buildings located on prominent
corners. Examples included buildings at 210 South Clinton Street, City Hall built at the northwest
corner of Washington and Linn streets in 1881, the Odd Fellows Building at the northwest corner of
College and Dubuque streets built in 1882, and the building at 118 South Dubuque Street built in ca.
118 South Dubuque Street
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1881. All of these buildings except one -118 South Dubuque Street - are non-extant as a result of
fires or urban renewal.
J.K. Corlett operated a carriage and wagon manufacturing business from 118 South Dubuque
Street in several small buildings prior to the Civil War. In 1881 he sold the property to Edmund
Shepherd and a two-story Italianate Style commercial block was erected on the site. Moore,
Westcott & Co., a retail hardware store, located on the first floor and the upper level was used for
storage. A decade later a third floor was added incorporating a mansard roof. At the same time the
hardware business added a wholesale line to its trade. After the turn of the 20th century, the
hardware store was discontinued and a series of retail tenants occupied the building's three
storefront spaces. Adaptation of a mansard roof to this building's expansion proved to be both
aesthetically pleasing and utilitarian.
Stiilweli Building, 216 E. Washington St at left without third floor
(from an advertisement in the 1896 Hawkeye Annual, State University of Iowa)
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The need for upper-level space in the downtown during the 1880s for offices, workshops and
housing resulted in an increasing number of buildings being constructed with at least three stories.
The demand for storefront space was met by spreading the CBD to the east and south during this
decade as well. The location of the new City Hall at the intersection of Washington Street and Linn
Street in 1881 served as a magnet for construction of several fashionable and innovative buildings
along the north side of the 200 block of Washington Street a few years later.
Stillwell Building, 216 East Washington Street, with third floor added
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One of the most innovative buildings was constructed in ca. 1882 to house the metal working shop
of Maresh and Holubar, the leading local firm involved in the fabrication of embossed cornices,
brackets, window hoods, moldings, metal roofs and other ornamentation. When they built at 212-
214 East Washington Street (non-extant), they selected a design that featured cast iron storefronts
for each of the building's three bays, embossed metal panels for cladding over the entire brick front
and elaborate window hoods. A massive decorative cornice topped off the building. Though no
IXL Block, 218 East Washington Street
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other Iowa City buildings were ever built with such extensive metal ornamentation, the Maresh and
Holubar building did provide a catalogue of possibilities. The Stillwell Building (216 East
Washington Street) and the two sections of the IXL Block (218-220 East Washington Street) used
Victorian metalwork in their designs. Mortimer Ryan completed the Stillwell Building in ca. 1880.
Originally two stories in height, the metal cornice was removed and reused when a floor was added
in ca. 1890. Byron Stillwell opened a paint, oil, varnish and wallpaper shop in the building's shop
space in the late 1880s and purchased the building in 1900. The business was continued for nearly
a century from this location.
Another important building erected in this block was the 1881 City Hall. This three-story building
combined municipal offices with fire and police stations. The building was designed in the Second
Empire Style complete with a mansard roof, iron cresting, bracketed cornice, dormers and a 78'
tower that housed both a bell and clock. The principal entrance was on Washington Street with
three bays opening onto Linn Street for the fire wagons.
Between City Hall and the Stillwell Building a massive three-story building began to take shape
before the mortar was even set on City Hall. The IXL Block (source of "its name unknown) was
constructed on land assembled through a sheriff's sale after the property was forfeited for non-
payment of taxes. Erected in 1883 the IXL Block included three distinct buildings linked by a
common Victorian design treatment and a common tenant on the upper levels. The center and
west sections survive today with 218 East Washington Street containing the most intact original
storefront in the CBD. Cast iron columns frame the large display windows, with the original
decorative metal molding separating the first and second floors still in place. The windows have
elaborate surrounds with embossed keystones. The designs of the storefront and the window
surrounds are repeated in the building's sheet metal cornice and pediment. The 220 East
Washington Street center section differs slightly in window placement and cornice. A curved
name/date block caps the cornice. The impact of the IXL Block when viewed with the 1881 City Hall
is preserved in an advertisement for "Three Complete Schools" on page E-33.
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The IXL Block had three shop spaces with the west and center bays containing a grocery store and
agricultural implement dealership when the building was completed. After 1900 tenants appear to
have changed frequently. The 218 East Washington Street section included a second hand store
and printing business in 1906, but Louis Benda's grocery store was here by 1910. By World War I
the first floor was divided into two shop spaces. Harry Wieneke operated a shop selling cigars,
IXL Block (original center section), 220 East Washington Street
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stationery, fishing tackle, newspapers and magazines and rubber stamps during the 1930s. In the
same time frame, Swaner Farms Dairy operated a dairy store here as an outlet for their creamery.
The 220 East Washington Street section continued to house an agricultural implement dealership
until 1911 when the building was sold to Ostdiek and Thomas Tennyson. The storefront was
divided, with City Bakery occupying the east shop. During subsequent years they leased the west
unit to various tenants including a series of jewelry stores, an electrical contracting business and an
undertaker.
Beginning in the 1890s and continuing nearly three decades, the upper floors of IXL Block were
occupied by a business school that appeared under various names including the "Iowa City
Commercial College," the "Iowa City Academy," and the "Iowa City School of Shorthand." The
college advertised "three complete schools under one roof." The Academy alone occupied twelve
rooms and offered university preparation courses. W.A. Willis owned and directed the school with
twelve "practical" teachers directing the courses.
At the close of the Railroad Era, four decades of fires, demolition, rebuilding, new construction,
street paving and changing technology had transformed Iowa City's downtown from frontier town to
important center of scholarship and commerce. The university campus was firmly established on
the north edge of the CBD, execution was beginning on a master plan for development of the
Pentacrest, and the Ul medical complex was taking shape. The downtown's eastern boundary had
been extended to Linn Street and south past College Street. Businesses catering to the needs of
Iowa City's permanent residents and growing student population kept vacancies low. City blocks
that had contained a mixture of buildings prone to fire at the beginning of the Civil War were
replaced by orderly commercial blocks. Specialized retail shops stocked the latest fashions and
indispensable gadgets of the coming consumer age. Predictions of expanded import/export
opportunities presented by railroad connections were being realized.
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The close of the Railroad Era (1856 -1898) was signaled by two events. A new depot was
constructed for Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific RR passengers in 1898 along Wright Street four
blocks south of the CBD between Dubuque Street and Clinton Street. Commerce would continue
to depend on rail connections even after interurbans were built and the "Good Roads" movement
reached a peak late 1920s. Passenger service would link students to their hometowns and provide
Iowa City residents with ready access to urban centers for many years to come. A second event to
end of the Railroad Era came in 1899. George MacLean was installed as president of the
University of Iowa, ushering in a period of unprecedented growth. The 20th century would bring
impacts to the community through factors emanating from expansion of the university, the building
aesthetics it introduced and both the opportunities and challenges it presented to the downtown.
Town and Gown Era (1899 -1940)
Four decades span the Town and Gown Era (1899 -1940) in Iowa City. It's marked by dramatic
growth of the University of Iowa and the redevelopment and expansion of the downtown. Iowa
City's population more than doubled from 7,987 in 1900 to 17,182 in 1940. This trend was in
contrast with a decline in the state's population during the period. Iowa City experienced a modest
increase between 1910 and 1920, growing from 10,091 to 11, 267. Growth was more dramatic
during the next decade, reaching 15,340 by 1930. Intense growth occurred between 1920 and
1925 as population ballooned more than 4,000 persons, or nearly 36%. The Great Depression
reduced the rate of growth with fewer than 2,000 added by 1940 bringing Iowa City's size to 17,182
on the eve of World War II.
General population trends were mirrored by growth in the university. Enrollment nearly tripled
between 1876 and 1896 prompting the first long-range campus planning. During subsequent
years, enrollments mushroomed from nearly 1,500 in 1900 to more than 6,000 by the 1920s.6
6 Actual enrollment figures: 1896-1,331; 1900-1,450; 1913-2,255; 1916-3,523; 1922-6,808; and 1936-
6,076. From State University of Iowa Building Situation. (Iowa City: University of Iowa), 1923, and The University of Iowa
Fact Book. (Iowa City: Office of University Relations, 1979 & updated 1987.
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Meanwhile, building disasters occurred that would have a particular impact on the northern edge of
the CBD Survey area - fire on the Pentacrest destroyed the Medical Building and nearby South
Hail in 1901. Construction of replacement structures, as well as new and expanded facilities for
virtually every department of the university, took place during the terms of the university's next five
presidents - George MacLean (1899 -1911), John Bowman (1911-1914), Thomas Macbride (1914
-1916), Walter Jessup (1916 -1934) and Eugene Gilmore (1934-1940). The university campus,
which had seen construction of only 16 buildings during its first half century grew by nearly half that
many new buildings and major additions erected in the CBD Survey Area north of Iowa Avenue
between Clinton and Gilbert streets before World War II.
The campus core, Capitol Square, was redeveloped in the Beaux-Arts Style and eventually
renamed "Pentacrest" (NRHP). One of Iowa's premiere architectural firms, Proudfoot & Bird of
Des Moines, won the national design competition for the first building, Schaeffer Hall, and
subsequently designed Macbride Hall (1908), MacLean Hall (1912) and Jessup Hall (1924). The
Olmsted brothers, nationally recognized landscape architects of Brookline, Massachusetts, were
retained in 1905 to expand campus plan.
The university's growing enrollment coupled with its expanding campus and construction boom set
the stage for a period of unprecedented growth in Iowa City's commercial center.
Recommendations made by campus planners were not uniformly greeted with praise but the
Classical ornamentation of the Beaux-Arts and Neo-Classicai designs of new buildings on the
Pentacrest were expressed in several new commercial buildings including a major bank, hotel and
several office buildings, as well as a few civic buildings. It has been speculated that campus
buildings served as the stylistic model for CBD buildings, but it is more likely that both were derived
from national trends.
Appearance of the downtown was transformed in other ways after the turn of the 20th century.
Several fires destroyed clusters of two and three-story buildings. Small land parcels were
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combined and single larger replacement buildings were erected in their place. Fraternal halls were
constructed by three local lodges and one veterans group along the east edge of the CBD. Linn
Street received both a public library and post office to join city hall. By World War I, theaters
offering live performances, motion picture shorts and 'talkies" appeared along Washington,
Dubuque and College streets. During the four decades before World War II, residential patterns in
the downtown shifted significantly. The first large-scale apartment building was completed in the
CBD and a growing number of upper-level areas were converted to flats for students and
downtown workers.
Changes in transportation also impacted the downtown during the Town and Gown Era. Liveries
disappeared from block interiors, succeeded by garages and automobile showrooms. Filling
stations appeared at major intersections. Street railway lines were extended along several
downtown streets after 1910. Their arrival was of such import that a 1906 fountain in the
intersection of Iowa Avenue and Dubuque Streets was removed to City Park to make way for
extension of the rail line along Dubuque Street. Brick paving, first introduced to the downtown in
1895 when Clinton Street was paved north to Church Street, was expanded every direction.
College Street was paved through the downtown and east to Summit Street in 1897. Clinton Street
was paved south to the new Rock Island Depot the following year. Additional major brick paving
projects included Gilbert Street (College to Market) in 1908, Iowa Avenue in 1907-1908 and
Dubuque Street in 1914.
The prosperity and expansion of the opening decades of the 20th century was marked darkly in
October 1929, five days after the dedication game for Iowa Stadium (today, Kinnick Stadium),
when the stock market crashed on "Black Thursday". Bonds for the stadium were forced into
default and Ul construction all but ceased for more than two decades. Downtown construction
slowed during the 1930s as well, with several buildings falling into receivership or being sold for
delinquent taxes. Despite the general economic environment several major downtown projects
were successfully undertaken during the depression years.
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A close examination of the downtown during the Town and Gown Era reveals development patterns
that shaped the buildings that survive today as well as those that have disappeared. As noted
previously, the expansion of the Ul campus along the north edge of the CBD was one of the first
trends to appear during this period. Transfer of City Park to the University of Iowa in 1890 opened
the way for this trend. Construction of the Chemistry-Pharmacy Building (non-extant) at the
northeast corner of Dubuque Street and Iowa Avenue was initiated later that year. A disagreement
about medical privileges resulted in construction of the Homeopathic Hospital (non-extant) in 1894
at the southeast corner of Jefferson and Dubuque streets in the northwest corner of the park block.
Three years later in 1897 the first section of a new University Hospital physical plant (Ul Building
#11) for allopathic doctors was constructed on the site of the former Mechanics' Academy along the
west edge of Block 60. The hospital site included the Linn Street right-of-way from Iowa Avenue to
Jefferson Street adjacent to the former park. Architects Proudfoot and Bird of Des Moines were
commissioned to design the building. Closure of Linn Street was met by local resistance by a
number of downtown business and church leaders but eventually proceeded.
The original University Hospital consisted of three sections built in an U-shaped plan. The center
section and the southwest wing were completed in 1897 with the east wing added in 1908, the east
tower in 1912 and the west tower in 1914. The same year the last tower was constructed, Eastlawn
(non-extant) was built at the southwest corner of Iowa Avenue and Gilbert Street as housing for
nursing students. The Isolation Hospital (Ul Building #20), the only portion of the hospital complex
to retain its visual integrity, was built in 1916 to house patients suffering from infectious diseases.
The complex maintained this configuration with only minor changes until 1928 when the University
General Hospital was opened on the west campus.
Development of the hospital complex along Iowa Avenue was accompanied by construction of new ,
buildings for the Ul Medical School. The university had formal, though nominal, connection to a (
medical college established in 1850 in Davenport, the "College of Physicians and Surgeons." In
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1858 the school was moved to Keokuk where it continued to maintain a nominal connection to the
university. All connection to it was abandoned by the university in 1870, and it eventually ceased
operation. The university's change toward the Keokuk institution resulted from legislative
authorization to create a new medical school in Iowa City. Appropriations, however, remained small
isolation Hospital, Ui Building #20,325 East Jefferson Street
and inadequate until an 1882 General Assembly authorization of $30,000 for a medical building
(non-extant) south of Old Capitol. This building was struck by lightening in 1901 and destroyed by
the ensuing fire.
Several replacement buildings for the Medical School were commissioned by the successor
architectural firm that designed the hospital buildings - Proudfoot, Bird & Rawson. They were
located in the 100 block of East Jefferson Street including the Hall of Anatomy (Ul Building #19) and
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the Medical Laboratories Building (Ul Building #18), both completed in 1902-1904. In 1928
following completion of the $4.5 million General Hospital funded by the Iowa General Assembly and
a matching grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, both the Medical School and the hospital were
relocated to the west side of the Iowa River.
After the new facility was opened, the former hospital complex was remodeled into laboratories and
classrooms and renamed East Hall (later, Seashore Hall). The Medical Laboratories Building
became the Zoology Building (later, the Biology Building). It continued to house offices, classrooms
and laboratories. The Hall of Anatomy served similar functions as the Zoology Building Annex and
then as the Biology Building Annex. In 1999 following a major rehabilitation, the Biological Sciences
Library was opened in this structure.
Construction of larger, multi-story buildings is a second development pattern that gave the CBD a
distinctly changed appearance in the early years of the 20th century. The Johnson
County Savings Bank building, later the Iowa State Bank & Trust Co. building (102 South Clinton
Street), was completed in 1912 as the first example of this pattern. Its construction ushered in a 15-
year building boom in downtown Iowa City that produced larger, taller structures in the place of two
and three-story narrow-front commercial buildings.
The Johnson County Savings Bank was established in 1872, and it purchased the property at the
southeast corner of Clinton and Washington Streets three years later. Its original trustees included
Several prominent Iowa Citians and its first president was former Iowa governor Samuel Kirkwood.
He remained in this capacity until 1877 when Thomas Carson became president. Carson headed
the bank until his death in 1905, seeing its operations grow dramatically as Iowa City
prospered with growth of the university.
In 1912 with deposits in excess of $2 million, the Johnson County Savings Bank retained the
services of architects Proudfoot, Bird & Rawson of Des Moines to design a new bank and office
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Johnson County Savings Bank/Iowa State Bank & Trust Co. Building, ca. 1940s, 102 South Clinton Street (State Historical
Society of Iowa Collection}
building to house its growing business. The firm had worked for a number of iowa colleges and
universities, including design of the major buildings surrounding Old Capitol, located diagonally
across the street from the bank comer and design of the Ul Hospital and medical school complex
along the north edge of the CBD. In addition to bank activities, the planned building would provide
office space for a growing number of businessmen and professionals practicing in the CBD.
Banking operations were relocated temporarily to an Iowa Avenue location, their old building razed
and replacement building constructed. Walter Davis, a local attorney with the firm Wade, Dutcher &
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Davis, served as president of the bank during the construction period.
The Neo-Classical Style bank building housed a mix of tenants on its upper floors including doctors,
lawyers, insurance companies, a detective agency, abstractor, dentists, realtors, a beauty parlor,
the Christian Science Reading Room and a dress shop. In 1932 the Johnson County Savings Bank
suspended operations. Two years later a new institution was opened, the Iowa States Bank and
Trust Co., under the leadership of Ben Summerwill.
The second large-scale building to appear in the CBD during the Town and Gown Era was the Hotel
Jefferson (129 East Washington Street). Its construction came in two phases beginning with the
lower six floors in 1913. Two floors were added in 1928. The hotel succeeded the Metropolitan
Block that was destroyed in a fire in 1912. This old three-story building housed the Guzeman
Knitting Mills on the upper floors where an explosion set the building ablaze. After the fire, the land
was leased to the Iowa City Hotel Company, a development company led by several prominent local
businessmen, including William P. Hohenschuh, operator of a downtown mortuary, with Ralph Otto,
a former Iowa City mayor, functioning as corporate counsel. The same group formed the Jefferson
Hotel Company to manage the new hotel's operation.
Construction of the building began on March 1, 1913, and the hotel opened just eight months later.
Its architect was from a Chicago firm that specialized in hotel design, the H.L. Stevens Company.
The building's structure was engineered to allow expansion through the addition of floors - a
technique employed by hotels around the country and a continuing practice today. Like the
neighboring Johnson County Savings Bank, the hotel occupied a prominent corner along
Washington Street and incorporated Neo-Classical Style elements in its design. The addition of two
floors in 1928 made it the tallest building in the downtown for more than 50 years. Original
appointments allowed the Hotel Jefferson to claim in its advertising to be one of Iowa's finest,
including electric elevator, a 250 foot artesian well and rooms with hot and cold running water,
telephones, steam heat and electric lights. During 1933-1934, nine murals depicting the
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Hotel Jefferson, 129 East Washington Street, ca. 1930 (State Historical Society of Iowa Collection)
history of Iowa City and Johnson County were commissioned through the WPA Federal Artist's
Project for the hotel lobby and the mezzanine. These were later auctioned into private collections.
After an auspicious dedication ceremony, the hotel - one of eight in the downtown - was put in
service with the claim that it was the "only fireproof hotel in Iowa City." Other original first floor retail
included the Stewart Shoe Store, Harvat & Stach dress shop with Emma Harvat (later Iowa City
mayor) and Ann Stach as owners, a barber shop and Racine's Cigar Store No. 2, one of three such
stores operated by Fred Racine in the downtown. By 1930 the hotel was renamed the "Jefferson
Hotel," and later became a regular stop for regional and cross-country motor coaches. The
Jefferson Hotel Dining Room served a 250 breakfast and a 500 lunch to travelers and overnight
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patrons. By 1940 the chamber of commerce had its offices there.
Three building projects of more modest scale took place farther east along Washington Street
during the decade preceding World War I. They included the Paul-Helen Building (207 East
Washington Street, NRHP) built in 1910, the substantial 1911 remodeling of the First National Bank
Building, and construction of the Englert Theatre in 1913.
The Paul-Helen Building was based on a design provided by Frank X. Freyder, architect for the
Iowa City contracting firm of Sheets and Company that erected the building, ft was built for the
Schmidt-Kurz Improvement Company, whose officers G.W. Schmidt, C.A. Schmidt and William
Kurz, named the building for their children. G.W. Schmidt owned the Iowa City Iron Works, a
supplier of structural and decorative iron and steel such as that used in the Paul-Helen Building.
Kurz was the proprietor of a saloon and billiard hail that relocated from College Street to the east
shop space in this building. The original tenant in the two west bays was the Smith and Cilek
Hardware Store. Iowa City Gas and Electric Company took the two east bays. The second floor's
ten office suites were occupied by doctors, lawyers and insurance agents, as well as power
company staff. The third floor originally held a dance hall and was used as the Iowa National Guard
Armory by 1915. The third floor was also used for regular Saturday night dances open to the public.
The Mahana & Ogle Dancing School was there by 1919 and their orchestra provided music for the
"Varsity" dances.
In 1918 two years after prohibition arrived, the College Inn - a restaurant and ice cream
confectionery - replaced the saloon. When prohibition was repealed, this space was leased for
operation of a state-owned liquor store. By 1934 the hardware store was operating as "Lenoch &
Cilek" after Frank Lenoch, Cilek's brother-in-law, purchased Smith's share in the business. During
World War II a club for Navy petty officers rented the third floor.
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Paul-Helen Building, 207 East Washington Street (NRHP)
Across the street from the Paul-Helen Building, owners of First National Bank (202 East Washington
Street) sought to transform their property by completing a major exterior remodeling. The original
bank building at the northeast corner of Washington and Dubuque streets faced onto Dubuque
Street and had housed a grocery store and clothing store during the 1880s. By 1888 the building
had been taken over by the Farmers Loan & Trust Co. and First National Bank. In 1911 the building
was remodeled in the Classical Revival Style and reoriented toward Washington Street. This style
was frequently favored for American banks during the period as they sought to evoke a sense of
strength and permanence. The brick building was clad in Bedford limestone, the popular stone
used on a number of buildings constructed by the University of Iowa on the Pentacrest beginning at
the turn of the 20th century. Two other important civic buildings located along South Linn Street a
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block east of the bank - the new Public Library (1903) and the new Post Office (1904) - also reflect
the Classical Revival Style executed in Bedford limestone.
First National Bank was first organized in 1863 under a federal charter with W.B. Daniels as
president. Peter Dey served as president from 1869 until 1878 and again from 1895 until he died in
First National Bank, 204 East Washington Street, ca. 1920s (State Historical Society of Iowa Collection)
1911. Its affiliates Farmers' Loan and Trust Company was organized as a state savings bank in
1882. This bank was established by some of the same founders as the First National Bank. By the
late 1880s both institutions were operated from the building at the northeast corner of Dubuque and
Washington streets, with William J. McChesney as president of both.
The bank crisis of the 1930s saw both banks closed. They were among five local banks to cease
operations during 1931 and 1932. The First National Bank was the last to close on January 20,
1932. Within two months, 75 local residents formed a new bank - First Capitol State Bank located
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in the building at the southeast corner of Clinton and College streets. In March 1933 the receiver for
First National Bank transferred the closed bank's building to First Capitol State Bank where it
resumed operations. First Capitol State became First Capitol National Bank in early 1933, and by
year's end was rechartered as First National Bank. It continued to operate under this bank charter
until the 1990s when a series of sales and mergers saw it first become a branch of the Mercantile
Bank and by 2000 part of the Firststar holding company.
Next door to the Paul-Helen Building and down the block from the remodeled First National Bank,
work was begun on a theater in 1913. Construction of the Englert Theatre (221 East Washington
Street) required demolition of a former three-story livery stable. The new building was an example
of the mixture of several architectural styles popular after the turn-of-the 20th century in downtown
Iowa City, including the Neo-Classical Revival favored in remodeling the First National Bank, and
the Commercial Style used in the Paul-Helen Building. Owner William Englert was descended from
the Englert brewing family. With his brothers, he owned and operated the Englert Ice Company at
the time he built the Englert Theatre as a legitimate theater. He leased retail spaces on the
theater's first floor to a confectionery and a barbershop. His family resided on the second floor, with
another apartment and sleeping rooms located on the third floor.
During its early years the Englert Theatre offered Iowa Citians a modern playhouse for legitimate
theater. Some of the great names and many popular productions touring American playhouses
during the period made the Englert a stop for nearly 50 years. Englert died in 1921 and the
theater's operation was assumed by his widow, Henrietta "Etta" Chopek Englert. In 1926 a fire
seriously damaged the Englert. The interior was substantially rebuilt based on a design by the Des
Moines architectural firm of Vorse, Kraetsch & Kraetsch. As rebuilt, provision was made for motion
pictures as well as stage productions. By 1934 the upper floors had been converted into four
apartments.
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Englert Theatre, 221 East Washington Street
Another section of the CBD was redeveloped during the Town and Gown Era as the result of a
major fire. The Dey Building (8 South Clinton Street) dates from 1917 when it was erected on the
former site of the St. James Hotel. The hotel had been opened in 1872 following a conflagration that
destroyed eight buildings in 1867. In 1883 Peter Dey acquired the property, and by 1890 he had
purchased an additional building immediately east of the hotel. In 1914 following Peter Dey's
death, the property transferred to members of the Dey family. When fire struck on Good Friday in
1916 the four-story mansard roofed brick hotel was leveled. Members of the Dey family decided to
rebuild. A fire-resistant structure was built with the structural option for expansion from two to five or
six stories for hotel rooms.
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Dey Building, 8 South Clinton Street
The new Dey Building housed University Book Store in the large corner space, continuing a tradition
of a bookstore at this corner begun in 1870. Another eariy tenant included Sidwell Dairy Store
located at 111 Iowa Avenue. It sold milk, butter and ice cream from this location during the 1930s.
During World War I two spaces were used by the Student Army Training Corps, forerunner of the
ROTC. After the war, a succession of tenants occupied the first floor, but the hotel room addition
allowed for in the building's original structural plan never materialized.
An important retailing trend that manifest itself in downtowns throughout the United States arrived in
Iowa City after the turn of the 20th century. This trend involved the establishment of nationally
franchised business outlets such as F.W. Woolworth & Co., a department store specializing in items
priced at 50 and 100. Other franchise stores were established by national catalogue retailers,
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including Sears, Roebuck & Co. and Montgomery Ward & Co. As the century progressed,
regionally based retailers sought to imitate the success of these national firms sometimes forming
partnerships with local companies or establishing their own outlets. Firms such as Younker's
Department Store with headquarters in Des Moines and Seifert's clothing store centered in Ottumwa
are examples of regionally based retailers who located outlets in Iowa City after World War II.
Among the franchise businesses to establish locations in existing buildings or erect new buildings in
Iowa City after 1900 were F.W. Woolworth & Co. (124 South Clinton Street and 110-114 South
Clinton Street, non-extant) opening in ca. 1910, White's Consolidated Stores (114-116 East College
Street) in ca. 1925, Sears, Roebuck & Co. Department Store (111 East College Street) in 1929, the
Montgomery Ward & Co. Department Store (121 East College Street) in 1929, S.S. Kresge
Department Store (121-123 East Washington Street) in ca. 1933, the Montgomery Ward & Co.
Farm Store (128 East Burlington Street) in ca. 1945, Alden's Department Store (118 South Clinton
Street) in the 1940s, Younker's Department Store (111-117 East Washington Street) in 1951, J.C.
Penney's Department Store (130 South Dubuque Street) in 1957-587 and Seifert's (10-14 South
Clinton Street) in 1962.
The Sears, Roebuck & Co. Building (111 East College Street) was one of several franchise stores to
locate in newly built structures. It was opened in 1929 and likely was built to the new tenant's
specifications. It is an example of the medium sized, utilitarian designs favored by franchise stores
for many Iowa towns during the 1920s - 1930s. The building's wide front facade and simplified
detailing distinguished it from its 19th century counterparts along East College Street.
Another trend that appeared in the CBD after 1900 was the desire of owners to update buildings by
remodeling storefronts. In some instances, entire front facades were reconstructed. Major facade
changes that have gained architectural significance in their own right were installed at 28 South
Clinton Street and 128 East Washington Street. Moses Bloom built the former building sometime
rJ.C. Penney's originally located in the downtown at another location in 1922.
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Sears, Roebuck & Co., 111 East College Street
prior to 1874. in 1919 the Bloom family sold the north half of the original building (28 South Clinton
Street) to Arthur Ewers who established a shoe store in the shop space and operated it along with
his son Glenn under the name "A.M. Ewers & Co." The front facade was updated with the
installation of new glazed brick, a modern Chicago window grouping, a new terra cotta cornice and
plate glass shop windows.8
The building at 128 East Washington Street also received a major remodeling during this period.
Like the Ewers & Co. building, this building pre-dates 1874 and its original Late Victorian Italianate
design was replaced. Renamed the Arcade Building in 1927 the front facade was clad
^The original Chicago windows and storefront have since been modified in this building.
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A.M. Ewers & Co., 28 South Clinton Street
in glazed terra cotta and a five-sided recessed forebay. An island display case at the center was
installed. The west half housed Domby Boot Shop operated by Earl Snyder. The east half housed
H.C. Moeller Co., a ladies' read-to-wear operated by A.J. O'Dell.
I I
I
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Arcade Building, 128-130 East Washington Street
In other cases, storefront remodeling projects introduced such new materiais such as glazed terra
cotta, stainless steel, glass building blocks, reinforced plate glass and pigmented structural glass.
Several examples of the use of pigmented structural glass (sometimes referred to by trade names
such as Carrara Glass and Vitrolite) appeared in the downtown during the 1930s. Roland Smith
installed a curved glass and stainless steel storefront for Smith's Cafe at 11 South Dubuque Street
in the early 1930s. Its circular window remained a downtown landmark for many years.
A similar storefront remodeling was undertaken at 119 East College Street in the Crescent Block
during the late 1930s. Here the entrance bay for the upper levels was remodeled to establish a
narrow office space for the real estate business of the building's owner M.G. Koser of Koser
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Crescent Block, 117-121 East College Street
Brothers Real Estate. Carrara Glass was incorporated into the curved display window of the
storefront's Art Deco design. The balance of the building housed a drug store and the Montgomery
Ward & Co. Department Store during the 1930s.
Growth of the general population paralleled increases in university enrollment during the Town and
Gown Era. The combined effect was especially noticeable in housing. In the CBD, this population
growth was manifested in conversion of space above shops into apartments or sleeping rooms.
One major addition completed in 1924 produced 32 apartments constructed in a two-story addition
above Joseph O'Leary's automobile garage at the southeast corner of Linn and Washington
streets. The car dealership disappeared during the 1920s, replaced by Iowa Drug Store and a few
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small shops along Linn Street, including the Red Bail Grocery Store. The upper levels were known
as the "Iowa Apartments" with 32 flats containing a mix of tenant types including students, store
clerks, store managers, a news reporter, a contractor and a University of Iowa nursing supervisor.
Profitable operation of the building proved impossible for a series of owners, however, with three
separate sheriffs deeds issued during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Although both modest and large-scale building modernizations took place during the 1920s and
1930s, only a few new buildings were added during the decade of the Great Depression. The most
significant of these was the Iowa City Press-Citizen Building, completed for the newspaper at 319
East Washington Street in 1936-37. The building's design was described by contemporaries as an
example of "Modem Industrial Style." Better known today as the Moderne Style, the design
incorporated glass blocks and decorative panels depicting trains, airplanes and other "20th century
wonders."
Iowa City Press-Citizen Building, 319 East Washington Street
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The Press-Citizen was a result of the merger of two daily newspapers in November 1920 - the
Iowa City Press that espoused Democratic party views and the Iowa City Citizen that offered a
Republican Party voice. The Iowa City Press got its start in August 1869 when, after a succession
of mergers and new owners, the Iowa State Press was born out of the ashes of the Iowa Capitol
Reporter. In 1885 the Press was sold to Samuel and C.S. Mercer and renamed the Iowa City Daily
Press, which continued to offer a Democratic view. Meanwhile a Republican Party newspaper, the
Iowa City Citizen was formed in 1881. The two newspapers published daily editions competing
vigorously for advertisers and readers.
By 1920 party politics were less important than the economic realities of newspaper publishing,
creating the climate in which the papers were merged. After only a few months of merged
operation, Ohio newspaperman Merritt C. Speidel purchased the Press-Citizen as the first of what
would become a 13-newspaper group. When the newspaper was moved into the new quarters in
1937 it was owned by Speidel.
Location of the new building at the eastern edge of the CBD was part of a general expansion of the
downtown that had begun at the turn of the 20th century. For the most part this trend saw private
residences and vacant parcels replaced by buildings that served the public in one fashion or
another. The buildings were clustered along South Linn Street and sections of East Washington
and East College Street between Linn and Gilbert streets. Together they formed a civic corridor of
sorts with mostly freestanding buildings surrounded by spacious, landscaped sites.
The earliest public building established at the eastern edge of the downtown was City Hall (230 East
Washington Street, non-extant) in 1881. More like its three-story commercial neighbors to the west
and south in scale and siting, City Hall was an established landmark by the turn of the century. With
the University of Iowa firmly established and growing on both the north and west edges of the CBD,
it is not surprising that when sites were considered for several public buildings during the years prior
to World War I, South Linn Street and the blocks to the east were prime choices.
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The attract was felt in 1902 when plans were made for a new public library. Four of the six sites
considered were located along Linn Street, including the winning site on the southeast corner of
Linn and College streets. The Iowa City Public Library (220 South Linn Street) was designed by the
Des Moines firm of Liebbe, Nourse & Rasmussen. Liebbe had served as state architect and the
firm was designing the Iowa City High School at the time the library commission became available.
Old Iowa City Public Library, 220 South Linn Street
Liebbe's firm had no previous experience designing libraries, but members of the Library Board
appeared unconcerned because of the firm's general experience both locally and around the state.
The building was designed in the Classical Revival Style and constructed of Bedford limestone. Its
construction was completed in 1904, two years after the Iowa City Public Library Association
successfully petitioned Andrew Carnegie for a grant to build a library.
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In March 1902 the Library Association had been informed that it would be granted $25,000 for
construction of a library if the city would provide a site and at least $2,500 annually for its operation.
This amount was deemed insufficient by the library planners. After several requests for a larger
amount, the Library Board was successful in getting the Carnegie grant increased to $35,000. The
Iowa City Public Library was one of 46 to be built in Iowa with the benefit of Carnegie grants
between 1901 and 1904.3
Examples of other buildings completed in the Linn Street civic corridor included the original
federally-owned Post Office building on the northeast corner of Linn and Washington streets and
three fraternal halls - the Knights of Columbus Building, the Elks Building and the Masonic Temple -
all located in the block east of Linn Street.
The Iowa City Post Office (28 South Linn Street) was constructed in 1904. A major remodeling and
addition was completed in 1931. Preparation of the Post Office site required several frame and
brick houses along Linn and Washington Street to be razed. Like the original Iowa City Public
Library, this building's design is an excellent example of the Classical Revival Style that swept the
country during the decades following the turn of the 20th century. The south one third of the building
was completed in 1904 with a central entrance and steps facing Washington Street. The 1931
addition provided an extension on the north and a second level, which quadrupled the size of the
building. It was reoriented onto Linn Street. Like the library, the exterior walls are of Bedford
limestone, with ornamental stonework including quoins, keystones and a stone balustrade along the
parapet.
In 1906 the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks (B.P.O.E.) Chapter No. 590 acquired property on
the southwest corner of Gilbert and Washington streets. The Elks completed a new building,
apparently the first on the site on the site, by 1909. The B.P.O.E Hall (325 East Washington Street)
9Eggers, Lolly Parker. A Century of Stones: The History of the Iowa City Public Library, 1896-1977. Iowa City:
Iowa City Public Library Friends Foundation, 1997.
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Old Iowa City Post Office, 28 South Linn Street
is an example of the adaptation of the Classical Revival or Colonial Revival style to a fraternal hall
use. The footprint of the building has evolved with time, including the addition and modification of
porches, kitchen space and stage. Unlike the library and post office, the B.P.O.E. Hall had walls
clad in reddish brown brick with Bedford stone for trim. The Elks vacated the building in 1967.
The Iowa City Masonic Temple (312 East College Street) was the second fraternal building erected
in the civic corridor before World War I. This freestanding 3½-story brick and stone building was
completed in 1914 on a vacant parcel that had previously been grounds for the residence that stood
at the northeast corner of Linn and College streets. The Masonic Temple was designed by architect
Charles A. Dieman of Cedar Rapids. Like the other civic corridor buildings, it is an example of the
adaptation of the Classical Revival Style. Like the B.P.O.E. Hail, the Masonic Temple used reddish
brown brick for the main building. The balance of the building was more intricate with decorative
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Iowa City Masonic Temple, 312 East College Street
trim and the arrangement of the front facade said to be based on the south face of the University of
iowa's Schaeffer Hall on the Pentacrest. The interior of the Iowa City Masonic Temple retains much
of the building's original Arts and Crafts Style miliwork, with the original lodge hall still intact.
Prior to building the Masonic Temple, the Freemasons had met in 15 different rented locations in
the downtown. Iowa City Lodge No. 4, A.F. and A.M. was responsible for the new building but
shared space with other Masonic organizations. This building was dedicated on July 28th 1914
which was coincidental the date that Austria declared war on Serbia marking the start of World
War I.
Another fraternal group erected a building in the civic corridor after World War I. The Knights of
Columbus built its hail in 1930 at 328 East Washington Street. This building was smaller than either
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the Masonic Temple or B.P.O.E. Hall and has subsequently been radically altered.
Two other buildings appeared in the civic corridor prior to World War I that are technically not civic
buildings, but nevertheless had a major public component to their use. Both were mortuaries
located along Linn Street immediately south of Iowa Avenue. The Hohenschuh Mortuary (13 South
Linn Street) was constructed in 1917 by William P. Hohenschuh. A second mortuary, the Harmon
Mortuary (non-extant), was constructed across the street at the southeast corner of Linn and Iowa in
1922. Both were convenient to churches, fraternal halls and to both the university andMercy
hospitals.
The Hohenschuh Mortuary is an excellent example of the Georgian Revival Style. Its design is
attributed to the H.L. Stevens Co. of Chicago. This firm also designed the Hotel Jefferson which
Hohenschuh Mortuary, 13 South Linn Street
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had been completed in 1913 by a group of investors headed by Hohenschuh. The Hohenschuh
Mortuary replaced a two-story frame building that held side-by-side flats. Though commercial in use
the mortuary building had a stately, residential appearance. The building was likely the first
mortuary building in Iowa City built as such and probably one of the first in the state of Iowa.
Hohenschuh began his undertaking business in conjunction with a furniture store he operated on
Dubuque Street. The combination of such businesses was a common practice in the 19th and early
20th centuries. Hohenschuh was president of the state association of funeral directors from 1894 to
1895 and frequently served as a speaker on funerary topics. He wrote an internationally-recognized
textbook on the funeral business and was the first head of the University of Minnesota School of
Mortuary Science in Minneapolis. His leadership among his peers was acknowledged when he
received license No. 1 when the industry was first regulated. Hohenschuh also held the position of
vice-president of the First National Bank. By 1930, the mortuary had been sold to John Donohue
and Delmer Sample who retained the Hohenschuh name. They also operated a private ambulance
service in connection with the mortuary.
Several trends in popular culture were reflected in the downtown during the Town and Gown Era.
The growing popularity of tobacco products, particularly after World War I, prompted opening of a
number of cigar stores. Some began as sidelines for barbers. Fred Racine operated a nickelodeon
called American Theatre at 111 South Dubuque Street in 1911, but his principal trade was cigars.
He experimented with operating soda fountains and biilard parlors in conjunction with tobacco sales
at other downtown locations. By the 1920s he had three locations including Store No. 1 at 132 East
Washington Street, Store No. 2 in Hotel Jefferson at 131 East Washington Street and Store No. 3 at
22 South Clinton Street. The stores remained in business into the 1950s.
Another trend revolved around entertainment. Iowa City had an abundance of saloons since its
earliest days. After the turn of the century many were operated in conjunction with pool halls or
billard parlors. These establishments were scattered throughout the downtown although a number
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were located to serve the university campus along Iowa Avenue and South Dubuque Street. After
the enactment of state prohibition statutes and the advent of National Prohibition in 1916, some of
these businesses, closed but most turned to soft drinks and continued to offer billiards to their
customers.
The story of Epeneters Billiard Hall is a case in point. It was established by F.J. Epeneter at the
southwest corner of Iowa Avenue and Dubuque Street. As noted earlier, this block of South
Dubuque Street was an especially popular location for saloons and billiard halls immediately
following the Civil War with eight saloons located between Iowa Avenue and Washington Street in
1868. This pattern changed as various waves of prohibition activism and concern about the "evils of
idleness" impacted the saloon and billiard hall trade. This may help explain the unusual retail
decision made by brothers Charles and Thomas Epeneter who assumed the business from their
father about 1910. The previous year the Iowa General Assembly passed a prohibition statute
known as the "Moon Law" which limited the number of taverns in a community by a formula which
allowed one saloon per thousand population. Enforcement of this law gradually reduced the
number of saloons across Iowa. In an unusual response, the Epeneter brothers' diversified their
trade by including the sale of vacuum cleaners as well as billiards by 1911.
Moving pictures were first offered at nickelodeons that could be located in virtually any storefront
shop space. For a nickel a customer at the Dreamland Theatre located at 111 South Dubuque
Street in 1909 could watch continuous shows. The Englert Theatre was the downtown's finest
theatre but a number of other small theatres opened before World War I. They included the Past
Time, the Iowa (original location), the Bijou, the Princess and the People's Theatre in Smith's
Armory. Some of these had small stages, a few had live acts or shows, and the others offered
films. AH of these buildings are non-extant except for the Iowa Theatre, though in a much altered
state at 14 South Dubuque Street.
None could compete with the Englert Theatre for offering first-run major films, however, until the
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new Iowa Theatre was completed at 124 South Dubuque Street in 1937. The market for motion
pictures continued to grow after World War II, concluding with the construction of the Varsity
Theatre (non-extant) in ca. 1947. It was run by the same company as the Englert Theatre and was
located across the street adjacent to First National Bank. Movie going remained a briisk business
drawing people to the downtown for evening shows and matinees.
Several land-use patterns in the downtown during the early years of the 20th century are likely
explained by physical proximity to the University of Iowa. One was the location of billiard parlors
along the north edge of the CBD where students could spend idle time. Another involved location of
commercial laundries and pantoriums (dry-cleaners) along Iowa Avenue. Several of these
establishments were here prior to 1900, but the pattern peaked during the decades surrounding
World War I. Examples included the Lumsden Bros. Pantorium at 110 Iowa Avenue, the
Westenhaver's City Steam Dye Works and Pantorium at 111 Avenue, Kee Lung's laundry (later
operated by Guy Lee) at 117 Iowa Avenue, the New Process Laundry at 114-116 Iowa Avenue, the
C.O.D. Laundry at 211 Iowa Avenue and the Peoples Steam Laundry at the southeast corner of
Linn and Iowa and later at 225 Iowa Avenue. Even the University Hospital Laundry was located
nearby at 12 North Gilbert Street.
Proximity to the student population likely contributed to location of both laundries and the other
apparel maintenance establishments along the north edge of the business district. Research in
residential neighborhoods in Iowa City shows that dozens of young women, including many
Bohemians, found employment in these laundries before and after World War I.
The C.O.D. Laundry (211 Iowa Avenue) was one of the largest and longest-lived laundries to locate
along Iowa Avenue. It was started during the 1880s under the proprietorship of AT. Calkins at the
southeast corner of Iowa Avenue and South Linn Street. In 1893 the business had grown to include
a branch for drop-offs and pick-ups at 6-8 South Clinton Street. About 1895 Louis Kenyon acquired
the business and erected a spacious new building to house it at 211 East Iowa Avenue. He leased
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the upper level of the building to the Iowa City Public Library from ca. 1897 through ca. 1903. A
bowling alley was operated in the basement prior to 1900, and a dance hall later was operated on
the second floor.
By 1915 the C.O.D. Laundry had been either acquired by or merged with the New Process Laundry
Co. The new company operated under the name "New Process Laundry and Cleaning Co." By
1931 the laundry was discontinued and the space was used as a temporary location for the U.S.
Post Office, then undergoing a major expansion.
Proximity to the central campus and the University Hospital may also have played a role in the
location of several hotels. Both the Van Meter Hotel (non-extant) and Hotel Reardon were located
along the south side of Iowa Avenue opposite the University Hospital. Hotel Reardon was originally
constructed as a private home at 215 Iowa Avenue. After William and Minnie Reardon bought the
structure in 1926 they completed a series of changes to convert the building to the "Hotel Reardon."
They operated the hotel and lived on-site for many years. The hotel operated until the late 1960s
and was subsequently converted to eight small apartments and a single retail space.
Washington Hotel (332 East Washington Street, NRHP) was opened in a nearby building - the
former Boemer-Fry Co. factory - a few years before the Reardon. This three-story brick and stone
building had been originally constructed in 1899 as a factory for the manufacture of toilet articles
and light pharmaceuticals. Factory use ceased in 1915 and by 1922 the building was sold to Hayes
Carson and his wife Lillian. The couple remodeled it for use as Washington Hotel with 46 rooms, 17
on each of the upper floors and 12 on the main floor. In 1949 George Davis became the owner-
manager and in 1952 he renamed the business, as the Davis Hotel, which continued under Davis'
management until 1972. A prominent sign on the side of the hotel advertising the use of gas to
"Light, Heat, Cook" was a feature of the downtown skyline for many years. Local historian Irving
Weber notes that the original factory owner's name, "Boemer-Fry", appeared beneath the power
company's sign encouraging local wags to dub the building the "Burn or Fry."
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Boerner-Fry Co./Washington Hotel, 332 East Washington Street
A final identifiable development trend in the CBD Survey Area during this period occurred along the
east and south edges of the downtown, ft produced a series of locally-owned and nationally-
franchised automobile service stations, automobile dealerships and garages established along
Burlington Street and South Gilbert Street. Historically these routes had been important entry points
to the CBD. In the case of Burlington Street, its significance as a transportation route resulted from
bridge access across the Iowa River. The pattern of service stations was well established by 1933.
Sanborn Maps for that year show stations on both southwest and northeast corners of College and
Gilbert streets, stations on or near the northeast corner of Clinton and Burlington streets, one at the
northwest corner of Dubuque and Burlington streets, one along the north side of Burlington Street
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between Dubuque and Linn streets and another on the northeast comer of Linn and Burlington
streets. Standard Oil Company, Kelly Oil, Conoco and Sinclair Oil were among the early operations.
None of the first generation of small-scale, full-service and dual-pump service stations survives.
Prior to 1900, land uses along Burlington Street were businesses which required large storage sites
for bulk goods such as lumber, coal and feed or liveries. When large parcels were needed for new
commercial ventures such as auto dealerships and garages, these sites were most readily
converted. A case in point is the Nall Chevrolet Garage (non-extant) established in the 200 block of
East Burlington Street on the former F.E. Dyers & Co. lumberyard site. Eventually the Nall car
dealership and repair shop was expanded to include nearly a half-block site along the north side of
Burlington Street.
The Town and Gown Era (1898-1940) came to a close on the eve of World War II. More than 30
buildings from this period, as well as a substantial number of major remodelings survive in the CBD.
The era encompassed three decades of unparalleled growth in enrollment and physical plant
expansion by the university of as well as robust commercial development in the Central Business
District. The decade of the Great Depression produced slower growth. The north edge of the CBD
Survey Area was redeveloped with construction of the University Hospital and Medical School
buildings which by 1928 were replaced by facilities located west of the Iowa River. A civic corridor
was established before World War I along the east edge anchored by City Hall, a new post office
and public library and a group of new fraternal buildings. The heart of the downtown took on a new
appearance with brick paved streets, street railway lines, multi-story bank and hotel buildings, movie
theaters and several moderate-scale retail and office buildings. National and regional franchising
helped continue the downtown as the retail center for Iowa City and surrounding area. The impact
of the automobile is evidenced in what disappeared - liveries, horses, feed stores, the Iowa
Avenue/Dubuque Street hay market - as well as what appeared - automobile dealerships, repair
garages, service stations, traffic signals and angled parking spaces.
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Post-World War ll Era (1941-1960)
During the twenty years beginning with World War II overall Iowa City population grew at a
substantial rate with figures rising dramatically from 17,182 in 1940 to 27,212 in 1950 with the influx
of returning veterans and their families. The subsequent decade produced another increase - to
33,443 by 1960. Enrollment at the University of Iowa fluctuated during these years with student
numbers dropping from 9,283 to 4,853 between 1940 and 1945 as a result of the war. One year
later, enrollment jumped to 9,783. Veterans comprised approximately 6,000 of this number.
Enrollment rose to nearly 13,000 students in 1950, then declining to less than 10,000 by the mid-
1950s as veterans graduated.
In several instances, university responded to the influx with temporary, low-cost solutions. One
visible example was at the northeast corner of Clinton Street and Iowa Avenue. The Universaiist
Church built on this site in 1870 had been sold to the university by the Universalists-Unitarians in
1907. It became known as "Unity Hall," and served briefly as a student union then as music practice
and recital hall before being razed to make room for six temporary Quonset Hut classroom
buildings.
Many of the post-war students were married creating a demand for apartments. As a result, the
decade produced a modest housing boom in the CBD with upper levels converted to apartments.
The building at 118 South Dubuque Street (see page E-34) was one such example. John and
Letha Piper established the Piper Apartments there in 1940. The enterprising couple leased the
entire building that year and laid out 12 apartments on the second and third floors while continuing
to operate their specialty foods business from one of the shop spaces. Extraordinary demand for
housing would prove the wisdom of their decision.
Development patterns that shaped the CBD Survey Area during the previous era continued during
the 1940s and 1950s. The campus of the University of Iowa remained well-established along the
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north edge of the CBD. Only one major building was added -the Centennial Building of the State
Historical Society of Iowa (402 East Iowa Avenue) in 1958. Though not technically a part of the
university, the State Historical Society Library had been affiliated with university since the late 19th
century. Prior to the construction of the Centennial Building, the Society had been housed in
Schaefer Hall. Two houses used for music practice rooms and the former University Hospital
Laundry Building were razed at the northeast corner of Gilbert Street and Iowa Avenue to make way
for the Centennial Building.
The general size and scale of buildings in the CBD remained unchanged during the 1940s and
1950s. The same 11 or 12 blocks extending from Capitol Street to Gilbert Street and from Iowa
Avenue to Burlington Street provided a mix of retail shops, banks, theatres, hotels, service stations,
office building, restaurants, civic buildings and a few residences. Four decades later in 2001, only
seven buildings erected during these twenty years survive including two service stations, two small
office buildings, two department stores and one small retail building. Four other structures received
major exterior remodelings.
The modest amount of downtown development during the 1940s and 1950s had several causes.
The period began with economic recession still on the minds of most business owners. Once the
United States entered World War II in 1941, construction of new buildings and major remodeling
projects were put off. Shortages of construction materials were experienced nationally and
disruptions in the workforce caused by wartime operations meant only high priority construction
projects would be allowed to proceed.
One of the few projects completed during the brief window when economic recovery was on the
horizon and the war remained undeclared involved the former Coldren Opera House at the
southeast corner of College and Clinton streets. Built in 1877, this was a three-story commercial
block built in the Romanesque Style. The opera house actually occupied the two upper floors with
seating for 1,050 people. The 30' high ceiling and walls were decorated with elaborate frescoing
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including portraits of Shakespeare and Beethoven. The newspaper account of the opera house's
1877 opening claimed with pride that the only finer theater in the Midwest was in Chicago. The
opera house was closed shortly before the Englert Theatre was opened in 1913 and the third floor
was made into club rooms. Tenants included the University Triangle Club before and after World
War I and the Knights of Pythias during the late 1920s and 1930s. The second floor was remodeled
Savings and Loan Building, 103 E. College St., ca. 1940s (State Historical Society of Iowa Collection)
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into ten office suites while the first floor continued to house the Iowa City State Bank. A bank
continued to operate from this location until it was closed during the Great Depression.
In 1940 the property was acquired by Investors Inc. and substantially remodeled based on a design
by J. Bradley Rust of Iowa City. It involved installation of a new buff-colored brick exterior cladding
on the upper levels and Bedford stone on the first floor. Matching stone is used to form the
windowsills/beltcourse and a single corbeled brick band forms flat window arches above second and
third level windows. First floor window openings were initially filled with glass building block, which
was subsequently replaced with tinted plate glass panels. The dramatic College Street entrance
installed in 1940 remains with a pair of doors framed in brushed metal and inset in nine molded
bands of receding stone. The building's name since the 1940s, "The Savings and Loan Building," is
depicted in Art Deco style lettering above the entrance doors. After the remodeling was completed,
First Federal Savings and Loan Association became the prime tenant on the first floor. Two floors
of offices above were occupied mostly by dentists, lawyers, accountants and insurance agents.
General economic prosperity in the U.S. after World War ll produced the dramatic increase in
enrollment and created a surge in the economic life of the CBD. Retail locations were in great
demand and first floor vacancies low. Rental rates increased and a pattern of frequent business
turn-over that had been in evidence in downtown Iowa City from late in the 19th century, continued
at an accelerated rate.
Another trend is evident from examination of property transfers in the downtown during this period.
Ownership of several buildings passed from one generation to the next, at times to multiple out-of-
town owners or family trusts. This was accompanied by an increase in tenant-operated businesses
over-owner occupied proprietorships. The disconnect between property ownership and business
operation led to deferred building maintenance and improvements and in some cases, to under
financed cosmetic improvements. As a result, general building maintenance was in a state of
decline by the end of the 1950s.
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After World War II, the twin problems associated with growth in popularity of the personal
automobile in American cities - parking and traffic - surfaced in the downtown Iowa City as well.
Complaints about congestion and too few parking spaces were heard during the 1930s, but until the
parking meter was patented in 1938 there was no ready solution. In an effort to deal with both
issues the City installed its first 150 parking meters in the downtown in 1946. A year later the city
council added 250 meters at a cost of $80 each. Annual income from each meter was soon
approximately $100 as compared with the national average of $75, demonstrating the keen local
demand for parking.
Meters were integral to the local plan to address parking and traffic congestion through the
construction of off-street municipal parking lots. Parking meter revenue was designated to finance
acquisition of land and the construction of lots. The first parcel acquired for these purposes
occurred in 1948 at 317-325 East College Street, adjacent to the Public Library. The lot contained a
large, two-story frame apartment building that was razed. Since the city council was obligated to
spend 75% of the revenue from parking meters on off-street parking, land acquisition and
improvement plans were easily pursued during subsequent years.
By 1951 the downtown parking plan was well established. Development of the off-street lots and
installation of meters was actively supported by the local chamber of commerce. One parking lot
had been developed on the site of the former Van Meter Hotel located along the south side of Iowa
Avenue near Linn Street for 95 cars with another lot on South Dubuque Street constructed for 72
cars. A half-block along East Washington Street, currently serving as part of the Iowa City Civic
Center site, was leased and paved for parking purposes as welt. The 1950 lease gave the city the
option to purchase the lot for future construction of a city hall. Another off-street lot was developed
on the south side of Washington Street between Gilbert and Van Buren streets. City officials
recognized that this lot's remote location made it less desirous and in 1952 added lighting to
encourage nighttime use by shoppers and movie goers. An innovative improvement was made in
another municipal lot located adjacent to the non-extant Community Building built by the American
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Legion on the southeast corner of Gilbert and College streets. In 1952 three hitching posts were
installed for the convenience of Amish families who operated horses and buggies.
Another strategy to deal with downtown congestion was completed in 1948 when the city council
directed removal of the landscaped boulevard in the center of Iowa Avenue between Clinton and
Gilbert streets. Installation of parking along Iowa Avenue came a short time later. Parking
associated with a densely developed, compact downtown located adjacent to a university campus
would come to dominate much of the debate concerning the downtown during subsequent years.
In summary, the Post-World War II Era was characterized by prosperity in the Central Business
District. Coping with problems became the rule whether they involved shortages of materials during
the war, dealing with an influx of students and shoppers at war's end, or making room for the
congestion and parking demands associated with the automobile age.
Urban Renewal and Redevelopment Era (1960 to 2000)
During the last four decades of the 20th century urban renewal has regularly characterized debate
over the future of downtown Iowa City. By the late 1950s, the problems associated with deferred
maintenance for a number of aging downtown buildings were added to the concerns of parking and
traffic congestion. Many residents recognized that a captive market of students patronized
businesses and rental housing despite the downtown's poor condition. Some saw the poorly
maintained condition of the downtown as a source of public embarrassment. Timing was ripe for
dramatic solutions to be proposed when in 1960 Robert Wheeler, a doctoral student in the College
of Engineering at Ul, produced his thesis on the potential for redevelopment in downtown Iowa City.
Wheeler presented ideas for redeveloping the downtown to a series of civic groups. His
straightforward plan called for razing deteriorated buildings and replacing them with modern
buildings and parking facilities. Groups who heard his message were divided on its merits. In 1963
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the concepts he outlined were integrated into the civic improvement efforts of "Citizens for a Better
Iowa City." The League of Women Voters supported the idea while 300 members of the newly-
organized Downtown Businessmen's Association eventually opposed it. The Iowa City Chamber of
Commerce supported it, the Junior Chamber opposed it.
Efforts by local government to improve the downtown involved getting the municipal house in order,
efforts already well underway when Wheeler offered his urban renewal initiative. The issue of
whether to build a new city hall had been a topic for public discussion since at least 1948 when a
report by the city's own planning commission urged construction of a new city hall and proposed
several sites on which to do so. Poor maintenance had led to problems with the 1881 City Hall. In
1951 the debate surfaced in another form when the idea was floated for a joint city-county building
to both the Johnson County Courthouse as well as the City Hall.
Debate was brisk during the 1950s about the need for a new city hall and police and fire stations.
Eventually plans for a joint city-county facility were shelved. In 1959 the city retained Iowa City
architect Henry Fisk to design the first phase of the project - a new police station and fire station.
Construction began the following year. The second phase involved building an administrative wing.
Fisk was joined by local architect Roland Wehner to complete this task. Phased construction of the
Iowa City Civic Center was completed by 1962. The 1881 City Hall was demolished and the site
sold for private redevelopment.
Two years later construction of the Community Recreation Center was completed on the former
South Market square. The facility replaced the Community Building that had been destroyed in a
January 1955 fire. Built during the peak of the Cold War, the new Community Recreation Center
was outfitted with a fall out shelter on the lower level.
During the early 1960s local government representatives and citizens undertook initiatives designed
to explore the possibilities for federal and privately-funded urban renewal in downtown Iowa City.
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The Iowa City Board of Realtors established its own "Build Iowa City Better Committee" in 1964 and
invited the National Association of Real Estate Boards to complete a study of Iowa City's prospects.
This study10 recommended a series of actions on housing, urban renewal strategies, campus
planning, the establishment of a downtown development organization and a downtown sign
ordinance. It was also recommended that an architect be retained to design a beautification and
improvement program for the four-block central core of the downtown.
Urban renewal planning continued, and in 1966 the city presented its first formal urban renewal
plan. It called for the condemnation and acquisition of deteriorated downtown properties by the
municipal government followed by demolition and resale of the cleared parcels to developers. The
plan also provided for construction of a downtown parking ramp and creation pedestrian mall. The
same year the urban renewal plans were announced, Sycamore Mali opened on the southeast edge
of town and the Sears, Roebuck and Co. department store moved there from the downtown.
During the subsequent decade, the renewal process was riddled with heated public debate,
controversy and legal challenges. Then, in 1976 after hiring a new city manager (the fourth
employed during the urban renewal period), the city returned to the drawing board with a new
consultant - Zuchelli, Hunter and Associates (ZHA) of Annapolis, Maryland. In February 1977 a
modified urban renewal plan was accepted by the city council. Its size was scaled-down, with
smaller parking ramps proposed, a site included for a new public library and, perhaps most
importantly, rather than a single sale of all land, 11 acres of urban renewal parcels were to be
divided into clusters or single sites to be offered for redevelopment. The result would be
competition on parcel prices and a division of responsibility for carrying out redevelopment among
several owners and/or developers.
Bids on the urban renewal sites were received before the end of the year. The College Block
10"lowa City - Profile in Progress: A Special Study Report to the City of Iowa City," Building America Better Committee,
National Association of Real Estate Boards, 1964.
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Building, which had been spared demolition in the earlier stages of urban renewal as a result of
federal historic preservation laws, received substantial bidder interest and saw rehabilitation begin a
short time later. Several urban renewal parcels were withheld by the City until interest surfaced, or
bid prices offered were increased.
Plaza Centre One, a five-story brick office building at the northwest corner of College and Dubuque
streets, was one of the first projects. It was completed in 1978 at a cost of $2.5 million. Designed
by the Iowa City architectural firm of Hansen Lind Meyer, it was the largest office building
constructed as a part of this controversial process replacing eight two and three-story late 19th
commercial buildings. Among the more significant buildings razed to make way for this building's
construction was the three-story mansard-roofed Odd Fellows Building at 129-131 South Dubuque
Street. It dated from 1882.
Straddling the Dubuque Street right-of-way on the south side of College Street, the Plaza Centre
Hotel was completed in 1880. This site contained a series of two-story brick commercial buildings
including the former Strand Theatre. When the nine-story hotel was opened, it was affiliated with
the Holiday Inn national franchise and contained more than 200 rooms. It adjoined one of two multi-
level parking ramps built during the 1980s as a part of the urban renewal effort.
Integral to the ZHA urban renewal plan was the development of a pedestrian mall along two blocks
of College Street and one block of Dubuque Street. Officially named "City Plaza" the pedestrian
mall grew to include the 50-foot by 150-foot Black Hawk Park at the southeast corner of Washington
and Dubuque streets. Originally cleared during the urban renewal process when the Morrison
Building was razed, the lot was one of several parcels improved by Project GREEN as a temporary
park. When the west facade of the adjacent Paul-Helen Building was painted with a mural
representing Chief Black Hawk, the park received its name. By 1979 when the park appeared on
the list of properties slated for sale and redevelopment, protests rose from residents and students.
The following year the city council adopted a policy making the temporary park more permanent.
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Formal action incorporating it into the pedestrian mail that it abutted came in 1984. The mural was
lost, however, in permitting rehabilitation of the Paul-Helen Building with an entrance and windows
in the west wall of the building on which the mural had been painted.
The three-block pedestrian mall was a downtown success almost immediately. With automobiles
prohibited, spaces were created for people to interact, including a fountain at the intersection of
College and Dubuque streets, shade trees, a variety of seating choices and landscaped walkways.
It operated as planners had intended, serving as a centerpiece for both informal and planned
downtown activities and events. Its intense use resulted in considerable wear and tear on the
physical facilities of the mall and in 1999, two decades20 years after the original City Plaza was
completed, the city undertook a major overhaul. A play area was installed, the "Weatherdance"
sculpture and fountain was introduced to the intersection of Dubuque and College streets, new light
standards and street furniture inspired by 19th century designs replaced earlier elements, limestone
replaced railroad ties, landscaping materials were changed in some instance, and Black Hawk
Minipark was formally integrated into the mall's overall design.
The single largest urban renewal project was undertaken outside of the CBD Survey Area. It
involved the construction of a two-story interior shopping center on the two-square blocks south of
Washington Street and west of Clinton Street. Adjoining the center, a second municipal parking
ramp was built along Burlington Street between Clinton and Capitol streets. The Old Capitol
Center was completed in 1985 by General Growth Properties, a leading national shopping center
developer in the Midwest. When completed the shopping center included Younker's and J.C.
Penney's department stores as anchor tenants as well as an assortment of national franchise retail
shops and a multi-screen movie theater complex. Fate of the downtown shopping mall (40%
vacant in late 1999) remains uncertain as a result of the construction of the competing one million-
square-foot Coral Ridge Mall in nearby Coralville in 1999 by the same developers, General Growth.
While urban renewal was being pursued, redevelopment of a similar sort was underway on the
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downtown campus of the University of Iowa. Virgil Hancher had served as president at Ul since
1940 seeing enrollment increase from just under 7,000 students to nearly 15,000 by the time he
retired in 1964. The physical size of the campus tripled during the same period with the value of
research grants increasing more than 24-fold as a number of Ul programs garnered national
attention.
The work of James Van Allen, head of the Department of Physics and Astronomy beginning in
1951, is a prominent example of one successful program. Van Allen lead a team of scientists
whose experiments aboard the Explorer I and ill satellites in 1958 established the existence of
radiation belts - later named for the scientist - that encircled Earth. This discovery opened a
broad research field and Van Allen's work attracted some of the best astrophysics students in the
country to Ul's program. It is not surprising that in response to Van Allen's success and national
recognition, a new physics research facility was planned and built.
The block-long structure was located on the south side of Jefferson between Dubuque and Linn
streets. It was designed by the Durant Group of Dubuque and completed in three phases between
1963 and 1971: the 94' tower housing the Van de Graaff Accelerator ("atom smasher") in 1964,
Phase I in 1963-65 and Phase II in 1968-71. Renamed "Van Allen Hall" in 1982 it was constructed
as a joint facility for the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Department of Science
Education. Funding for the building came from state appropriations and grants by the National
Science Foundation. When completed the accelerator was the only one of its kind in Iowa. It
operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week for physics research conducted by students and
faculty. The accelerator building tower, which housed the Van de Graaff Accelerator, was razed in
1998 to make room for another biology building addition.
Construction of Van Allen Hall was part of a downtown campus building boom during the decade of
the 1960s. Phillips Hal! was constructed during 1963-1965 on the northeast comer of Clinton Street
and Iowa Avenue to house the College of Business Administration. It was named for Chester A.
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Phillips (1882-1976) who served as dean of the College of Business Administration from 1921 to
1950. The six-story building houses classrooms, offices, a library and a 300-seat auditorium. The
Des Moines architectural firm of Woodburn and O'Neil designed it.
Additions to the Zoology Building were completed in 1963-65 and 1969-1971 at the northwest
corner of Dubuque Street and Iowa Avenue, housing classrooms, research facilities and offices.
Four laboratories were specially equipped for teaching physiology, ecology and microscopic
anatomy, comparative physiology and neurophysiology and advanced genetics. The additions also
originally held a marine water room, animal quarters, an electron microscope and teaching lab, a
scanning electron microscope, plant growth chambers and an insectarium. The Zoology Building
was renamed the Biology Building sometime after 1972. The Davenport architectural firm of
Richardson and Associates designed both additions. The 1890 Close Hal! was razed to make room
for the second addition.
The former University Hospital complex continued in use as classroom and office space during this
period, first under the name East Hall, later as Seashore Hall. It was named for Carl E. Seashore
(1866-1949), a pioneer in the field of psychology. Seashore is credited with founding the second
psychological clinic in the United States and helped to found the Iowa Child Welfare Research
Station. In 1968 the Spence Laboratories of Psychology building was added to the former hospital
complex facing Iowa Avenue just east of Linn Street.
Construction of the Spence Laboratories building came during the presidency of Howard Bowen
(1964-1969), a period marked by substantial university construction on both sides of the river. A
total of 20 buildings were erected during these five years with seven more under construction and
ten scheduled for groundbreaking at the time of his departure. The total cost of these structures
was estimated at $125 million, with funding coming from the federal government, foundations,
private gifts and revenue bonds. The Spence Laboratories was one of several buildings conceived,
built and put in operation during Bowen's tenure. Architect for the project was Louis C. Kingscott of
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Kalamazoo, Michigan. His firm had designed the major 1949 addition to the University of
Michigan's Chemistry Building. When completed, the Spence Laboratories of Psychology building
contained faculty and student research facilities for psychology, clinical and social psychology,
animal and human learning, memory, perception, psychophysics and classical condition.
If there was doubt about the relationship between the University of Iowa and the Central Business
District, the closing decades of the 20th century focused it. The T-intersection Iowa Avenue into
Clinton Street formed a historic backdrop for the territorial government and early state of Iowa, and
later for its university. Old Capitol remained the symbolic center of the campus even as the
hospital complex, dormitories and the law school were disbursed west of the river. Student
demonstrations against the Vietnam War during the late 1960s began at this historic and symbolic
intersection. On May 6, 1970, following the killing of four students involved in an anti-war protest
on the campus of Kent State University in Ohio, a crowd of 400 gathered at the intersection of
Clinton Street and Iowa Avenue to protest. The gathering turned violent, and large plate glass
windows of the Iowa Book and Supply Store located on the first level of the Dey Building (8 South
Clinton Street) were easy targets. During the next several days sit-ins and demonstrations
continued on the campus and in the downtown. Numerous buildings along Dubuque and College
streets were damaged. On May 9th a fire at the Armory was falsely attributed to the anti-war
demonstrations. The next day Ul President Willard "Sandy" Boyd gave students the option to stay
through final exams or leave due to safety concerns, and nearly 12,000 of the university's 18,000
students left. Sometime later the State Fire Marshall determined that the Armory fire was not
arson but caused by a faulty electrical circuit.
As the war continued, protests at Ul continued. On May 5, 1971, downtown demonstrations
associated with the anniversary of the Kent State University student deaths were staged once again
at Clinton Street and the Pentacrest. More than 100 law enforcement officers broke up a gathering
of nearly 500 people and made arrests for rioting. The Iowa Book and Supply shop windows were
once again targets. On May 8th the Daily lowan student newspaper falsely reported that the Iowa
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City Civic Center was bombed. On May 14, university officials banned nighttime rallies on the
campus.
The spring of 1972 brought downtown riots once again. On May 4 and 5, up to 3,000 people
demonstrated in the downtown including vandalism and confrontations. The protests were followed
on May 10 by a non-violent demonstration and a march from the downtown to Interstate 80 two
days later. Iowa Governor Robert Ray charged the Iowa Highway Patrol with quelling violence,
giving the protest activities state-level significance.11
Cessation of the national draft in January 1973 brought the end to spring demonstrations associated
with the Vietnam War. In their wake, the university administration made plans to relocate and
restore Old Capitol, while downtown merchants turned to downtown urban renewal to rehabilitate
the image of downtown. The Dey Building continued to house Iowa Book and Supply, a major
downtown bookstore, on its main floor and basement with professional offices on the upper level.
The installation of a new storefront in the 1970s abandoned large plate glass windows that had
been repeatedly damaged during protest demonstrations for small, safely ensconced display
windows.
During the Urban Renewal and Redevelopment Era a growing share of the retail merchandising in
the downtown catered to student buyers. Restaurants designed to accommodate meals-on-the-go
and employ student workers abounded. The downtown became a center for all manner of ethnic
and specialty eateries beginning with the Pizza House restaurant in 1958 at 127 College Street. A
handful of well-known taverns like The Airliner (22-26 South Clinton Street), Gabe's (330 East
Washington Street), and Joe's Place (115-117 Iowa Avenue) continued uninterrupted operations
while others came and went. One bar known as the "C.O.D." located in the former C.O.D. Laundry
at 211 Iowa Avenue and claimed to be the state's largest beer seller during the late 1970s.
11Spriestersbach, D.C. The Way It Was: The University of Iowa, 1964-1999. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press,
1999, pp. 170-188.
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By the turn of the 21st century bagei shops, bakeries, ice cream shops and coffeehouses had
surfaced. T-shirt shops and sport apparel replaced ladies ready-to-wear shops and hat stores.
The only national franchise stores to remain in the downtown core blocks were fast-food
restaurants. National or regional retailers such as Alden's, Montgomery Ward, Sears, J.C.
Penney's and Seifert's left the CBD.
A footnote on the story of the downtown and the University of Iowa during the Urban Renewal and
Redevelopment Era is told by a modest two-story building located at 330 East Washington Street.
Constructed in 1956 by the Maintenance Supply Corporation, a janitorial supply company, the
building was sold to the American College Testing (ACT) Program, Inc. in 1960. Educational testing
was one of the programs that had excelled during Hancher's presidency at Ul. In the late 1950s
ACT developed from the Iowa Tests of Educational Development developed at the university. As
might be expected ACT, a not-for-profit organization, acquired space near the campus in the
downtown. Its operation continued from this site until 1968 when the new facility was completed
along Highway 1 near Interstate 80. The building was then sold to Albert and Wilfred a
Hieronymous. Albert was a professor of education at the university and Wilfreda became an active
proponent of urban renewal efforts during the 1960s and 1970s. They eventually owned a number
of downtown properties and became investors in Old Capitol Center. The building at 330 East
Washington Street came to house Gabe 'n' Walkers, later Gabe's Tavern, in 1975.
Summary
At the turn of the 21st century, downtown Iowa City continues as the heart of the community. The
CBD Survey Area has evolved through sixteen decades to a relatively stable land use pattern that
includes a core of commercial properties south of Iowa Avenue between Clinton, Burlington, and
Linn streets bounded by a three-block section of the University of Iowa's downtown campus north
of Iowa Avenue, a corridor of civic and institutional properties between Linn and Gilbert streets,
and a well-defined transportation/parking ramp corridor along Burlington and Gilbert Streets.
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Office buildings, banks and an ever changing collection of restaurants and retail users appear likely
to continue in the downtown core. Cultural uses appear likely to be expanded with a doubling of
the size of the Iowa City Public Library on the immediate horizon and a planned rehabilitation of the
Englert Theatre for new performance space already in process. The last urban renewal parcel
located at the southwest corner of College and Linn streets remains in use as a temporary parking
lot awaiting reuse.
Tables appear below showing the number of buildings in the CBD Survey Area by decade based
on dates researched during completion of individual site inventory sheets for each property. The
population figures for Iowa City are taken from U.S. and Iowa Census figures for the respective
years cited.
CBD Buildings by Decade
Decade
Pre-1860
1860-1869
1870-1879
1880-1889
1890-1899
1900-1909
1910-1919
1920-1929
1930-1939
1940-1949
1950-1959
1960-1969
1970-1979
1980-1989
1990-1999
2000
Number of
Buildings
1
3
24
8
11
10
12
6
5
4
8
15
9
9
4
3
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Population for Iowa City12
Year
1850
1854
1856
1860
1867
1869
1870
1873
1875
1880
1885
1890
1895
1900
1905
1910
1915
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
1996
2000
Population
1,250
2,570
6,316
5,214
6,418
6,583
5,914
6,454
6,371
7,123
6,748
7,016
7,526
7,987
8,497
10,091
12,033
11,267
15,340
17,182
27,212
33,443
46,850
50,508
59,738
60,148
62,220
12 Population figures are taken from Federal and State census records reported in various sources and published
accounts of the censuses.
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F. Associated Property Types of the Central Business District Neighborhood
(1855-1945)
i. Property Type: Architectural and Historical Resources of Central Business District
Neighborhood (1855 -1950)
ii. Description:
The historic resources in this property type are all located within the 15 full blocks and 1 half-block
included In the CBD Survey Area. All of the resources date from the period 1855 to 1950. The
historic resources are principally commercial buildings. The exceptions are typical of those that
would be expected in a moderate sized business district that has historically included diverse uses.
Historic commercial buildings include theaters, banks, hotels, laundries, office buildings, mortuaries
and retail commercial blocks. Public buiidings include churches, libraries and fraternal halls. None
of the municipal buildings (three public parking ramps, a joint city hall-police station-fire station and
a recreation building-natatorium) are more than 50 years old. A few private residences and several
buildings constructed as apartments survive. Several early 20th century large buildings associated
with Ul's medical school and hospital survive. None of the university buildings less than 50 years
old would qualify as exceptionally significant.
The physical integrity of resources in the survey area ranges from well-preserved, nearly original
condition, to substantially intact with minor alterations, to very altered or nearly unrecognizable.
Nearly all of the buildings in the CBD have been modified to some degree.
iii. Significance
The historic resources for this property type represent noteworthy examples of vernacular
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commercial building forms from the late 19th through the early 20th centuries, as well as the work of
trained architects. Important Midwest architectural firms and designers include Chauncey Lovelace
of Iowa City, Proudfoot and Bird and their successor firm - Proudfoot, Bird & Rawson - of Des
Moines, Dieman & Fiske of Cedar Rapids, Liebbe, Nourse & Rasmussen of Des Moines, Vorse,
Kraetsch & Kraetsch of Des Moines, H.L. Stevens Co. of Chicago, Kruse and Klein of Davenport
and J. Bradley Rust of Iowa City. Their work and that of other designers and craftsmen whose
names are not known include examples of the Greek Revival, Italianate, Classical Revival, Beaux-
Arts, Georgian and Moderne styles. The work of master metal workers employed by the Iowa City
firm of Maresh & Holubar, one of the city's most important 19th century tin shops, is documented
for several buildings and metal work on other buildings in the CBD is attributed to this firm.
Buildings are associated with previous historic contexts developed in the MPDF "Historic
Resources of Iowa City, Iowa" (1994), as well as the historic context for the "Central Business
District, 1855 -1950." They demonstrate the growth and development of the Central Business
District as well as the downtown campus of the University of Iowa. They illustrate patterns of
development that produced building booms, redevelopment after major downtown fires, South
Dubuque Street be rebuilt in the 1870s and East Washington Street in the 1880s and 1910s, Iowa
Avenue become home to commercial laundries, East Washington Street become the financial
district, civic and governmental buildings locate along Linn Street and later Gilbert Street, hotels
and restaurants scatter throughout the downtown, and the downtown campus expanded to include
three blocks north of Iowa Avenue.
iv. Registration Requirements
a. Area of Significance
Significant resources are found under National Register Criteria A, B and C or combinations of
them. No examples were found for Criterion D, although recommendations for further study were
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made in cases where historic archeological remains may exist.
Criterion A: Properties and districts should be associated with important commercial development
trends in Iowa City's Central Business District, the development of the university medical school
and hospital within the downtown campus, and the development of civic and fraternal institutions in
the city center. Individual buildings may be associated with other areas of significance including
industrial development, ethnic history, education, the performing arts, religion, transportation and
social history.
Criterion B: Properties should be associated with persons who made individual contributions to
Iowa City's commercial history or the history of the University of Iowa. Several individuals of
statewide significance were identified during the survey, and further research may uncover
additional individuals in the future.
Criterion C: Individual properties should illustrate architectural styles, building forms, building
types, materials, or construction practices that represent the various periods of commercial
development in the Central Business District. Individual properties may be associated with a
master designer, architect or craftsman. Historic districts should include collections of properties,
some of which may individually lack significance, but as a group demonstrate important trends in
local or neighborhood development.
Criterion D: Properties that are likely to yield important information about commercial building
practices or help document growth of the University of Iowa. Significant elements under this
criterion could include sub-surface evidence of earlier buildings such as foundations, cisterns,
privies, waste pits, steam heating tunnels, etc.
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b. Levels of Significance
Most properties will be found significant on a local level based on their association with downtown
development A few buildings are significant on the state level as a result of their role with the
University of Iowa.
c. Integrity Considerations
Individually significant buildings or contributing resources in historic districts in commercial areas
are likely to have been altered more than residential properties. It is expected that commercial
buildings (theaters, banks, retail buildings,, office buildings, hotels, garages and service
stations and commercial laundries) retain their original appearance in terms of basic shape,
proportions, rooflines and important features. The upper levels of their principal facade(s) should
remain relatively unchanged in terms of placement and size of window openings, masonry detailing
such as corbeling and cornice design. Easily reversible alterations, such as the addition of fire
escape ladders, will not be defined as significant. The replacement of multi-pane sash with
reconfigured windows is acceptable (e.g. 6/6 double-hung sash replaced by 1/1 double-hung
sash), but changes in the shape or type of windows would be unacceptable (e.g. segmental arched
double-hung sash by smaller, casement windows). Changes in window openings that are more
than 50 years old will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine their impact.
Greater change is acceptable for storefront levels on commercial buildings since these areas
typically experience considerable change since the average life of a storefront in the United States
only about ten years. The manner in which important storefront elements are treated will be
evaluated. Such elements include the shop and/or upper level entrances, transoms, shop
windows, beitcourses, ornamentation and awnings. In general, modifications made to storefronts
in commercial buildings more than 50 years ago will likely be considered significant in their own
right if they have been preserved relatively intact. Sympathetic alterations made within the past 50
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years will not automatically preclude a building from being eligible for the NRHP. These more
recent alterations will be assessed on a case-by-case basis to determine if they support or detract
from a building's important design elements.
Alterations made to convert the use of commercial buildings are also commonplace in central
business districts. They will likely be considered insignificant unless they resulted in the loss of
important interior public spaces. In summary, integrity standards for commercial buildings assume
that they have, by necessity, evolved and changed through time. This organic quality of business
districts provides a slightly different set of integrity expectations for buildings.
Integrity standards for building types in the CBD Survey Area other than commercial buildings
anticipate somewhat less organic change. For example, churches are expected to retain their
original shape and proportions with original window openings, doors, spires and other architectural
features preserved. Construction materials for foundations, walls and windows should be original.
The use of modern roofing materials is an acceptable alteration. In general, modifications made
more than 50 years ago will be accepted as part of the historic appearance of a church. Additions
or wings will be accepted if they are located along a non-principal facade, have sympathetic design
elements and are constructed of compatible building materials. Treatment of entrances that have
been altered to accommodate handicapped access will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to
determine their impact on overall design.
integrity standards for public buildings such as the former public library, former post office,
fraternal halls and buildings connected to the University of Iowa, anticipate a fair amount of
organic development. Like churches, these building types are expected to retain their original
shape and proportions with original window openings (not necessarily original sash), doors and
other important architectural features. Construction materials for foundations and wails should be
original. The use of modem roofing materials is an acceptable alteration. In general, modifications
made more than 50 years ago will be accepted as part of the historic appearance of one of these
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building types. Additions or wings will be accepted if they are located along a non-principal facade,
have sympathetic design elements, are connected in a fashion that causes minima! alteration to
the historic section of the building and are constructed of compatible building materials. The
addition of exiting systems installed for public safety purposes is expected to be carried out on
non-principal facades. Treatment of entrances that have been altered to accommodate
handicapped access will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine their impact on overall
design.
There are only a few residences within the CBD Survey Area. Individually significant houses or
contributing resources in historic districts should be relatively unaltered, retaining their original
appearance in terms of basic shape, proportions, roof lines and important features. Principal
facades should remain relatively unchanged with placement and size of window openings and
primary entrances consistent with the original design. Residential buildings should maintain
original porches though sympathetic modifications made more than 50 years ago will be accepted.
The presence of unobtrusive additions on non-principal facades and modern roofing materials will
not automatically preclude a building from being eligible for the NRHP. Alterations made to convert
single-family residences to offices, retail shops, or apartment buildings will be assessed on a case-
by-case basis to determine if the changes support or detract from a house's important design
elements. Easily reversible alterations such as the addition of fire escape ladders will not be
considered significant.
By definition, historic districts are collections of buildings that when considered as a group rather
than individually possess a sense of time and place. They may share building type, style, form or
material. They have a common period of significance that may extend through a few years or
several decades. They consist of contiguous properties or multi-block areas with relatively few
intrusions. Integrity for individual buildings as well as the setting as a whole should be high.
Buildings within historic districts are divided by definition into two categories: non-contributing and
United States Department of the interior
National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
Continuation Sheet
Section Uumber F Page 95
Architectural and Historical Resources of Iowa City Central Business District, 1855 -1945 iowa
Name of Multiple Property Listing State
contributing resources. Non-contributing resources are those buildings that do not share a
common heritage with the district as evidenced in building type, architectural style(s), form,
materials or period of significance. Non-contributing buildings are generally considered to be
intrusive in nature and would not be missed if removed from the district. Buildings less than 50
years old are generally considered non-contributing.
The category of contributing resources can be further divided by definition into key buildings and
supportive buildings. Key buildings within historic districts are those buildings that are
individually eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Integrity standards for these
properties should be the same as those established for individually eligible buildings outside of
historic districts. Architectural integrity of supportive buildings may be somewhat less. For
example, changes in window and door openings, cornice and beltcourse trim, or storefront
changes may be acceptable. The addition of fixed awnings and changes in signage would also be
acceptable for most key buildings and all supportive buildings.
A final issue of building integrity involves moved buildings and relates equally to buildings being
evaluated for individual significance or as a part of a historic district. Moved buildings are rarely-
found suitable for National Register listing. The assumption is that a move destroys a building's
significance by altering its original setting and context. No moved buildings have been identified in
the CBD Survey Area. However, research in other neighborhoods has shown that the practice of
moving buildings of all sizes was well established by 1900 in Iowa City. During the subsequent 30
years, it served as a redevelopment technique used by various developers, contractors and many
private property owners.
Because of the practice of moving buildings in Iowa City was common, should future research
identify relocated buildings they should not automatically be precluded from being eligible for the
National Register. Instead, they should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Moves made more
than 50 years ago should be treated as historic alterations giving importance to other selection
United States Department of the Interior
Matienal Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
Continuation Sheet
Section Numiser F Page 96
Architectural and Historical Resources of Iowa City Central Business District, 1855 -1945 Iowa
Name of Multiple Property Listing State
criteria. Moves should be considered detrimental if they resulted in the loss of significant
architectural elements.
v. Historic Districts and Individually Eligible Properties
The Centra! Business District Survey Area contains a total of 135 buildings. Of this total, 43
appear individually eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and eight buildings
already have been fisted. Another 55 buildings appear not to be individually eligible for listing and
would be considered non-contributing structures in a potential historic or conservation district due
to their recent dates of construction and integrity issues. The remaining 28 buildings are not
individually eligible, but would be eligible for listing as supportive/ contributing structures if a historic
or conservation district were drawn to include them.
Using the criteria of the National Register of Historic Places for historic districts, one historic district
was identified within the CBD Survey Area with two different building types - commercial structures
and civic or institutional buildings. The Downtown Historic District has an irregular boundary
roughly defined by Iowa Avenue and the alley south of Iowa Avenue between Linn and Gilbert
streets on the north, Clinton Street on the west and Gilbert Street on the east. The southern
boundary includes the alley south of Washington Street between Clinton and Linn Street and then
follows Linn Street south to include the old Iowa City Public Library at the southeast corner of Linn
and College streets and then continues east along College Street to Gilbert. The pedestrian mail
blocks along College Street and the newly constructed buildings facing Iowa Avenue and College
Street immediately west of Gilbert Street are excluded. The district contains the best preserved
commercial buildings in the CBD including examples of Greek Revival, Italianate, Renaissance,
Romanesque, Classical Revival, Georgian and Moderns style building designs. It also includes a
collection of buildings constructed in a "civic corridor" along the east edge of the CBD prior to
World War I.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
Continuation Sheet
Section Number F Page 97
Architectural and Historical Resources of Iowa City Central Business District, 18S5 -1945 fowa
Name of Multiple Property Listing State
Built during a period of more than 15 decades, these buildings tell a story as Iowa City's economic
and social center. As with most organically developed business districts, its buildings express the
individual taste of their builders, the architectural styles and aesthetics popular over a considerable
period of time and the materials available for construction and subsequent remodeling. Despite
the loss of many buildings to urban renewal efforts during the 1970s, a sufficient number of
contributing buildings survive to qualify for National Register designation as a historic district.
Because of the differences between the buildings developed east of Linn Street and the balance of
the district, an alternative to including the "civic corridor" in the Downtown Historic District would be
to designate them individually. Several of these buildings are already fisted in the National
Register while others are eligible. This option should be given careful consideration.
A small portion of a second potential historic district lies along the north edge of the survey area.
The East Jefferson Street Historic District was previously recommended as a part of the
Original Town Plat Phase II Survey. This area includes the north half of the block bounded by
Clinton Street, Jefferson Street, Dubuque Street and Iowa Avenue and the building at the
southwest corner of Jefferson and Gilbert streets. The East Jefferson Street Historic District
includes an important collection of iowa City's churches as well as a number of well-preserved
residences dating from the late 19th through the early 20th centuries. Several of these residences
were associated with important historic figures in Iowa City. Portions of the downtown campus
originally affiliated with the university medical school and hospital are included in this district
because they fall within the historic period of development for the balance of the East Jefferson
Street Historic District and demonstrate the manner in which the downtown campus evolved prior
to World War I to include the blocks bounded by Clinton Street, Jefferson Street, Gilbert Street and
Iowa Avenue.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
Continuation Sheet
Section Number F Page 98
Architectural and Historical Resources of Iowa City Central Business District, 1855 -1945 Iowa
Name of Multiple Property Listing Sltate
vi. Properties in the Central Business District Survey Area
Individual site forms were prepared for all buildings within the CBD Survey Area. Each form
contains recommendations for a building's contributing or non-contributing status in si potential
Downtown Historic District or East Jefferson Street Historic District.
Site
Number
52-04069
52-04068
52-00759
52-04064
52-00763
52-04063
52-01023
52-01938
52-01051
52-01052
52-01053
52-01055
52-01057
52-01058
52-01059
52-01060
52-01063
52-04075
52-04074
52-01069
52-04072
Address
102 E Burlington St
120 E Burlington St
304 E Burlington St
310-18 E Burlington
320-22 E Burlington
340 E Burlington St
30 N Clinton St
8 S Clinton Street/
105-111 E Iowa Ave
10-14 S Clinton St
16 S Clinton St
18-20 S Clinton St
22 S Clinton St
24-26 S Clinton St
28 S Clinton St
30 S Clinton St
32 S Clinton St
102 S Clinton St
118 S Clinton St
124 S Clinton St
130/138 S Clinton St
132 S Clinton St
Historic Name &
(Common Name)
Standard Service Station
Montgomery Ward & Co. Farm
Store
Kelly Oil Service Station
Unnamed Building
Unnamed Building
Unnamed Building
Congregational Church
Dey Building (Iowa Book & Supply)
Wm. P. Coast & Sons Building
Unnamed Building (McDonald
Optical)
Unnamed Building
Unnamed Building (The Airliner)
Building (The Airliner)
Moses Bloom Clothing Store
(Ewers Men's Store)
Moses Bloom Clothing Store
(Gilda's Imports)
Whetstone Building (Panchero's)
Iowa State Bank & Trust
Strub Building (Preferred Stock)
Hawkeye Barbers
Things & Things (Active
Endeavors)
Lorenz Boot Shop
Date
ca. 1965
ca.1930
1941
1986
1985
1986
1868
1917
ca. 1895
ca. 1870
ca. 1870
ca. 1888
ca. 1870
ca. 1870
ca. 1870
1868
1912
1865/
1978
1978
ca. 1975
ca. 1975
Individual
Eligible/
Not Eligible
NE
NE
NE
NE
NE
NE
NRHP
E
E
E
NE
NE
NE
E
E
E
E
NE
NE
NE
NE
Historic District-
Contributing/
Non-
Contributing
NC
NC
NC
NC
NC
NC
C/Key
C/Key
C/Key
C/Key
C
C
C
C/Key
C/Key
C/Key
C/Key
NC
NC
NC
NC
United States Department of the interior
National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
Continuation Sheet
Section Number F Page 99
Architectural and Historical Resources of Iowa City Central Business District 1855 -1945 Iowa
Name of Multiple Property Listing State
Site
Number
52-04040
52-04070
52-01071
52-01070
52-04093
52-04085
52-04086
52-01087
52-04091
52-01088
52-04090
52-04087
52-01089
52-04088
52-01095
52-01096
52-04059
52-01097
52-01098
52-01545
52-01546
52-01547
52-01548
52-01549
52-01550
52-01551
Address
210 S Clinton St
224 S Clinton St
226 S Clinton St
103 E College St/
208 S Clinton St
109 E College St
110 E College St
112 E College St
114-16 E College St
111-13 E College St
115 E College St
117-123 College St
118-20 E College St
125 E College St
128 E College St/
125 S Dubuque St
312 E College St
320 E College St
325-393 E College
404 E College St
408 E College St
1 South Dubuque
Street/127 Iowa Ave.
2 S Dubuque St
4 S Dubuque St
5 S Dubuque St
6 S Dubuque St
7 S Dubuque St
9 S Dubuque St
Historic Name &
(Common Name)
Safeway 2000 Building
Bread Garden Restaurant
Unnamed Building
Savings & Loan Building
Dooley Block
Unnamed Building
Unnamed Building (Daydreams
Comics)
Schneider Brothers Furniture Store
Sears, Roebuck & Co. Building
(The Field House)
Unnamed Building (Gringo's)
Crescent Block
Unnamed Building
College Block Building
Plaza Centre One
Iowa City Masonic Temple
Trinity Episcopal Church
Unnamed Building
Sinclair Filling Station (Union Bus
Depot)
Iowa City Rug and Carpet Factory
Park House
Market Hall - north half (Dulcinea)
Market Hall - south half (University
Camera)
F.J. Epeneter Building - north half
(Livardio Cafe)
Ham's Hall - north two-thirds
(Deadwood)
F.J. Epeneter Building - south half
(Catherine's)
Patterson Block - north half of north
half
Date
2000
1955/
1995
1905
1877/
1940
ca. 1874
ca. 1968
ca. 1930
1893
1929
ca. 1895
ca. 1895
ca. 1874
1878
1977
1913
1871
1996
1951
1903
1867
ca. 1870
ca. 1870
1883
1870/
1950
1873
1879/
1899
Individual
Eligible/
Not Eligible
NE
NE
NE
E
E
NE
NE
NE
E
E
E
NE
NRHP
NE
E
NRHP
NE
E
NE
NE
E
NE
NE
NE
E
E
Historic District-
Contributing/
Non-
Contributing
NC
NC
C
C/Key
C/Key
NC
NC
C
C/Key
C/Key
C/Key
C
C/Key
NC
C/Key
C/Key
NC
C/Key
NC
C
C/Key
NC
C
NC
C/Key
C/Key
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
Continuation Sheet
Section Number F Page 100
Architectural and Historical Resources of Iowa City Central Business District, 1855 -1945 Iowa
Name of Multiple Property Listing State
Site
Number
52-01552
52-01553
52-01554
52-04094
52-01556
52-01557
52-01558
52-01559
52-01561
52-04083
52-01562
52-01564
52-01567
52-04084
52-04065
52-04067
52-01673
52-01674
52-01739
52-01742
52-01743
52-04062
52-01939
52-01940
52-01941
52-01942
52-01943
Address
10 S Dubuque St
11 S Dubuque St
12 S Dubuque St
13-15 S Dubuque St
14 S Dubuque St
17 S Dubuque St
19-21 S Dubuque St
23 S Dubuque St
111 S Dubuque St
114-16 S Dubuque
115 S Dubuque St
118 S Dubuque St
124 S Dubuque St
130 S Dubuque St
220 S Dubuque St
229 S Dubuque St
22 N Gilbert St
24 N Gilbert St
10 S Gilbert St
220 S Gilbert St
221 S Gilbert St
225 S Gilbert St
113 E Iowa Ave
115 E Iowa Ave
117 E Iowa Ave
119 E Iowa Ave
121 E Iowa Ave
Historic Name &
(Common Name)
Ham's Hall - south third (Sports
Column)
Patterson Block - south half of north
half (Micky's Irish Pub)
Unnamed Building (Sports Column)
Prairie Lights Book Store
Mueller Block (Sports Column)
J.J. Stach Saloon (Iowa Hair
Cutting)
Scanlon Saloon and Maresh &
Holubar Tin Shop (Discount
Records)
Unnamed Building
Unnamed Building (Tobacco Bowl)
Dain, Kalman & Quail Building
Franklin Printing House
Unnamed Building
Iowa Theater (Blimpies)
J.C. Penney Building
Plaza Centre Hotel (Sheraton
Hotel)
Hawkeye State Bank
Unnamed House
Unnamed House
Unitarian-Universaiist Church
Robert A. Lee Community
Recreation Center
Unnamed Building
Quick Trip #509 (Happy Joe's
Pizza)
Unnamed Building
Unnamed Building (Joe's Place)
Unnamed Building (Joe's Place)
Unnamed Building (Easy Place
Restaurant)
Unnamed Building (Malone's Pub &
Eatery)
Date
1870
1879/18
99
ca. 1870
1983/
1993
ca. 1910
ca. 1876
1874
1879/
1951
1860
ca. 1975
1856
1881
ca. 1937
1957
1980
ca. 1965
1907
1964
1980
1879
1879
1926
1926
1890
Individual
Eligible/
Not Eligible
E
NE
E
NE
NE
NE
E
NE
E
NE
NRHP
E
NE
NE
NE
NE
NE
NE
E
NE
NE
NE
NE
NE
NE
NE
Historic District-
Contributing/
Non-
Contributing
C/Key
C
C/Key
NC
NC
C
C/Key
I
NC
C/Key
NC
C/Key
C/Key
C
NC
NC
NC
c
C
C/Key
NC
NC
C
NC
C
C
c
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
Continuation Sheet
Section Number F Page 101
Architectural and Historical Resources of Iowa City Central Business District, 1855 -1945 Iowa
Name of Multiple Property Listing State
Site
Number
52-01944
52-01945
52-01946
52-01947
52-01948
52-04039
52-01952
52-01953
52-01954
52-01955
52-02224
52-02225
52-02227
52-02228
52-02229
52-04056
52-02230
52-04054
52-02231
52-04055
52-02800
52-02804
52-02805
52-02806
52-02807
52-02808
Address
211 E Iowa Ave
215 E Iowa Ave
217 E Iowa Ave
225 E Iowa Ave
229 E Iowa Ave
325 E Iowa Ave
402 E Iowa Ave
410 E Iowa Ave
422 E Iowa Ave
430 E Iowa Ave
9 S Linn St
13-15 S Linn St
28 S Linn St
104-116 S Linn St
122 S Linn St
123 S Linn St
218 S Linn St/307 E
College St
220 S Linn St
224 S Linn St
225 S Linn St
109 E Washington St
110 E Washington St
112 E Washington St
114-16 E Washington
St
111-17 E Washington
118 E Washington St
Historic Name &
(Common Name)
C.O.D. Steam Laundry Building
Reardon Hotel
First Christian Church
Peoples Steam Laundry Building
Vogel House
Tower Place & Parking Facility
Centennial Building (State Historical
Society of Iowa)
James and Francis Mahoney
House (United Way)
Houser-Metzger House (United
Way)
Unnamed Office/Apartment
Building
George & Harriet Van Patten
House
Hohenschuh, W.P., Mortuary
Old Post Office
O'Leary Velie Garage/Iowa
Apartment Building
Meardon Building
Iowa City Public Library
Old Iowa City Public Library
Unnamed Building
Unnamed House (Sweet Livin'
Antiques)
Dubuque Street Parking Ramp
Hands Jewelry Building
Western Union Building (Ginsberg
Jewelry Store)
Unnamed Building
Unnamed Building (RSVP and The
Third Coast)
Younker's Department Store
Building (Brown Bottle Restaurant)
Unnamed Building (Bo James
Date
1895
1912
1970
1909
1898
2000
1958
1891
1898
1986
ca. 1874
1917
1904/
1931
ca. 1918
/1924
1977
1981
1903/
1968
1949
1888
1980
1910/
1969
ca. 1928
1900
ca. 1874
1951
ca.
Individual
Eligible/
Not Eligible
NE
NE
NE
E
E
NE
NE
E
E
NE
NRHP
E
NRHP
NE
NE
NE
E
NE
NE
NE
NE
NE
E
NE
NE
NE
Historic District-
Contributing/
Non-
Contributing
c
C
NC
C/Key
C/Key
NC
NC
C/Key
C/Key
NC
C/Key
C/Key
C/Key
C
NC
NC
C/Key
NC
NC
NC
NC
C
C/Key
NC
C
NC
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
Continuation Sheet
Section Number Page 102
Site Address Historic Name & Date Individual
Number (Common Name) Eligible/
Not Eligible
52-02809
52-02810
52-02811
52-02812
52-02813
52-01487
52-02814
52-02815
52-02816
52-02818
52-02819
52-02820
52-02821
52-04053
52-02822
52-04052
52-02823
52-04051
52-02824
52-02825
52-02827
52-02828
52-02829
52-02826
52-02830
120 E Washington St
121 E Washington St
124 E Washington St
126 E Washington St
128 E Washington St
125-31 E Washington
St.
132 E Washington St
202-14 E Washington
St/20-28 S Dubuque
207 E Washington St
216 E Washington St
218 E Washington St
220 E Washington St
221 E Washington St
223-225 E
Washington St
224 E Washington St
227 E Washington St
228 E Washington St
229 E Washington St
319 E Washington St
320 E Washington St
325 E Washington St
328 E Washington St
330 E Washington St
332 E Washington St
410 E Washington St
Restaurant)
Bremer's Building
S.S. Kresge Co. Building (Iguana's
Comic Book Cafe)
Unnamed Building
Unnamed Building (Cyberbeans
Internet Cafe)
Arcade Building
Hotel Jefferson (Jefferson Building)
Pryce & Schell Building (Hills Bank)
First National Bank (Firstar Bank)
Paul-Helen Building
Stillwell Building (Lasansky
Corporation)
IXL Block-west section
IXL Block-center section
Englert Theatre
Unnamed Building (Dick Blick Art
Materials)
IXL Block-east section
Unnamed Building (India Cafe)
First National Bank Drive-in
Building
Unnamed Bldg.(Meacham Travel)
Iowa City Press-Citizen Publishing
Building (Citizen Apartments)
Ecumenical Housing
B.P.O.E. Hall (Commerce Center)
Knights of Columbus Hall (The
Professional Building)
ACT Building (Gabe's)
Boerner-Fry Company/Davis Hotel
Iowa City Civic Center
1874/
ca. 1968
1962
1933
ca.
1874/
1950
ca. 1874
1874/
1927
1913
ca. 1879
ca.
1870-ca.
/1994
1913
ca. 1880
1883
1883
1912
ca. 1910
1883
ca. 1940
1962
1970
1937
1980
1909
1963
1956
,1899
1963/
1999-
NE
NE
NE
NE
E
E
NE
E
NRHP
E
E
E
E
NE
E
NE
NE
NE
E
NE
E
NE
NE
NRHP
NE
Historic District-
Contributing/
Non-
Contributing
NC
C
C
C
C/Key
C/Key
C
C/Key
C/Key
C/Key
C/Key
C/Key
C/Key
C
C/Key
C
NC
NC
C/Key
NC
C/Key
NC
NC
C/Key
NC
Architectural and Historical Resources of Iowa City Central Business District, 1855 -1945 Iowa
Name of Multiple Property Listing State
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
Continuation Sheet
Section Number F, G&H Page 103
Architectural and Historical Resources of Iowa City Central Business District 1855 -1945 Iowa
Name of Multiple Property Listing State
Site
Number
52-04049
52-04044
52-04082
52-04089
52-04079
52-04058
52-04043
52-04077
52-04057
52-04045
Address
415 E Washington St
UI BIdg.#11
UI Bldg.#18
Ul Bldg.#18
Ul BIdg. #19
Ul BIdg. #20
Ul BIdg. #188
Ul BIdg. #184
Ul BIdg. #203
Ul BIdg. #448
Historic Name &
(Common Name)
Chauncey Swan Parking Ramp
Ul Hospital (Seashore Hall)
Medical Laboratory Building
(Biology Building)
Biology Building Additions I & II
Hall of Anatomy (Biological
Sciences Library)
Isolation Hospital (Old Music
Building)
Spence Laboratories of Psychology
Phillips Hall
Van Allen Hall
Biology Building East &
Dubuque Street Skywalk
Date
2000
1992
1897-
1914
1902
1965/
1971
1902
1916
[1968
1963-65
1965
2000
individual
Eligible/
Not Eligible
NE
NE
E
NE
E
E
NE
NE
NE
NE
Historic District-
Contributing/
Non-
Contributing
NC
NC
C/Key
NC
C/Key
C/Key
NC
NC
NC
NC
G. Geographical Data
The Central Business District Survey involved completion of an intensive level survey for
approximately 15 full blocks and 1 half-block . The survey contained approximately 134 individual
buildings in Blocks 43,44, 45, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 79, 80, 81 and 82 of the Original Town
Plat of Iowa City. The CBD Survey Area extends from Clinton Street on the west to Van Buren
Street on the east with Burlington Street as the southern boundary and Jefferson Street as the
northern boundary.
H. Summary of Identification and Evaluation Methods
This amendment to the Multiple Property Document Form (MPDF) "Historic Resources of Iowa
City, Iowa" was completed under the authority of the City of Iowa City, Iowa and the direction of the
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
Continuation Sheet
Section Number H Page 104
Architectural and Historical Resources of Iowa City Central Business District, 1855 -1945 Iowa
Name of Multiple Property Listing State
Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission. Funding was provided by the City of Iowa City. This
amendment serves as the final report for the Iowa City Central Business District Study, one of a
series of ongoing neighborhood studies being completed by the Iowa City Historic Preservation
Commission in response to recommendations contained in the "Iowa City Historic Preservation
Plan" adopted in 1992 by the City of Iowa City.
Marlys A. Svendsen with Svendsen Tyler, Inc. of Sarona, Wisconsin was retained by the City of
Iowa City to complete the CBD Survey. Svendsen served as principal for the project in the
capacity of both historian and architectural historian. Svendsen holds a B.A. in history and political
science from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. Her previous work in Iowa City included completion
of the "Iowa City Historic Preservation Plan" (1992), the MPDF "Historic Resources of Iowa City,
Iowa (1994), the "Brown Street Historic District" National Register Nomination (1995), the Original
Town Plat Phase II Study (1998-99) and the Original Town Plat Phase III (Goosetown) Study
(1999-2000). Scott Kugler, Associate Planner from the City of Iowa City's Planning Department,
coordinated work on the contract on behalf of the Historic Preservation Commission. Interns
Karmin Bradbury and John Adam completed photography and other research assignments for the
project under Svendsen's supervision.
Work on the CBD Survey was completed during a 13-month period that began in October 1999
and concluded in November 2000. A public information meeting was held in November 1999 in
order to explain the survey process, answer questions and invite downtown business persons and
property owners to assist in the project.
Fieldwork on the survey began in October and November 1999 with completion of black and white
photographs for each property. Individual site numbers provided by the State Historical Society
were assigned to each property and entered on photo log sheets. Data from the 1981 Urban
Revitaiization Act Study for the CBD conducted by Jim Jacobsen for the City of Iowa City's was
reviewed for each property. Site forms for properties located in blocks 65, 83, 79, 60 and 45 were
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
Continuation Sheet
Section Number H Page 105
Architectural and Historical Resources of Iowa City Central Business District, 1855 -1945 Iowa
Name of Multiple Property Listing State
unavailable.
Archival research was completed at the State Historical Society Library in Iowa City, the University
of Iowa Library Special Collections and Map Collections in Iowa City and the Iowa City Public
Library. Research began with the compilation of a chain of ownership for each property based on
Property Transfer Records obtained from the Johnson County Auditor's Office. This information
was then cross-checked and compared with 19th and 20th century City Directory entries and
Sanborn fire insurance map records to confirm dates of construction. Directory searches also
determined businesses, their owners or proprietors and their competitors in some cases. Sanborn
maps proved valuable in determining the longevity of buildings, their expansions or modifications
through time and the types of businesses occupying specific properties. Data from building
permits was used to date buildings constructed more recently.
Help in researching buildings constructed and owned by the University of Iowa was provided by the
Facilities Services Group of Design & Construction Services, University of iowa. Dan Hurd
provided a list of buildings in the survey area that was useful in identifying construction and
alteration dates as well as architects responsible for their designs. Present day floor plans for each
of the buildings also were provided.
Other archival research included examination of county histories, biographical directories, city
histories, obituaries, architectural studies, census records, historic photographs, newspaper
records and histories of local businesses. The newspaper articles written by the late Iowa City
businessman and iowa City Press-Citizen columnist Irving Weber proved extremely useful.
A computer-based iowa Site Inventory Form (adopted by the Iowa State Historical Society in 1997
and revised in 1999) was then completed for each of the properties in the CBD Survey Area. Each
form included two pages of standardized information for inclusion in the computerized database for
Iowa's Statewide Inventory and one or more pages containing an architectural description,
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
Continuation Sheet
Section Number H Page 106
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Name of Multiple Property Listing State
statement of significance and list of major bibliographical references. A sketch map for each
property and a 4"x6" black and white photograph were attached to each form.
Using the information gathered in the field and archival research, the development of the CBD was
considered and individual properties assessed to determine their likely eligibility for the National
Register. The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Identification and Evaluation, National
Register Bulletin 15: How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation, National Register
Bulletin 16A: How to Complete the National Register Registration Form, National Register Bulletin
16B: How to Complete the National Register Multiple Property Documentation Form and Iowa's
Survey Procedures and Guidelines Manual were used in these assessments. Once individual
eligibility had been identified, a second evaluation was made to determine whether a building was
likely to contribute to the significance of a potential historic district or conservation district for the
Downtown.
Of critical importance in both individual and district assessments was the issue of building integrity.
The assessments were based on knowledge of the existing condition of each of the properties and
made with an understanding of building modification practices typically used in other parts of Iowa
City. Integrity considerations also were formulated to be compatible with the City of Iowa City's
present local historic district and historic landmark ordinances.
Copies of the draft report was circulated to members of the Iowa City Historic Presentation
Commission and reviewers familiar with the downtown. Especially useful comments and
corrections were received from Robert G. Hibbs and Richard Carlson. Thanks to their careful
reading and editing, the report's accuracy was improved.
Work completed during the CBD Survey is the second project focused on Central Business District.
The first was undertaken in 1981 by James Jacobsen, a graduate student working on a Master's
degree in urban planning at the University of Iowa, who prepared a study for the City of Iowa City's
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
Continuation Sheet
Section Number H&l Page 107
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Name of Multiple Property Listing State
urban renewal program. No nominations to the National Register of Historic Places were
completed in conjunction with that survey.
I. Major Bibliographical References
"APA Historical Database: Selected Entries" [from http://www.cwu.edu/~warren/calendar
/cal0128.html] Source: Street, Warren R. A Chronology of Noteworthy Events in American
Psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 1994.
Atlas of Johnson County, Iowa. [Publisher not specified] 1917.
Atlas of Johnson County, Iowa. Davenport, Iowa: The Huebinger Survey & Map Publishing Co.,
1900.
Atlas of Johnson County, Iowa. Iowa City, Iowa: J. J. Novak, 1889.
Aurner, Clarence Ray. Leading Events in Johnson County, Iowa History, Volumes 1 and 2. Cedar
Rapids: Western Historical Press, 1912-13.
Brcak, Nancy J. and Jean W. Sizemore. "The 'New' University of Iowa: A Beaux-Arts Design for
the Pentacrest." The Annals of Iowa 51 (Fall 1991), State Historical Society of Iowa.
"Buildings East of the Pentacrest" compiled by Dan Hurd, University of Iowa, Facilities Services
Group, Design & Construction Services, September 26, 2000.
Caliger, Roberta, editor. The Iowa City Story: "A Matter of Opinions." Chicago: Link Programs
Incorporated, 1983.
The Census of Iowa for the years 1856, 1873, 1875, 1880, 1885, 1885,1887, 1889, 1895, 1905,
1915 and 1925 as printed by various State Printers.
Census of the United States for 1920 and 1930.
"Chemistry Building: introduction." [from http://www.umich.edu/~bhl/bhl/Bentley_Map/HTML
/Text/Chem.intro.html] Source: The University of Michigan: An Encyclopedic Survey; Waiter
A. Donnelly, Wilfred B. Shaw and Ruth W. Gjelsness, editors; Ann Arbor: University of
Michigan Press, 1958.
City Directories of Iowa City, Iowa. 1856 to present.
United States Department of the interior
National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
Continuation Sheet
Section Number I Page 108
Architectural and Historical Resources of Iowa City Central Business District, 1855 -1945 Iowa
Name of Multiple Property Listing State
Combination Atlas and Map of Johnson County, Iowa. Geneva, Illinois: Thompson & Everts,
1870.
Drury, John. This is Johnson County, Iowa. Chicago: The Loree Company, 1955.
Ellis, Edwin Charles. "Certain Stylistic Trends in Architecture in Iowa City." Unpublished M.A.
Thesis, University of Iowa, 1947.
Gallaher, Ruth A. "Money in Pioneer Iowa." Iowa Journal of History and Politics. Vol. 32, No. 1
(January 1934).
Gebhard, David and Gerald Mansheim. Buildings of Iowa. New York: Oxford University Press,
1993.
Gottfried, Herbert and Jan Jennings. American Vernacular Design, 1870 -1940. New York: Van
Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1985.
Hibbs, Bob, "Welcome! To the Iowa City Masonic Building." Iowa City Masonic Lodge, (AF&AM),
January 1998.
Historic photographs, Manuscript Collection, State Historical Society of Iowa Library, Iowa City,
Iowa.
History of Johnson County, Iowa containing a history of the county and its townships, cities and
villages from 1836 to 1882. Evansville, Indiana : Unigraph, Inc., 1973; reprint of book
originally published in 1883.
"Iowa City, Iowa". The Commercial Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 1, (January, 1898).
Iowa City Iowa, Souvenir and Annual for 1881-82. iowa City, Iowa: Hoover, Kneedler & Faust,
1882.
Iowa City and Her Business Men; Iowa's Most Enterprising City. Iowa City, Iowa: Mofer's Printery,
[Date Unknown].
Insurance Maps of Iowa City, Iowa. (New York: The Sanborn Map Company and the Sanborn and
Perris Map Company; 1874, 1879, 1883, 1888, 1892, 1899,1906, 1912, 1920, 1926, 1933
and 1933 updated to 1970).
Johnson County History. Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa Writers Project, Works Progress Administration,
Iowa City, Iowa: iowa City School System Publication, 1941.
United States Department of the interior
National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
Continuation Sheet
Section Number I Page 109
Architectural and Historical Resources of iowa City Central Business District, 1855 -1945 Iowa
Name of Multiple Property Listing State
Keyes, Margaret N. Nineteenth Century Home Architecture in Iowa City. Iowa City, Iowa:
University of Iowa Press, 1966.
Lafore, Laurence Davis. American Classic. Iowa City, Iowa: State Historical Society of Iowa,
1975.
Magnuson, Linda W. "Sheets and Company: An Iowa City Builder/Architect Firm, 1870-1906."
Unpublished M.A. Thesis, University of Iowa, 1980.
Mansheim, Gerald. Iowa City: An Illustrated History. Norfolk, Virginia: The Downing Company,
1989.
Map of Iowa City, Iowa, with Description of Resources and Natural Resources and Advantages.
Des Moines, Iowa: The Iowa Publishing Co., 1910.
Perl, Larry. Calm and Secure on the Hill: A Retrospective of the University of Iowa. Iowa City,
Iowa: University of Iowa Alumni Association, 1978.
Persons, Stow. The University of Iowa in the Twentieth Century: An Institutional History. Iowa
City, Iowa: University of Iowa Press, 1990.
Petersen, William John. "Iowa City - Then and Now." The Palimpsest, Vol. 48, No. 2 (February
1967).
Petersen, William John. "The State Historical Society of Iowa: The Centennial Building." The
Palimpsest, Vol. 41, No. 8 (August 1960).
Portrait and Biographical Record of Johnson, Poweshiek and Iowa Counties, Iowa. Chicago:
Chapman Bros., 1893.
Richardson, Jim. The University of Iowa. Louisville, Kentucky: Harmony House Publishers, 1989.
Rogers, Earl M„ "A Bibliography of the History of the University of Iowa, 1847 -1978." Preliminary
Edition, University of Iowa Libraries, 1979.
Ruger, A. "Bird's Eye View of Iowa City, Johnson County, Iowa." Chicago: Chicago Lithographing
Company, 1868.
"Semi-Centennial Edition." Iowa City Republican, October 20, 1890.
Shambaugh, Benjamin F. Iowa City: A Contribution to the Early History of Iowa. M.A. Thesis,
University of Iowa, Published by State Historical Society of Iowa, 1893.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
Continuation Sheet
Section Number i Page 110
Architectural and Historical Resources of Iowa City Central Business District, 1855 -1945 Iowa
Name of Multiple Property Listing State
Shambaugh, Benjamin F. "Iowa City Through the Years," The Palimpsest. Vol. 48, Mo. 2 (February
1967).
Sisson, John R. Johnson County, Iowa Map. [Publisher Unknown] 1859.
Spriestersbach, D.C. The Way It Was: The University of Iowa, 1964-1999. Iowa City: University of
Iowa Press, 1999.
Svendsen, Marlys. "Historic Resources of Iowa City, Iowa". National Register of Historic Places
Multiple Property Documentation Form prepared for the Iowa City Historic Preservation
Commission, 1992.
Weber, Irving. On Iowa. Iowa City, Iowa: University of Iowa and Iowa City Lions Club, 1996.
Weber, Irving. Irving Weber's Iowa City - Volumes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. Iowa City, Iowa: Iowa
City Lions Club, 1976, 1979, 1985, 1987, 1989 and 1990.
Wheeler, Robert J. "A Proposal for Renewal of the Iowa City Central Business District and Adjacent
Areas., Iowa City, Iowa." Unpublished PhD. Dissertation, University of Iowa, 1960.
Zug, Joan Liffring and Krieg, Diane. 'The University of Iowa Builds for New Excellence." The
lowan, Vol. 21 (Fall 1972), 24-30.
Newspaper Articles
"City Plaza, 1979-1999, 20th Anniversary Edition." Community News Advertiser/Iowa city Gazette.
Iowa City, Iowa, September 22, 1999.
"Early Iowa Newsreel: Old Iowa City." Des Moines Register, Des Moines, Iowa, November 25,
1956.
Iowa City Press-Citizen Articles:
"Buildings Fade with Urban Renewal." June 28, 1980.
"Change Sweeps Through Downtown Iowa City." August 2, 1980.
"Clinton Street Famous for Many Clothing Stores." July 26, 1980.
"College Street Downtown: Much as it Was in 1894." July 3, 1982.
"Dobbin uses new Public Hitching Rack in City." February 22, 1952."Downtown Iowa City gets
a 'Booming' Face Lift." June 21, 1980.
"Early Newspapers." March 9, 1939.
"Elks Lodge Once Owned Press-Citizen Site-Frame Houses Stood on Historical Building Site."
September 13, 1980.
"Ever-Changing Iowa Avenue." June 14, 1980.
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National Park Service
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Continuation Sheet
Section Number 1 Page 111
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Name of Multiple Property Listing State
"Excavation of Iowa Avenue Boulevards." August 12, 1948.
"Favor Joint City-County Building; Planning Commission Urges City to Negotiate with County
Board." April 6,1951.
"Feed Mills Gave Way to More Modern Business." August 16, 1980.
"History of Iowa City's Financial Growth Shows Safe and Sane Development of Banks."
December 2,1929.
"Iowa City Bet on the Wrong (Iron) Horse." May 18, 1985.
"Iowa City - Past, Present, Future." Iowa City Press-Citizen, December 5, 1910.
"Iowa City's First Legally Authorized Bank Created by State Law Back in Fifties." November,
25, 1929.
"Iowa City's Puzzling Growth Rate." March 21, 1981.
"Iowa City was Attractive to Railroads in 1854." May 5, 1984.
"Iowa Avenue Boulevards to Be Removed." August 19, 1947.
"Jefferson Building Dedicated in 1913." February 9, 1974.
"Landmark Succumbs to Progress." September 30, 1950.
"Last Vestige of Popular Interurban Uprooted." May 17, 1980.
"Life Changes on Three Corners." July 19, 1980.
"Lights Go Up on City Parking Lot." February 13, 1952.
"Movie Houses, Shops Lined Dubuque Street." November 1, 1980.
"Nail's had Three Sales Rooms." September 27, 1980.
"No College on College St." October 11, 1980.
"Old, New Give Birth to Change." June 7, 1980.
"Parking Lot Expansion Planned." December 18, 1951.
"Parking Lot to Be Located Here." July 3, 1948.
"Pioneer Grocers." December 4, 1940.
"Prepare to Surface Musser Parking Lot." March 6, 1951.
"Purchase of Three new City Parking Lots Is Approved." January 1, 1952.
"Says City Hall Fire Station Floor May Fail; O.K. Repairs." March 13, 1951.
"Scaled-down Renewal Plan Accepted," February 24, 1977.
"See Need for Survey of Traffic Problems." ca. May 1, 1951.
"Sicilians Operated Iowa City's Early Fruit Stores." August 23, 1980.
"Street Projects move Rapidly." September 22, 1950.
'Take Iowa City History." March 31,1975.
"Ul Inspired Building Boom of 1927-29." July 16,1983.
"University of Iowa Pioneered Television Broadcasts in 1932." April 14, 1949.
"Iowa City Women are Six to One for Equal Suffrage in Test Made." Iowa City Daily Citizen, May 26,
1916.
"Semi-Centennial Edition." Iowa City Republican, October 20, 1890.