HomeMy WebLinkAbout52-01059_30 S Clinton_Bloom-RiesBldgSite Inventory Form State Inventory No. 52-01059 New Supplemental
State Historical Society of Iowa Part of a district with known boundaries (enter inventory no.)
(December 1, 1999) Relationship: Contributing Noncontributing
Contributes to a potential district with yet unknown boundaries
National Register Status:(any that apply) Listed De-listed NHL DOE
9-Digit SHPO Review & Compliance Number
Non-Extant (enter year)
1. Name of Property
historic name Bloom-Ries Building
other names/site number Blooms - One Price Clothing House, Bloom & Mayer; Ries Iowa Book Store
2. Location
street & number 30 S. Clinton Street
city or town Iowa City vicinity, county Johnson
Legal Description: (If Rural) Township Name Township No. Range No. Section Quarter of Quarter
(If Urban) Subdivision Original Town Block(s) 80 Lot(s) Part of 6
3. State/Federal Agency Certification [Skip this Section]
4. National Park Service Certification [Skip this Section]
5. Classification
Category of Property (Check only one box) Number of Resources within Property
building(s) If Non-Eligible Property If Eligible Property, enter number of:
district Enter number of: Contributing Noncontributing
site
buildings 1
buildings
structure
sites
sites
object
structures
structures
objects
objects
Total 1
Total
Name of related project report or multiple property study (Enter “N/A” if the property is not part of a multiple property examination).
Title Historical Architectural Data Base Number
Iowa City Central Business District Study - 2017 UPDATE 52-127
6. Function or Use
Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions) Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions)
02E COMMERCE/TRADE/specialty store 02E COMMERCE/TRADE/specialty store
7. Description
Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions) Materials (Enter categories from instructions)
09FCOMMERCIAL/Brick Front foundation 03 BRICK
05F LATE VICTORIAN/Italianate walls 03 BRICK
roof
other Narrative Description ( SEE CONTINUATION SHEETS, WHICH MUST BE COMPLETED)
8. Statement of Significance
Applicable National Register Criteria (Mark “x” representing your opinion of eligibility after applying relevant National Register criteria)
Yes No More Research Recommended A Property is associated with significant events.
Yes No More Research Recommended B Property is associated with the lives of significant persons.
Yes No More Research Recommended C Property has distinctive architectural characteristics.
Yes No More Research Recommended D Property yields significant information in archaeology or history.
County Johnson Address 30 S. Clinton Street Site Number 52-01059
City Iowa City District Number
Criteria Considerations
A Owned by a religious institution or used E A reconstructed building, object, or structure.
for religious purposes. F A commemorative property.
B Removed from its original location. G Less than 50 years of age or achieved significance within the past
C A birthplace or grave. 50 years.
D A cemetery
Areas of Significance (Enter categories from instructions) Significant Dates
Construction date
02 ARCHITECTURE 1870 check if circa or estimated date
Other dates
05 COMMERCE
Significant Person Architect/Builder
(Complete if National Register Criterion B is marked above) Architect
unknown Builder
unknown
Narrative Statement of Significance ( SEE CONTINUATION SHEETS, WHICH MUST BE COMPLETED)
9. Major Bibliographical References
Bibliography See continuation sheet for citations of the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form
10. Geographic Data
UTM References (OPTIONAL)
Zone Easting Northing Zone Easting Northing
1
2
3
4
See continuation sheet for additional UTM references or comments
11. Form Prepared By
name/title Alexa McDowell, Historian
organization AKAY Consulting date 10/2017
street & number 4252 Oakland Avenue telephone 515-491-5432
city or town Minneapolis state MN zip code 55407
ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION (Submit the following items with the completed form)
FOR ALL PROPERTIES
1. Map: showing the property’s location in a town/city or township.
2. Site plan: showing position of buildings and structures on the site in relation to public road(s).
3. Photographs: representative black and white photos. If the photos are taken as part of a survey for which the Society is to be
curator of the negatives or color slides, a photo/catalog sheet needs to be included with the negatives/slides and the following
needs to be provided below on this particular inventory site:
Roll/slide sheet #
Frame/slot #
Date Taken
Roll/slide sheet #
Frame/slot #
Date Taken
Roll/slide sheet #
Frame/slot #
Date Taken
See continuation sheet or attached photo & slide catalog sheet for list of photo roll or slide entries.
Photos/illustrations without negatives are also in this site inventory file.
FOR CERTAIN KINDS OF PROPERTIES, INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING AS WELL
1. Farmstead & District: (List of structures and buildings, known or estimated year built, and contributing or non-contributing status)
2. Barn:
a. A sketch of the frame/truss configuration in the form of drawing a typical middle bent of the barn.
b. A photograph of the loft showing the frame configuration along one side.
c. A sketch floor plan of the interior space arrangements along with the barn’s exterior dimensions in feet.
State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) Use Only Below This Line
Concur with above survey opinion on National Register eligibility: Yes No More Research Recommended
This is a locally designated property or part of a locally designated district.
Comments:
Evaluated by (name/title): Date:
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
State Historical Society of Iowa Site Number 52-01059
Iowa Site Inventory Form Related District Number
Continuation Sheet
Page 1
Bloom-Ries Building Johnson
Name of Property County
30 S. Clinton Street Iowa City
Address City
7. Property Description
The Bloom Clothing building is a 3-story, 20- by 62-foot, single bay building set amid a contiguous block of
commercial properties, near the south end of the block. The building constitutes the south half of a two-bay
property likely constructed prior to 1874, when it first appeared on the Sanborn Co. fire insurance map for that
year. A building with the same footprint appears on all subsequent fire insurance maps and no evidence has been
located to suggest the present structure is not that recorded on the 1874 fire insurance map. Further, early historic
images document its presence. Svendsen notes that “historical information suggests that the building may be as
early as 1857.” The south half (30) of the building has functioned automously for nearly 100 years and, as a
result, is considered independent of the north half (28).
As stated by Svendsen, the original building was built as a two bay, 3-story structure, with a storefront in each
half and a combination of apartments and office spaces located on the upper floors. The early building had a brick
facade with a cast iron storefront. Typical of Late Victorian era Italianate Style commercial buildings, the upper
stories featured tall and narrow windows with heavy, window hoods; a prominent cornice finished the building.
The façade of north half of the building (28) was significantly altered in ca.1923.
The 2001 survey notes “the storefront now has its entrance at the left with large plate glass shop windows to the
right. A cast iron molding separates the first floor from the upper levels. The building has a rubble stone
foundation with brick walls that are now painted. The cornice includes a course of dentils and modillions and
crown molding.”
In subsequent years, the building has been well-maintained with the historic, character-defining features retained,
albeit altered, in the upper façade. Notably, the cornice has been altered from the original, windows have been
replaced, and the brick has been painted. Because those modifications have been made with care to preserve the
historic details (cornice is detailed and window openings and their details are retained) the historic character is
reasonably well maintained. The building’s storefront has been altered since 2001. The entrance to the upper
levels remains on the left of the storefront and there has been an entrance added to the right side of the storefront
for the clothing store that occupies the first level. Situated between the two entrances are the large plate glass
windows. Although contemporary in character, the storefront retains the historic opening, with a sense of scale
and proportion that does not detract from the upper façade.
Image 01. View of the streetscape within which the building is located, looking NE across S. Clinton Street.
(Image by AKAY Consulting, August 2017)
The resource is located adjacent to the corner building (second from the right).
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
State Historical Society of Iowa Site Number 52-01059
Iowa Site Inventory Form Related District Number
Continuation Sheet
Page 2
Bloom-Ries Building Johnson
Name of Property County
30 S. Clinton Street Iowa City
Address City
Image 02. View of the façade (west elevation), looking east across S. Clinton Street
(Image by AKAY Consulting, August 2017)
Before and after …. 28 and 30 S. Clinton reflecting the appearance of the Late Victorian façade
(retained on the right) and the 20th century renovation undertaken on the Ewers Men’s Store façade.
8. Statement of Significance
The building at 30 S. Clinton Street has been referred to variously as Blooms – One Price Clothing House, Moses
Bloom Clothing, Bloom & Mayer, and Reis Iowa Book Store - the 2001 evaluation did not prioritize those names.
For the purposes of the present evaluation, the Bloom-Ries Building has been adopted as the historic name
because it represents the original owner as well as the two longtime occupants.
The Bloom-Ries Building is located directly opposite Old Capitol, a National Historic Landmark, and the
Pentacrest, a National Register historic district. The resource is a moderately well-preserved example of the
commercial form of the Late Victorian Italianate style. The resource is locally significant under Criterion C as an
early and increasingly rare, stylistic expression in the Iowa City downtown. The building is also significant under
Criterion A; contributing as it does to our understanding of the history of commerce in Iowa City. As a result, the
resource is considered a contributing resource to a potential National Register historic district.
Although the building’s storefront has been altered from the historic, the upper stories retain a good level of
historic integrity of design and materials. Because alteration of storefronts is a typical condition of historic
commercial buildings, the impact of that loss is mitigated by the retention of the upper façade, which provides the
building’s historic stylistic character.
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
State Historical Society of Iowa Site Number 52-01059
Iowa Site Inventory Form Related District Number
Continuation Sheet
Page 3
Bloom-Ries Building Johnson
Name of Property County
30 S. Clinton Street Iowa City
Address City
Historical Background
As originally laid out, Clinton Street provided a series of lots facing onto “Capitol Square.” This commercial
building dates from prior to 1874 when a building of similar dimensions was first depicted on a fire insurance
map. Property transfer records for this property show it owned by Moses Bloom and members of his family from
prior to the Civil War through World War I, during which time the building was a two-bay property with two
storefronts (Svendsen, 2001).
It should be noted that the city’s address system has changed multiple times. Per the 1874 fire insurance maps,
storefronts in this block of S. Clinton were numbered consecutively from 37 on the north to 22 on the south; the
clothier being located at 23-24 S. Clinton. In 1883, the fire insurance map records the storefronts as numbered by
odd-number from 1 on the north to 31 on the south corner. Thus, the 2-bay building was numbered 27-29 S.
Clinton. By 1888, the current numbering system was in place, and the building was identified as 28-30 S. Clinton,
with the Bloom-Ries Building numbered 30 S. Clinton.
Svendsen notes that Moses Bloom arrived in Iowa City from New York City in 1857 and opened a clothing store
a short time later on the east side of Clinton Street, possibly at this address; this supports the assertion that the
building was constructed as early as 1857. Bloom’s clothing store also included a merchant tailoring business and
handled men’s hats and furnishings. By 1868 the city directory notes, “M. Bloom, clothier, es Clinton nr. Iowa
ave.” and the 1874 fire insurance map notes a clothier in both 28 and 30. When Bloom’s son-in-law Max Mayer
joined the business, the firm became known as Bloom and Mayer. Moses Bloom also owned other parcels in this
block (Block 80) to the north and east of his property at 28-30 S. Clinton.
Image 03. Historic Image - undated (ca.1870)
(Image courtesy of the State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City.)
In this view, looking northeast across S. Clinton at Washington Street, we see the Bloom Clothing Store (note blade sign)
adjacent to the corner building (later, the location of Whetstone’s). The clothing store occupies 30 S. Clinton – the south half
of the 2-bay building. A sliver of the north half (28) provides a glimpse of the similarity of appearance.
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
State Historical Society of Iowa Site Number 52-01059
Iowa Site Inventory Form Related District Number
Continuation Sheet
Page 4
Bloom-Ries Building Johnson
Name of Property County
30 S. Clinton Street Iowa City
Address City
Figure 01. Insurance Map – 1874
(SOURCE: Sanborn Company Fire Insurance Map, 1874.)
Figure 02. Insurance Map – 1883
(SOURCE: Sanborn Company Fire Insurance Map, 1883.)
In contrast to the 1874 fire insurance map, the 1883 map notes an interior connection between 28 and 30.
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
State Historical Society of Iowa Site Number 52-01059
Iowa Site Inventory Form Related District Number
Continuation Sheet
Page 5
Bloom-Ries Building Johnson
Name of Property County
30 S. Clinton Street Iowa City
Address City
Image 04. Historic Image - ca.1888
(Image courtesy of the State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City.)
In a similar view across Clinton and Washington Streets, we see the entire 2-bay building in its place to the north of
Whetstone’s (then Whetstone & Foltz). Though difficult to see, the name “Blooms” stretches across the upper façade, just
beneath the cornice, with “One Price Clothing House” mounted between the 2nd and 3rd floors. Bloom’s occupation of both
bays of the building is supported by city directory entries, which place the business in both storefronts through ca.1911.
Image 06. Historic Image - ca.1905
(Image courtesy of the State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City.)
In this ca.1905 view of the east side of S. Clinton Street, looking south from Iowa Avenue, we can see the unified façade of
the building at 28-30 S. Clinton – the cornice and rhythm of fenestration of each bay matches.
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
State Historical Society of Iowa Site Number 52-01059
Iowa Site Inventory Form Related District Number
Continuation Sheet
Page 6
Bloom-Ries Building Johnson
Name of Property County
30 S. Clinton Street Iowa City
Address City
As noted by Svendsen, both Bloom and Mayer were active in civic life in Iowa City. Moses Bloom served as
mayor in 1874 and was elected to the state legislature in 1877 and 1879. Max Mayer was Iowa City postmaster
for a time and was a promoter of athletics at the State University of Iowa where he was sometimes referred to as
the “father of Iowa football.”
The era of a unified Bloom-Ries Building ended in 1914 when Bloom sold the south half of the original, double-
wide building to John T. Ries who had operated Ries Iowa Book Store from this location since ca.1909. Ries’
motto for the business was “The Store of Personal Service” selling a range of SUI souvenirs including “Old Gold
Banners” in addition to books and stationery.
The north half of the building was sold to Arthur M. and Florence Ewers in 1919. At the time the Ewers
purchased the Bloom building, A.M. Ewer & Co., was located in the Furbish Block on the southwest corner of S.
Clinton and College Streets. Despite the split in ownership, the façade remained stylistically unified until 1923
when Arthur Ewer remodeled the north half of the former Bloom building (28) and relocated his business to that
storefront.
John T. Ries continued to operate the Iowa Book Store from 30 S. Clinton Street through ca.1952. By 1954 the
Hawkeye Book Store was located in the storefront.
In 2017 the storefront is occupied by Tailgate Clothing. The upper story houses condominiums/apartments.
9. Major Bibliographic References (2001)
Iowa City city directories.
Property Transfer Records, Johnson County Auditor’s Office.
Tax Assessor’s Records, City of Iowa City Assessor.
Summary Sheets, 28 South Clinton, Urban Revitalization Act Study Area Survey, 1981.
Sanborn maps, 1874, 1879, 1888, 1892, 1899, 1906, 1912, 1920, 1926, 1933, and 1933 updated to 1970.
Weber, Irving, “Clinton Street Famous for Many Clothing Stores,” Iowa City Press-Citizen, July 26, 1980.
2017: References
Iowa City Public Library. Digital Photograph collection. http://history.icpl.org.
Iowa City Then & Now. Publisher unknown.
Mansheim, Gerald. Iowa City: an illustrated history. Norfolk, VA: The Donning Company, 1989.
State Historical Society of Iowa. Iowa City. Photograph Collection.
Slonneger, Marybeth. Finials: A View of Downtown Iowa City. Iowa City: Hand Press, 2015.
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
State Historical Society of Iowa Site Number 52-01059
Iowa Site Inventory Form Related District Number
Continuation Sheet
Page 7
Bloom-Ries Building Johnson
Name of Property County
30 S. Clinton Street Iowa City
Address City
Svendsen, Marlys A. “Survey and Evaluation of the Central Business District.” Prepared for the Iowa City
Historic Preservation Commission, 2001.
Svendsen, Marlys A. “Grossix Building: 52-01059.” Iowa Site Form, 2001.
Timeline: Bloom-Ries Building
Building Numbering: 1874 23
1883 29
1888 30
1892 30
1868 City Directory: “M. Bloom, clothier, es Clinton nr. Iowa ave.” Noted in business directory under “Ready
Made Clothing” – same location.
1874 Fire Insurance Map: 3-story, “clothing”
1883 Fire Insurance Map: 3-story, 38-ft. frontage, interior connection with building to the north (28),
“clothing.” No change in footprint.
1888 Fire Insurance Map: 3-story, 36-ft. frontage, interior connection with building to the north (28), iron
columns on 1st, “clothing.” No change in footprint.
1892 Fire Insurance Map: 3-story, iron columns 1st floor, “clothing.” No change in flootprint.
1899 Fire Insurance Map: 3-story, iron columns 1st floor, interior connected: 28-30-32, “clothing.” No change
in footprint.
1901 City Directory: 26-30 S. Clinton, Bloom & Mayer, clothiers. In business directory, noted at 30 S. Clinton
1906 Fire Insurance Map: 3-story, 40-ft. frontage, iron columns 1st floor, interior connected: 28-30, “clothing.”
No change in footprint.
1909 City Directory:
Max Mayer, clothier and furnisher, 28 and 30 S. Clinton
John T. Ries, proprietor Iowa Book Store, wholesale & retail books and stationery, 26 S. Clinton
1911 City Directory (Reverse): 28-30 Max Mayer
1912 Fire Insurance Map: 3-story, 40-ft. frontage, iron columns 1st floor, interior connected: 28-30, “clothing.”
No change in footprint.
1915 City Directory (Reverse): 30 Iowa Book Store, John T. Ries, proprietor
1918 City Directory (Reverse): 30 Iowa Book Store
1919 City Directory (Reverse): 30 Iowa Book Store
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
State Historical Society of Iowa Site Number 52-01059
Iowa Site Inventory Form Related District Number
Continuation Sheet
Page 8
Bloom-Ries Building Johnson
Name of Property County
30 S. Clinton Street Iowa City
Address City
1920 Fire Insurance Map: 3-story, 40-ft. frontage, iron columns 1st floor, interior connected: 28-30, “books &
stationary.” No change in footprint.
1922 City Directory (Reverse): 30 Ries Iowa Book Store
1926 Fire Insurance Map: 3-story, no interior connection to 30, occupant not noted, elevator in NE corner. No
change in footprint.
1930 City Directory: 30 Ries Iowa Book Store, Wholesale and Retail Books and Stationery
1933 Fire Insurance Map: 3-story, 38-ft. frontage, occupant not noted, interior partition added.
1940 City Directory (Reverse): 30 Ries Iowa Book Store
1952 City Directory: 30 Ries Iowa Book Store
1954 City Directory (Business Directory, “books”): 30 Hawkeye Book Store
1959 City Directory (Reverse): 30 Hawkeye Book Store
11. Additional Documentation
Legal Description: beg. 20’ south of NW cor. of Lot 6, east 62’4”, south 20.43’, west 62’4”, north 20.43’
Assessor: 008+1010317003
Lat/Long: 41.660317/-91.534391
Parcel Map – 2017
28 120132121-12311711023
1121
12410-12-14
32
19-21
24-26
9119
17
13-15
114-11612611115
16 1138
30
5
11818-20
22
7
128-130CLINTONDUBUQUEWASHINGTON
IOWA
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