HomeMy WebLinkAbout52-01088_115 E College_Dooley BlockSite Inventory Form State Inventory No. 52-01088 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 Dooley Block (east bay)
other names/site number Gringo's Mexican Bar & Grill
2. Location
street & number 115 E. College 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) 82 Lot(s) E 22' of 3
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 02G COMMERCE/TRADE/restaurant
7. Description
Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions) Materials (Enter categories from instructions)
05B LATE VICTORIAN/Italianate foundation 04 STONE
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 115 E. College Street Site Number 52-01088
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 1895 check if circa or estimated date
Other dates
05 COMMERCE 1929
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 52-01088
Iowa Site Inventory Form Related District Number
Continuation Sheet
Page 1
Dooley Block (east bay) Johnson
Name of Property County
115 E. College Street Iowa City
Address City
7. Property Description
The Dooley Block (east bay) is a one-bay, 2-story, 22- by 150-ft., brick building that was constructed sometime
between 1892 and 1899. The building is a remnant of the original, which filled the full width of Lot 3 and part of
Lot 4. From 1929, at which time the middle two bays of the Dooley Block were razed and replaced by the Sears
Roebuck & Co. building, the east bay (115) has beeen – both functionally and visually - an autonomous property.
The west bay of the Dooley Block (109) also remains, providing a bookend to the Sears building.
As noted in the 2001 survey, this building is located along the 1977 downtown pedestrian mall that extends for
several blocks along E. College Street and S. Dubuque Street. As originally platted, College Street had a 100-ft.
width with four 80-ft. wide lots laid out perpendicular to the street. Twenty-foot wide, east-west alleys bisected
the blocks and were presumed to extend along the rear of the buildings. College Street extended from the
“Promenade” along the Iowa River east through the downtown, over Ralston Creek, and eventually along the
south side of College Green park before it reached the city limits. Today, the “ped mall” is an intimate gathering
place, its character resting on the historic buildings that line much of the street, brick landscaping, vegetative
canopy, and vibrant retail base.
The stylistic character of the Dooley Block reflects the Late Victorian era during which it was constructed. As
noted by Svendsen in 2001, the building façade presents a mixture of the Late Victorian Romanesque and
Italianate styles. The paneled wood cornice has returning ends and four large brackets with small dentil-like
brackets in between. The upper is clad in red brick with elaborate carved wood semi-circular or Romanesque
arches over the single and paired 1/1 double-hung windows. Svendsen noted that the storefront had been
remodeled “in recent years” with a side entrance and three fixed glass windows for a modified shop window. A
series of moldings separates the storefront from the upper story. The storefront has a plastered cladding with the
door recessed beneath a fixed curved awning.
At an undetermined time since the 2001 survey, the storefront of the Dooley Block has been altered. The main
entrance still remains on the left of the building, the fixed-glass windows have been replaced with four doors that
fold back to open the entire front of the store. There is also a side entrance on the right side of the storefront
labled as “13.5 College Ave.” that leads to the second story. The first story is currently occupied by Graze: Food
Guru Dining, and the occupant of the second story is unknown.
The upper elevation of the Dooley Block remains unaltered from 2001, with character-defining features retained
including the red brick cladding, ornate Italianate cornice, Roman arched window heads, and storefront cornice
details. As a result, the building retains a generally good level of historic integrity specific to 1929, which marks
the year the building was disjoined from the larger Dooley Block and became an autonomous resource.
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
State Historical Society of Iowa Site Number 52-01088
Iowa Site Inventory Form Related District Number
Continuation Sheet
Page 2
Dooley Block (east bay) Johnson
Name of Property County
115 E. College Street Iowa City
Address City
Image 01. View of the façade, looking south across E. College Street (the Ped Mall)
(Image by AKAY Consulting, August 2017)
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
State Historical Society of Iowa Site Number 52-01088
Iowa Site Inventory Form Related District Number
Continuation Sheet
Page 3
Dooley Block (east bay) Johnson
Name of Property County
115 E. College Street Iowa City
Address City
Image 02. View of the façade, looking SW across E. College Street (the Ped Mall)
(Image by AKAY Consulting, August 2017)
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
State Historical Society of Iowa Site Number 52-01088
Iowa Site Inventory Form Related District Number
Continuation Sheet
Page 4
Dooley Block (east bay) Johnson
Name of Property County
115 E. College Street Iowa City
Address City
8. Statement of Significance
As noted, the Dooley Block is a one-bay remnant of the original block building, which filled the full width of Lot
3 and part of Lot 4. The block building was constructed in phases, the west two bays likely pre-date 1874 with the
east two bays constructed in ca.1895. From 1929, when the middle two bays of the Dooley Block were razed and
replaced by the Sears Roebuck & Co. building, the remaining east bay has been – both functionally and visually -
an autonomous property. The west bay of the Dooley Block (109) also remains, providing a bookend to the Sears
building.
The building is a moderately well-preserved example of a Late Victorian Italianate style commercial building.
Because the building has been disjoined from the original block building for well more than 50-years, the
resource is significant in its post-1929 form as a single, autonomous building. Given this, the Dooley Block is
significant under Criterion C. 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, this building is eligible for the National
Register as a contributing resource in a potential historic district. It should be noted that additional evaluation of
interior integrity may support a case for individual eligibility as an increasingly rare representation of an early
commercial building in the Iowa City downtown.
Historical Background
Prior to its construction, the site upon which this bay of the Dooley Block is situated was occupied by a small,
one-story “marble shop” with a shed at the rear. Property transfer records show that Frank Dooley acquired all of
Lot 3 in Block 82 in 1867 (Svendsen, 2001). Dooley proceeded to construct the west two-bays of the block
building (109 and 111), which the 1883 fire insurance map records along with a small, 1-story “marble shop” with
a shed at the rear in on the site of what would become the block’s easternmost bay (115). The same footprint
appears on subsequent fire insurance maps through 1892; the map in 1899 marks the first time a 2-story building
appears on the site. At that time, a grocer is noted as the occupant.
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
State Historical Society of Iowa Site Number 52-01088
Iowa Site Inventory Form Related District Number
Continuation Sheet
Page 5
Dooley Block (east bay) Johnson
Name of Property County
115 E. College Street Iowa City
Address City
Figure 01. Fire Insurance Map – 1883
(SOURCE: Sanborn Company Fire Insurance Map, 1883)
The 1883 fire insurance map notes the presence of the west 2-bays of the Dooley Block (now 109 and 111) with 113 and 115
still occupied by small-scale buildings. The location of 115 is highlighted in blue with the remaining bays of what would, by
ca.1895 form the entire Dooley Block, highlighted in light blue.
Figure 02. Fire Insurance Map – 1892
(SOURCE: Sanborn Company Fire Insurance Map, 1892)
In 1892 the site upon which the easternmost bay of the Dooley Block (dark blue) was later constructed was occupied by a 1-
story building that was set back from the street. The lighter shading shows the location of the full extent of the site that
would, by ca.1895 be fully occupied by the Dooley Block.
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
State Historical Society of Iowa Site Number 52-01088
Iowa Site Inventory Form Related District Number
Continuation Sheet
Page 6
Dooley Block (east bay) Johnson
Name of Property County
115 E. College Street Iowa City
Address City
Figure 03. Fire Insurance Map – 1899
(SOURCE: Sanborn Company Fire Insurance Map, 1899)
By 1899, the remaining bays of the Dooley Block had been completed. The east bay (115) is highlighted in blue
with the remaining bays also indicated.
Image 03. Historic Image – North side of E. College Street, looking SW - ca.1925
(Image courtesy of State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City.)
In this view of E. College Street, we see the Dooley Block prior to the demolition of its center bays.
Though difficult to read in this view, the building name is set on-center just above the upper story windows.
The upper façade at 115 remains much as seen in this view as does that at 109 (see “Dooley Block,” 52-04093.)
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
State Historical Society of Iowa Site Number 52-01088
Iowa Site Inventory Form Related District Number
Continuation Sheet
Page 7
Dooley Block (east bay) Johnson
Name of Property County
115 E. College Street Iowa City
Address City
Image 04. Historic Image – North side of E. College Street, looking SW - 1929
(Image courtesy of State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City.)
In this view of E. College Street, we see the east (115) and west (109) bays of the Dooley Block flanking
the 1929 infill of the Sears, Roebuck and Co. building.
Property transfer records do not show the property changing hands again until 1928 when a referee deed saw the
lot sold to W.H. Wagner. The parcel was then divided, with the Sears Roebuck & Co. building constructed on the
west portion of the lot (111-113) and this building (115) transferred to the Koser Brothers. Lee and George Koser
were realtors with Koser Brothers Real Estate (Svendsen, 2001).
City directories indicate that the Barth Brothers, grocers occupied the building in 1901. By 1911, Samuel Kelberg
operated a shoemaking business from this address. He and his wife Dora lived on the second floor. In 1918 the
business space was vacant and by 1926 Dr. John Mullen had offices here. City directories show the storefront
changed frequently beginning in the 1930s: Smith & Hiatt Hardware Store (1930); Oakland Bakery (1934, 1940);
Western Auto (1946-1962); Thrift Plan of Iowa City (1967); and Sherwin-Williams Co. Paints (1972). By the
late 1970s, Gringo’s Mexican Restaurant located here (Svendsen, 2001). At the time of the present evaluation the
building was occupied by Graze, a restaurant (2017).
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
State Historical Society of Iowa Site Number 52-01088
Iowa Site Inventory Form Related District Number
Continuation Sheet
Page 8
Dooley Block (east bay) Johnson
Name of Property County
115 E. College Street Iowa City
Address City
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.
Sanborn maps, 1874, 1879, 1888, 1892, 1899, 1906, 1912, 1920, 1926, 1933, and 1933 updated to 1970.
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.
Svendsen, Marlys A. “Survey and Evaluation of the Central Business District.” Prepared for the Iowa City
Historic Preservation Commission, 2001.
Svendsen, Marlys A. “115 E. College Street,” 52-01088.” Iowa Site Form, 2001.
Timeline: 115 E. College Street
1883 Fire insurance map shows small, 1-story with deep setback and rear shed occupied by a “marble shop”
and the west two bays of the Dooley Block (2-story, interconnected structures with an interior staircase).
1888 Fire insurance map shows small, 1-story with deep setback and rear shed occupied by a “marble shop”
1892 Fire insurance map shows small, 1-story with deep setback and 2 rear sheds, occupied by a “marble shop”
1899 Fire insurance map shows a 2-story, contiguous building sited flush with the neighboring buildings (4-bay
Dooley Block intact) and extending to the south approximately 50-ft. Occupant: Grocer
1901 City Directory:
“Dooley’s Block” at 113-115 E. College Street
Barth Brothers, grocers
1915 City Directory:
“Dooley’s Block” at 109-115 E. College Street
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
State Historical Society of Iowa Site Number 52-01088
Iowa Site Inventory Form Related District Number
Continuation Sheet
Page 9
Dooley Block (east bay) Johnson
Name of Property County
115 E. College Street Iowa City
Address City
1920 Fire insurance maps notes no changes to the footprint, but the addition of an interior staircase at the front
of the building, along the west wall. Occupant: millinery.
1925 Historic image documents the original, four-bay configuration of the Dooley Block.
1926 Fire insurance maps notes no changes to the footprint, and the interior staircase is retained at the front of
the building, along the west wall. A 1-story, freestanding auto garage is situated south of the building.
Occupant: not specified.
11. Additional Documentation
Full Legal Description: Original Town Plat, Block 82, Lot 3 east 22-ft.
Assessor: PIN 1010380007
Lat/Long: 41.658883/-91.533901
Parcel Map - 2017
N
(SOURCE: http://iowacity.iowaassessors.com/parcel.php?gid=344413)