HomeMy WebLinkAbout52-01095_312 E College_MasonicTempleSite Inventory Form State Inventory No. 52-01095 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 Iowa City Masonic Temple
other names/site number Iowa City Masonic Building
2. Location
street & number 312 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) 62 Lot(s) see full legal
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)
03A04 SOCIAL/meeting hall/fraternal organization 03A04 SOCIAL/meeting hall/fraternal organization
02A01 COMMERCE/TRADE/business/office building 02A01 COMMERCE/TRADE/business/office building
7. Description
Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions) Materials (Enter categories from instructions)
06C LATE 19th & EARLY 20th CENTURY REVIVALS/ foundation 10B CONCRETE
Classical Revival 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 312 E. College Street Site Number 52-01095
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
01 ARCHITECTURE 1914 check if circa or estimated date
Other dates
29 SOCIAL HISTORY
Significant Person Architect/Builder
(Complete if National Register Criterion B is marked above) Architect
Charles A. Dieman & Co., Cedar Rapids Builder
Hoar & Parkington, Cedar Rapids
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 52-01095
Iowa Site Inventory Form Related District Number
Continuation Sheet
Page 1
Iowa City Masonic Temple Johnson
Name of Property County
312 E. College Street Iowa City
Address City
7. Property Description
This freestanding 3½-story brick fraternal hall was built in 1913-1914 on a vacant parcel that had previously been
grounds for the residence that stood at the northeast corner of Linn and College streets. In ca. 1980 a 4-story
elevator addition was built at the southwest corner of the building. The building is set well back from the street
and alley (Svendsen, 2001).
The Iowa City Masonic Temple is an example of the adaptation of the Classical Revival or Neo-Classical style to
a fraternal hall. The design was based on the south face of the State University of Iowa’s Schaeffer Hall on the
Pentacrest. The building has five bays across the front with a nearly square footprint. The tile block walls are clad
in reddish brown brick with Bedford stone for trim. Its 3½-story height (four interior levels) includes a raised
basement with a stone water table and an entrance and elevator addition at the southwest corner. The three center
bays are delineated by four stone columns of the Ionic order rest on masonry pedestals. An entablature rests on
the columns beneath the third floor. It has a plain architrave and frieze with a row of dentils along the cornice.
The center bay contains a pedimented entrance, which is reached from the street level by two flights of steps. A
pair of plate glass and metal doors is set beneath a horizontal transom. To either side of the entrance steps are
pedestals containing the building’s original cast iron ornamental light standards with spherical white glass globes
(Svendsen, 2001).
To either side of the entrance doors are 1/1 double-hung windows with flat-topped transoms. These windows are
set in stone surrounds with semi-circular arches and carved stone infill sections beneath the arches. On the second
level beneath the entablature, smaller 1/1 windows are set between the columns with matching windows above the
entablature. Like the first floor these windows are all set in stone surrounds. The balance of the building’s
fenestration consists of double-hung windows except for the single light windows in the raised basement level. In
the first floor outer bays the 1/1 windows have stone sills with transoms above. Semi-circular arches composed of
a single row of soldier bricks have stone squares at the arch spring lines and along the upper edges of the
windows. Bricks laid in a stack bond pattern form the vertical edges of the windows and infill panels above the
flat topped windows are laid in a basketweave pattern. Windows in the outer bays on the second and third floors
have similar treatments but without the semi-circular brick arch or basketweave section (Svendsen, 2001).
The building has no cornice in the traditional sense. Instead a corbeled masonry band spans the third floor
windows above the entablature approximately 3’ below the top of the parapet. The corbeling includes upper and
lower courses of soldier brick in line with the windowsill and lintel with three projecting courses in between.
Above the entablature section, these courses are Bedford stone but in the outer bays they corbeled brick. A stone
(or precast concrete) coping finish off the parapet edge with a metal crown molding set above the windows in the
center bays (Svendsen, 2001).
As of 2000, the interior of the Iowa City Masonic Temple retained much of the building’s original Craftsman
Style millwork with most of the original 16’ hall and balcony top floor still intact. The building has an overall
height of 38’ with a depth of 84’ and a distance across the back of 76’. Changes in the building design include
replacement of the original multi-light casement windows with double-hung sash of various dimensions and
installation of an elevator addition at the southwest corner of the building. The lodge room on the third level had
theater seats from the former Strand Theater installed during the late 1940s (Svendsen, 2001).
The Iowa City Masonic Temple was designed by the Cedar Rapids architectural firm of Charles A. Dieman and
Company and built by Cedar Rapids contractor, Hoar and Parkington. Plumbing contractor was Connell and
Fisher of Iowa City. The original building was outfitted with both electric conduit and coal gas piping for lighting
due to the uncertainty of electricity as a lighting source at the time. The original cost for the lot, building and
furnishings was $50,000 (Svendsen, 2001).
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
State Historical Society of Iowa Site Number 52-01095
Iowa Site Inventory Form Related District Number
Continuation Sheet
Page 2
Iowa City Masonic Temple Johnson
Name of Property County
312 E. College Street Iowa City
Address City
In 2017, the building appears as previously described without significant alteration. No evaluation of the building
interior was undertaken in 2017.
Image 01. View of the façade (south) looking north across E. College Street
(Image by AKAY Consulting, August 2017)
8. Statement of Significance
The Iowa City Masonic Temple is a good example of a Classical Revival styled fraternal hall dating from a period
of substantial new construction in the downtown prior to World War I. The retention of the building’s superb
masonry features and nearly intact interior enhance its architectural significance. As a result, the building is
eligible for the National Register under Criterion C. The resources is also eligible under Criterion A in association
with the history of the Masonic Order in Iowa City. The Masonic Temple would be counted as a contributing
structure to a potential historic district should such a district exist.
Historical Background
At the time the Iowa City Masonic Temple was being planned, downtown Iowa City was going through a building
boom. Other major buildings recently completed or underway nearby at the time included the new Carnegie
Library at 220 S. Linn (1904), the new Post Office in 1904 (28 S. Linn), the Paul-Helen Building in 1910 (107-
219 E. Washington), the First National Bank Building in 1911 (202 E. Washington), the Johnson County Savings
Bank Building in 1912 (southeast corner of Clinton and Washington), the Hotel Jefferson in 1913 (131 E.
Washington), and the Englert Theater in 1913 (221 E. Washington). Construction of two other fraternal halls
came before and after the construction of the Masonic Temple – the B.P.O.E (Elks) Building in ca. 1908 (325 E.
Washington) and the Knights of Columbus Hall in 1930 (328 E. Washington).
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
State Historical Society of Iowa Site Number 52-01095
Iowa Site Inventory Form Related District Number
Continuation Sheet
Page 3
Iowa City Masonic Temple Johnson
Name of Property County
312 E. College Street Iowa City
Address City
The Masonic Temple appears to have been the first and only building constructed on this property. Prior to
acquisition by the Masons, the land was owned by the Solomon Coldren estate, which also owned the Coldren
family house at the northeast corner of Linn and College streets. Prior to building this headquarters, the Masons
met in the third floor of the Morrison Building that was located at the southeast corner of Dubuque and
Washington streets prior to urban renewal. This was one of 15 different rented locations the Freemasons occupied
prior to buildling the current Masonic Temple. Iowa City Lodge No. 4, A.F. and A.M. was responsible for the
new building, but in later years shared space with other Masonic organizations including the William Reynolds
Lodge No. 667, the White Shrine of Jerusalem, the Eastern Star, the Order of Rainbow, the Order of DeMolay,
the Iowa City Shrine Club, and others. This building was dedicated on July 28th 1914 which was coincidentally
the date that Austria declared war on Serbia that marked the start of World War I. A number of prominent Iowa
City businessmen and civic leaders have been associated with the Masons through the years including Chauncey
Swan, territorial governor Robert Lucas, S.C. Trowbridge, W.E. Shrader, Bohumiel Shimek, O.E. Van Doren, and
George Koser.
Image 02. Historic Image – ca.1915
(Source: State Historical Society of Iowa)
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
State Historical Society of Iowa Site Number 52-01095
Iowa Site Inventory Form Related District Number
Continuation Sheet
Page 4
Iowa City Masonic Temple Johnson
Name of Property County
312 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.
Summary Sheet, 312 East College Street, Urban Revitalization Act Study Area Survey, 1981.
Hibbs, Bob, “Welcome! To the Iowa City Masonic Building.” Iowa City Masonic Lodge, (AF&AM), January
1998.
Weber, Irving, Irving Weber’s Iowa City, Volume 1. Iowa City, Iowa: Iowa City Lions Club, 1976
pp. 128-129.
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. “Iowa City Masonic Temple: 52-01095.” Iowa Site Form, 2001.
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs
State Historical Society of Iowa Site Number 52-01095
Iowa Site Inventory Form Related District Number
Continuation Sheet
Page 5
Iowa City Masonic Temple Johnson
Name of Property County
312 E. College Street Iowa City
Address City
11. Additional Documentation
Legal Description: Original Town, Block 62, East 20’ of Lot 5, all of Lot 6.
Assessor: PIN 002+1010380010
Lat/Long: 41.659513/-91.531070
Parcel Map - 2017
LINNGILBERTCOLLEGE
WASHINGTON
122
325
320
319104-116
312
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