Buena Vista County Courthouse (Iowa)

Buena Vista County Courthouse
Buena Vista County Courthouse
	Buena Vista County Courthouse
General information
Type	Courthouse
Architectural style	Modern
Address	215 E. 5th St.
Town or city	Storm Lake, Iowa
Country	United States
Coordinates	42°38′42″N95°11′56″W / 42.644935°N 95.199026°W
Construction started	1969
Completed	1972
Technical details
Floor count	Two

Last updated March 17, 2019

The Buena Vista County Courthouse is located at 215 East 5th Street in Storm Lake, Iowa, United States. Built in 1972, it is the fourth building dedicated to house court functions and county administration.

Storm Lake is a city in Buena Vista County, Iowa, United States. The population was 10,600 in the 2010 census, an increase from 10,076 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Buena Vista County. Storm Lake is home to Buena Vista University, originally Buena Vista College. Tyson Foods operates a large hog slaughterhouse, meat packing plant, and turkey processing plant in Storm Lake.

History

In the early years of Buena Vista County there was no courthouse. After it was established in 1851 and until 1856 it relied on Woodbury County for voting and judicial functions.^[1] Prairieville was named the county seat, but it never developed. Court sessions after the county was organized in 1858 were held in private homes and storerooms.^[2] The first courthouse was built in Sioux Rapids in 1870. The two-story structure was completed for $4,945.^[3] Just after the courthouse was completed, Alta, Newell, and Storm Lake started to vie for the county seat. The railroad had just begun serving the communities and they were starting to expand. Newell even had a brick building constructed for a courthouse. The courthouse in Sioux Rapids was destroyed in a fire on January 1, 1877. A safe and the records of the county board of supervisors was all that survived.^[2] Court sessions were moved to a schoolhouse. Storm Lake offered the use of its recently completed city hall for use as a courthouse for ten years if the county agreed to make it the county seat. The offer was accepted in 1878 and local residents went to Sioux Rapids to retrieve the county records. A 2½-story, brick, Vernacular Romanesque courthouse was built in 1888 for $25,000. Sac County used it as a model for their courthouse a year later.^[2]

Buena Vista County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,260. Its county seat is Storm Lake. The county is named for the final victory field of General Zachary Taylor in the Mexican–American War.

Woodbury County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2010 census, the population was 102,172. The county seat is Sioux City.

A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is used in Canada, China, Romania, Taiwan and the United States. County towns have a similar function in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, and historically in Jamaica.

The current Buena Vista County Courthouse was begun in 1969 and it was dedicated in May 1972. The Modern movement building was completed at a cost of $1.2 million.^[1] The structure is in the shape of an "L" with two wings that mirror each other. It features a courtroom in the round that measures 30 feet (9.1 m) in diameter.^[3]

Modern architecture broad type of architecture

Modern architecture, or modernist architecture was based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel and reinforced concrete; the idea that form should follow function; an embrace of minimalism; and a rejection of ornament. It emerged in the first half of the 20th century and became dominant after World War II until the 1980s, when it was gradually replaced as the principal style for institutional and corporate buildings by postmodern architecture.

Diameter straight line segment that passes through the center of a circle

In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest chord of the circle. Both definitions are also valid for the diameter of a sphere.

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References

1 2 "History of Buena Vista County". Buena Vista County. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
1 2 3 Stanek, Edward and Jacqueline (1976). Iowa's Magnificent County Courthouses. Des Moines: Wallace-Homestead. p. 28. ISBN 0-87069-189-9.
1 2 "Buena Vista County Courthouse". Iowa Judicial Branch. Retrieved 2018-08-07.

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[History-1] 1 2 "History of Buena Vista County". Buena Vista County. Retrieved 2015-07-22.

[Stanek-2] 1 2 3 Stanek, Edward and Jacqueline (1976). Iowa's Magnificent County Courthouses. Des Moines: Wallace-Homestead. p. 28. ISBN 0-87069-189-9.

[iowacourts-3] 1 2 "Buena Vista County Courthouse". Iowa Judicial Branch. Retrieved 2018-08-07.