Cedar Falls Ice House

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Cedar Falls Ice House
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LocationFranklin Ave. and 1st St.
Cedar Falls, Iowa
Coordinates 42°32′19″N92°26′55″W / 42.53861°N 92.44861°W / 42.53861; -92.44861 Coordinates: 42°32′19″N92°26′55″W / 42.53861°N 92.44861°W / 42.53861; -92.44861
Arealess than one acre
Built1921
ArchitectCedar Falls Construction Co.
NRHP reference # 77000494 [1]
Added to NRHPOctober 21, 1977

The Cedar Falls Ice House is an historic building located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. It was built in 1921 and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1977. [1] The building currently serves as the Ice House Museum.

Cedar Falls, Iowa City in Iowa, United States

Cedar Falls is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 39,260. It is home to the University of Northern Iowa, a public university.

National Register of Historic Places Federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred in preserving the property.

Contents

History

Information plaque located
outside of the Ice House Ice House Cedar Falls IA Plaque pic1.JPG
Information plaque located
outside of the Ice House

The first ice house in Cedar Falls was built in 1858 near the homestead of William Sturgis, the first permanent resident of Black Hawk County. [2] It was destroyed in a fire on October 22, 1921. Hugh Smith, who owned Cedar Falls Ice and Fuel Company, made plans for the present structure. It was completed in November 1921 by the Cedar Falls Construction Company. [3] The first ice harvest began on January 10, 1922. The building served as an ice house from 1922 until Smith lost his business in 1934. Cedar Falls Trust and Savings Bank took over the building. It was used as a livestock barn and later was flooded for ice skating. In 1938 the city of Cedar Falls purchased the building and leased it to the Cedar Falls Boat Club. They occupied the building until 1976 when the building was condemned. That year the Cedar Falls Historical Society decided to save the structure. After a successful fund-raising campaign the building was renovated beginning in 1978, and the Ice House Museum opened on June 24, 1979. [2] The building was damaged in a 2008 flood.

Ice house (building) Building used for storing ice all year round, before refrigeration

Ice houses or icehouses are buildings used to store ice throughout the year, commonly used prior to the invention of the refrigerator. Some were underground chambers, usually man-made, close to natural sources of winter ice such as freshwater lakes, but many were buildings with various types of insulation.

Black Hawk County, Iowa U.S. county in Iowa

Black Hawk County is a county in the northeastern part of U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2010 census, the population was 131,090, making it Iowa's fourth-most populous county. The county seat is Waterloo.

Cedar Falls Historical Society Historical Society , Museum , Historic house museum , Nonprofit organization in Iowa, United States

The Cedar Falls Historical Society is located in Cedar Falls, IA. It strives to preserve the history of Cedar Falls, Black Hawk County and Iowa through its collection and five museums. It is also involved with community outreach, garden tours, guided tours, and research.

Architecture

The building is a true round barn structure that measures 100 feet (30 m) in diameter and 30 feet (9.1 m) high. [4] [2] It is constructed of hollow clay tiles and features an aerator and a two-pitch roof. The roof is supported by a center pole and the walls of the structure. When used as an ice house it could hold between 6,000 and 8,000 tons of ice. [2]

Round barn circular storage building

A round barn is a historic barn design that could be octagonal, polygonal, or circular in plan. Though round barns were not as popular as some other barn designs, their unique shape makes them noticeable. The years from 1880–1920 represent the height of round barn construction. Round barn construction in the United States can be divided into two overlapping eras. The first, the octagonal era, spanned from 1850–1900. The second, the true circular era, spanned from 1889–1936. The overlap meant that round barns of both types, polygonal and circular, were built during the latter part of the nineteenth century. Numerous round barns in the United States are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "History of the Cedar Falls Ice House". Cedar Falls Historical Society. Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
  3. Nancy Redfern. "Cedar Falls Ice House". National Park Service . Retrieved 2017-12-07. with photos
  4. Dale Travis. "Iowa Round Barn List". Round Barns & Covered Bridges. Retrieved 2011-03-01.