Grand Avenue Historic Commercial District | |
Location | 301-605 Grand Ave., 12-18, 21 W. 5th St., and 10, 13, and 15-19 W. 4th St., Spencer, Iowa |
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Coordinates | 43°08′35″N95°08′41″W / 43.14306°N 95.14472°W |
Area | 11 acres (4.5 ha) |
Architect | W.C. Barton |
Architectural style | Romanesque Revival Classical Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 04001322 |
Added to NRHP | December 6, 2004 [1] |
Grand Avenue Historic Commercial District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Spencer, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. [1] At the time of its nomination the district consisted of 57 resources, including 39 contributing buildings, and 18 noncontributing buildings. [2] The district cover's most of the city's central business district, mainly along Grand Avenue, but on some of the intersecting streets as well. In addition to commercial buildings, the district also includes the post office, a theater, and a fraternal lodge. The commercial Romanesque Revival and Neoclassical styles are dominant. The period of significance begins in 1913 when a building boom of more "modern" construction began and ends in 1935. A fire started by fireworks destroyed nearly two full blocks, and affected 70 businesses and professional offices. [2] The architects who designed the new buildings went for a unified approach utilizing a Spanish/Mission influence. The Iowa Legislature passed a law banning the sale of fireworks throughout the state.
The Broadway Avenue Historic District is a historic district located on a single city block along Broadway Avenue between Gratiot and East Grand River in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. The Broadway Avenue Historic District joins the Randolph Street Commercial Buildings Historic District, a rare surviving commercial area which dates from the 1840s.
The Fort Madison Downtown Commercial Historic District has a collection of late-19th century store fronts centered on Ave. G, from 6th to 9th Street, and Ave. H from 7th to 9th, in Fort Madison, Iowa. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
The Princess Sweet Shop is a historic building located in Iowa Falls, Iowa, United States. It is noted as "an outstanding example of Art Deco design from 1935. The Carrara Glass façade, and streamlined woodwork are typical of Art Deco design of the 1920s and 1930s, but a rarity in a small town in Iowa." E.J. Karrys opened the Princess in 1915, and the Sweet Shop opened by H.K. Pergakis two years later. Both Karrys and Pergakis were Greek immigrants, a group who were known to establish candy shop around the U.S. They combined their operations at the Princess location in 1928. The building was destroyed in a fire on December 25, 1934. Local architect L.L. Klippel designed the new building, which was completed in 1935. It was the first building in Iowa Falls that was air conditioned. Members of the Perkagis maintained ownership until 1987. The business is still in operation as a soda fountain under different ownership.
The Park Place-Grand Avenue Residential District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Keokuk, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. At the time of its nomination it consisted of 75 resources, which included 60 contributing buildings, one contributing structure, and 14 non-contributing buildings.
The W.R.C. Hall is an historic building located in Iowa Falls, Iowa, United States. Built in 1898, the building has segmented arched windows and a bracketed metal cornice, which are features of the Italianate style.
The College Corner Commercial Historic Business District, also known as the Highland Park Historic Business District at Euclid and Second, is located in the north-central section of Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It is located in the Highland Park neighborhood that also includes the Highland Park Historic Business District at Euclid and Sixth Avenues. The College Corner historic district has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1998.
The Highland Park Historic Business District at Euclid and Sixth Avenues is located in the north-central section of Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It is located on the border of the Oak Park and Highland Park neighborhoods. The commercial historic district has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1998. The Highland Park neighborhood also includes the College Corner Commercial Historic Business District.
The Grant Commercial Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Grant, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. At the time of its nomination it contained 17 resources, which included 15 contributing buildings, two contributing structures, and one non-contributing building. The historic district covers the town's central business district. Grant is a small town located in northeast Montgomery County in the southwest quadrant of the state. It was plated in 1858, and it was known as Milford until the early 20th century even though its post office was Grant. While not on a railroad, the town was still able to maintain a viable commercial district.
The Waverly East Bremer Avenue Commercial Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Waverly, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. At the time of its nomination it contained 53 resources, which included 41 contributing buildings, and 12 non-contributing buildings. The historic district covers a portion of the city's central business district between the Cedar River on the west and the former right-of-way for the Chicago Great Western Railway on the east.
North Grand Avenue Residential Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Spencer, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. At the time of its nomination the district consisted of 118 resources, including 96 contributing buildings, one contributing structure, 12 noncontributing buildings, and two noncontributing structures. The district is an 11 block area north of the city's central business district. North Grand is a tree-lined street divided by a landscaped boulevard, and features Art Deco light fixtures. Its design was influenced by the City Beautiful movement. The thoroughfare carries U.S. Route 71/18 traffic. The contributing buildings are houses, garages, and four churches. Architectural styles found here are Queen Anne, Victorian, Classical Revival, Colonial Revival, Greek Revival, American Four Square, Tudor Revival, Bungalow, and American Craftsman. Many of the buildings are architect designed. One of the houses in the district, the Adams-Higgins House, was individually listed on the National Register in 1984.
The Sentinel Block is a historic building located in Iowa Falls, Iowa, United States. Previous commercial blocks in Iowa Falls tended to follow the more ornate Italianate style. This building, completed in 1905, marks a departure from those older structures. Rectilinear brick panels above the windows replaced the decorative hoodmolds, and the brick patterned cornice with a plain stone cap replaced the heavy metal cornice. The building also features an oriel window with a crenelated parapet. The building housed the Iowa Falls Sentinel for over 20 years. It began as the Eldora Sentinel in 1857, relocated to Iowa Falls in 1865, and was bought out by its competitor, the Hardin County Citizen, in 1927.
The Ellsworth–Jones Building is a historic building located in Iowa Falls, Iowa, United States. Eugene S. Ellsworth was a land broker, town developer, and philanthropist. This building was the headquarters of his firm Ellsworth and Jones, who sold land throughout Iowa and other states in the Midwest. While Iowa Falls was their headquarters, they also had offices in Chicago, Boston, and Crookston, Minnesota. The three-story, brick Neoclassical building was completed in 1902. It features Ionic and Doric columns, egg-and-dart motif on the lower level columns, round arches, acanthus leaf keystones, foliated decorative elements, a dentils on the cornice.
The Washington Avenue Commercial Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Iowa Falls, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. At the time of its nomination the district consisted of 59 resources, including 42 contributing buildings and 15 non-contributing buildings. The district takes in most of the city's central business district. The buildings here were generally used for retail and office purposes. An opera house and theater are also located here. Around the edges of the district are buildings that housed automobile dealerships. The buildings generally range from one to two stories, but a couple structures are three stories in height. Built between the 1857 and 1960, the buildings are composed of masonry construction. The commercial Italianate and Classical Revival styles are dominant.
The McClanahan Block is a historic building located in Iowa Falls, Iowa, United States. The city experienced a devastating fire in 1874, and most of the buildings on this block were built after the fire giving them a commonality of design. This two-story commercial building, completed in 1913, stands out given its polychrome brick and the simplicity of its design. Its decorative elements are found in the patterns created on its surface utilizing the bricks. At the time this building was constructed, Washington Avenue was paved and cement sidewalks replaced their wooden predecessors.
First National Bank is a historic building located in Iowa Falls, Iowa, United States. The bank traces its founding to 1882 when the Commercial Bank of Iowa Falls was established. Its name was changed to First National when they built a two-story brick building at this location two years later. In 1917 the bank decided it needed a new facility, so they turned to the Lytle Company of Sioux City, Iowa, which specialized in designing bank buildings. They designed this two-story brick Neoclassical structure. A rich surface pattern on the building was achieved with the use of terra cotta and special colors of brick. First National continued in business here until December 21, 1932, when it closed its doors. Iowa Falls State Bank was organized and opened in this building on May 25, 1933. In more recent years they expanded into the modern building immediately to the west.
The Marion Commercial Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Marion, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. At the time of its nomination it consisted of 41 resources, which included 29 contributing buildings, one contributing site, one contributing structure, two contributing objects, and eight non-contributing buildings. The historic district covers the city's central business district. The development of this area largely occurred when Marion was the county seat of Linn County (1838-1919). There are no county government buildings extant from this era. The city was also a division point for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The Cedar Rapids Central Business District Commercial Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. At the time of its nomination it consisted of 60 resources, which included 46 contributing buildings, one contributing structure, 12 non-contributing buildings, and one non-contributing structure. Cedar Rapids was platted on the east bank of the Cedar River as Rapids City in 1841, and it was incorporated under the same name in 1849. Kingston was established on the west bank of the river in 1852. The two smaller communities consolidated in 1870 as Cedar Rapids. The streets were laid out parallel and perpendicular to the river, which flowed from the northwest to the southeast. The Chicago, Iowa and Nebraska Railroad was the first to arrive in the community in 1859 and the tracks were laid on Fourth Street on the eastern edge of the central business district. The first bridge across the river was built at Third Avenue in 1871.
The Seth Richards Commercial Block, also known as the Lederer-Strauss Building, is an historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Its construction represents the transition of Court Avenue from a retail center to the city's wholesale district. Seth Richards had acquired the property that had been the location of several business houses. One of the lots had been owned by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The four-story, brick, Romanesque Revival building was constructed in two parts. The commercial blocks at 300-302 and 304-306 were completed and occupied in 1890, and 308-310 was completed and occupied by 1897. Various wholesale clothing firms occupied the various blocks, but by 1920 Lederer, Strauss & Co., Inc., a millinery fabricator and wholesaler, occupied the entire building. The family-run business was sold in 1944 to the Hiersteiners, who incorporated the business as the Landsco Millinery Co. The business was scaled back, and they occupied less of the block, which was filled with other wholesalers by the mid-1950s. In 1957 the Landsco Millinery Co. was liquidated. The building has been converted for other retail uses in the Court Avenue Entertainment District after this area ceased being a wholesale center. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
The Upper Central Avenue Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Dubuque, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. At the time of its nomination it consisted of 65 resources, which included 56 contributing buildings, one contributing site and eight non-contributing buildings. This six block section of Central Avenue is located on the north side of the central business district. The largely linear district includes a jog at 18th Street. Below the jog the street was originally named Clay Street and above it Couler Avenue. It was also the dividing line where all commerce used the German language exclusively to the north. At one time the street featured a streetcar route and it was a significant farm-to-market route and a gateway into the city from the north.
The Ijem Avenue Commercial Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Nichols, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020. It is composed of 12 one and two-story commercial buildings that date from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. It also includes one modern infill building. Nichols is a small town in western Muscatine County and was an important railroad shipping point and market town from about 1885 to about 1920. It was located along the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway, which came to town in 1871, and the Muscatine and Western Railroad, which arrived two years later. The two railroads intersected on the west side of the central business district, and both were incorporated into the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad in the 1880s. The brick commercial buildings in the historic district were built during this period of time. They are attached one and two-story brick structures. The oldest buildings reflect the Italianate style with their arched windows, while the later buildings reflect the Neolassical and Commercial styles.