Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa is the national Norwegian-American museum and heritage center, with over 33,000 artifacts, 12 historic buildings, a Folk Art School, and a library and archives. This treasure showcases the most extensive collection of Norwegian- American artifacts in the world. Some of its buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places. Vesterheim’s exhibitions explore the diversity of American immigration through the lens of the Norwegian-American experience and highlight the best in historic and contemporary Norwegian folk and fine arts.
Decorah Ice Cave State Preserve has one of the largest glacières in the Midwestern United States. It consists of a 3-acre (1.2 ha) parcel of land at the edge of Barbara Barnhart VanPeenen Memorial Park in the northern portion of the city of Decorah, in Winnesheik County, Iowa.
The Allamakee County Court House in Waukon, Iowa, United States was built in 1940. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003 as a part of the PWA-Era County Courthouses of IA Multiple Properties Submission. The courthouse is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration.
The E. H. Harrison House is a historic building located in Keokuk, Iowa, United States. It was designed in a combination of Federal, Greek Revival, and Second Empire styles by local architect Frederick H. Moore, and built in 1857 by local builder R.P. Gray. It is believed that this is the first house in Iowa to have a Mansard roof, which is its Second Empire influence. The Federal style is found in the building's large windows, the elliptical doorway arch, the bowed two story front bay, and the brickwork. The Greek Revival style is found in the offset doorway. Its interior features a unique open, two-story, self-supporting staircase that is said to be one of seven in existence in the United States. Additions have been built onto the back of the house, but their dates are unknown.
The Luther College Farm was built between the late 1860s and about 1900 on a hill overlooking Luther College near Decorah, Iowa, United States. The farm comprises a complete ensemble of agricultural buildings, dominated by the farm's barns.
Washington Prairie Methodist Church is a historic church building located southeast of Decorah, Iowa, United States. The congregation was established by Ole Peter Petersen. He returned to his native Norway in 1853 and founded the first Methodist congregation there. Washington Prairie Methodist is considered the mother church of Methodism in Norway. In the early years the congregation met in private houses. They built this church building themselves from 1863 to 1868. With its pediments and entablature/cornice it is Greek Revival in style. However, the windows on the side elevations are Gothic. It also features a round-arch entry on its gabled end. By 1888 services were only held here quarterly, and continued until about 1920, when the church was officially closed. Over the years some vandalism and settling of the structure occurred. The Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah restored the church and adjacent cemetery in 1972. The bishop of the North European Methodist Conference participated in its re-dedication later that year. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The Porter House Museum is a house and museum in Decorah, Iowa. It was the home of Adelbert Field Porter (1879–1968) and his wife, Grace Young Porter (1880–1964), as well as Grace's mother and father, until their deaths. On August 6, 1975, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Broadway–Phelps Park Historic District is located in Decorah, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The historic district is composed of seven blocks of a residential area and the city's oldest park. It is located on a prominent hill in the heart of Decorah. Contributing properties include five churches, three government buildings, a museum, brick kiln, a carriage house, and 36 private residences. Contributing sites include the city park square and the river bluff. The historic buildings were built from the 1850s to the early 1900s. Most of the structures are two or more stories, and were built in limestone, sandstone, or brick. The Ellsworth-Porter House is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Bohemian Savings Bank, also known as the Decorah State Bank, Protivin Branch, is a historic building located in Protivin, Iowa, United States. The town of Protivin was established in 1877, and did not have a bank until 1910. Bohemian Savings Bank was established to prevent people from near by Decorah, Iowa from establishing one here. The Rev. Rudolph Lakomy, the local parish priest, was one of the bank's organizers and served on its first Board of Directors. He also designed the exterior of the building. The Neoclassical structure was built of smooth concrete blocks that simulate stone. It rests on a concrete foundation. The balustraded porches located on the front and back sides of the building are flanked with columns of the Doric order. The building was built by the John Neuzil construction firm from Fort Atkinson, Iowa. The Fisher-Stevens Co. from Charles City, Iowa designed the interior of the building. Bohemian Savings Bank became a branch of the Decorah State Bank on December 1, 1986. A new bank building was built next door to replace this one in the late 1980s. This building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
The Steyer Bridge is a historic structure located on the west side of Decorah, Iowa, United States. This is one of the few stone arch bridges that continue to exist in Iowa. It was constructed by local stonemason Michael Steyer over Twin Springs Creek in 1875. Steyer emigrated from Germany in 1867, and settled in Decorah. His brother Joseph was the proprietor of the Steyer Opera House in town. Compared to other stone bridges in the state, this one is less sophisticated and is a good example of vernacular engineering. It is a small structure that consists of a single arch that is formed by rough-cut limestone voussoirs. The keystone is a block of dressed limestone with Steyer's name and the date "1875" carved on it. The spandrels and the walls that form the foundation for the approaches to the bridge consist of coursed rubble limestone. The base of the walls and the lower edges of the arch were reinforced with concrete in the 1970s. The concrete bridge deck is edged with wooden posts. When U.S. Route 52 was relocated to this area in the early 1970s, the Steyer Bridge was scheduled to be removed, but local protests saved it and the highway bridge built over it. The bridge listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Steyer Opera House is a historic building located in Decorah, Iowa, United States. The three-story, brick commercial block was designed by F.G. Brant of Dubuque. Its original owner and namesake was Joseph Steyer, who emigrated from Luxembourg in 1852 and settled in Decorah in 1865. The building was built in 1870 and an additional three bays were added to the east side in 1875. The first floor houses retail space, the second floor historically housed apartments, and the auditorium is on the third floor. The walls and ceiling are covered with tin that is pressed in a variety of decorative patterns. Doorways flank the proscenium. They are framed by paneled pilasters and capped with a broad architrave. The balcony that rings the main floor on three sides of the auditorium was part of the 1875 renovation of the building. It is now part of the neighboring Hotel Winneshiek. The building was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. In 2017 it was included as a contributing property in the Decorah Commercial Historic District.
Decorah Woolen Mill, also known as the Meritol Building or Decorah Tire Service, is a historic building located in Decorah, Iowa, United States. The mill was originally constructed in 1867, and was operated by various owners in the years to come. They included the Decorah Glove and Mitten Works who operated in the building the same year, 1908, that it was struct by a tornado. The third floor sustained damage, and they continued operations here. By 1919 they were no longer in business here and the American Drug and Press Association, the Meritol Company, bought the building and expanded it. They made pharmaceuticals and patent medicines, and went bankrupt in 1932. Various other companies operated from here until 1955 when Decorah Tire Service took over. The building was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. The property was developed into a 15-unit apartment building, which opened in 2002. In 2017 it was included as a contributing property in the Decorah Commercial Historic District.
The Cooley-Whitney House is a historic house located at 305 Grove Street in Decorah, Iowa.
The Norris Miller House, also known as The Stovewood House, is a historic residence located in Decorah, Iowa, United States. The 1½-story frame house features a vernacular Classical cornice, symmetrical plan, a gable roof, and a limestone basement. The structure is composed of oak that is split into short lengths for use in a stove, or stovewood. It is laid with mortar made up of ash and lime. There are only two other houses like this one known to exist in the United States, and both are in Wisconsin.
Koren Hall, formerly known as Koren Library, is located on the campus of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, United States. Completed in 1921, it served as the college's library until 1969 when Preus Library opened. Koren Hall was officially dedicated on October 14, 1921. The building is named for Ulrik Vilhelm Koren, one of the college's founders and a long-time supporter. From 1969 to 1978 it housed the Spiritual Life Center as well as offices and classrooms. The former reading room was converted into a chapel. The building now houses classrooms and offices for the social sciences, the Anthropology Lab, and the Anthropology Collections. The two to three story brick building was designed in the Neoclassical style by the Minneapolis architectural firm of Magney & Tusler. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The Decorah Municipal Bathhouse and Swimming Pool is located in Decorah, Iowa, United States. Edward Novak of the Charles Altfillisch architectural firm in Decorah designed the facility in the Art Moderne and the International Style. The project was a partnership between the local government and the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). The property on which it stands was donated by Luther College and a few local citizens. The Fred Carlson Company of Decorah, which supervised its construction, hired unemployed men from the area as laborers. The bathhouse "is the only remaining building from WPA projects of its style and significance in Iowa." It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.
The Jacobson Farm is located southeast of Decorah, Iowa, United States. It was owned and operated by the Jacobson family for 127 years. One generation overlapped the next, which led to a gradual evolution of changes instead of sudden changes. This evolution is exemplified in the house and barn, which have been altered over the years to accommodate changing needs but contain some of their original construction. The original portions of the buildings shows a mastery of Norwegian log construction. The later additions were also built according to the Norwegian tradition as independent units, but using framing techniques that adapted from American builders. There is also a substantial amount of written documentation in the form of letters, diaries, tax receipts, and photographs that help to precisely document the history of the farm.
The Letovsky-Rohret House is a historic building located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. This simple two-story wood frame structure largely embodies the Greek Revival style with its side gable roof, entablature window and door heads, boxed cornice and plain frieze, and its pedimented attic vents. The tall windows on the first floor and arched windows on the main door reflect elements of the Italianate style. Built in 1881, the house originally faced Van Buren Street, but it was turned to face Davenport Street in 1919 and placed on the eastern end of its lot so two more house could be built there.
Rose Hill, also known as the Irish-Goetz House, is a historic building located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It was built as a farmhouse in 1849 by Frederick Irish, an early settler in this community. His descendants would own this house until 1964. After he arrived in 1839, Irish built a cabin wherein the commissioners chose the site for the new territorial capital and then the design for the building. Irish remained a prominent citizen in Iowa City who was appointed, along with former Governor Robert Lucas, to a group working to bring the railroad to Iowa City. When he built this house he chose the Greek Revival style, which might reflect his relationship with John F. Rague who designed the Capitol building here. It also reflects the housing styles of his native New York, and is very similar to the "farmhouse elevation" found in Minard Lafever's work, Young Builder's General Instructor. The house was listed together on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
The Decorah Commercial Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Decorah, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. At the time of its nomination it contained 126 resources, which included 85 contributing buildings, one contributing structure, and 40 non-contributing buildings. The historic district covers most of the city's central business district. Water Street, which is a major thoroughfare through the district was named after a millrace (non-extant) that rerouted water from the Upper Iowa River to serve the needs of the mills and the commercial district. The land here is relatively flat and allowed for a linear shopping area. The Broadway–Phelps Park Historic District is largely a residential area that is located to the south.
