The Downtown Commercial Historic District in Muscatine, Iowa is a historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. At that time, it included 93 contributing buildings, one other contributing object, and 18 non-contributing buildings. The city of Muscatine was established as Bloomington in 1836. The original town was built on land that is generally flat along the Mississippi River. Residential areas were located on the surrounding hills. Commercial and industrial interests developed on the flatter land near the river. Muscatine's commercial and industrial center had developed in a 12-block area along Front Street, now Mississippi Drive, and 2nd Street between Pine Street and Mulberry Street by 1874. This area, represented by the Downtown Commercial Historic District, is the city's original commercial area. Within its boundaries is a large number of 19th-century commercial buildings, many of which were modified in the first half of the 20th century.
Trinity Episcopal Church is a parish church in the Diocese of Iowa. The church is located in Muscatine, Iowa, United States. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. In 2006 it was included as a contributing property in the Downtown Commercial Historic District.
The Davenport Hotel is a historic building located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. In 2020 it was included as a contributing property in the Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District. It is currently an apartment building called The Davenport.
The Muscatine County Courthouse in Muscatine, Iowa, United States, was built in 1909. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource. The courthouse is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration.
The Ayrshire Apartments is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was built in 1920 as a fireproof apartment hotel. The three-story building was designed in the Tudor Revival style, represented by the half-timbering on the third floor. All 36 units include a kitchenette, a Murphy bed in the living room, and a built-in clothes closet. The end units on each floor are larger than the interior units and they include a solarium. The building is located on Sixth Avenue, which by the turn of the 20th century had become a major route utilized by vehicular traffic and streetcar lines. Its proximity to this transportation corridor illustrates the emergence of higher and denser residential use in these areas of Des Moines. The apartment building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996 as a part of the Towards a Greater Des Moines MPS.
The Des Moines Saddlery Company Building is an historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was built in 1881 by J. Rubelman of Muscatine, Iowa. He choose to move his operation to Des Moines because of its location on two rivers and the 13 railroads that served the city. It was one of four saddlery firms in a two block area. Rubelman's company made saddles, harnesses and leather works for 20 years. In the years since it has housed a shoe maker, rubber company, stove manufacturer, glove company, the Krispy Kone Company and the Kaplan Hat Company. The later was also the name of the restaurant that was located on the first floor.
The Clemens Automobile Company Building is a historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was completed in 1916 as an "automotive department store" operated by the Clemens Automobile Company. They sold cars here that were produced by Willys-Overland Motors from 1916 to 1923. There was a claim that this was the largest building in the city that was devoted to automobiles. The first floor was used for the main sales room and offices, the second floor was used for used car sales and the service department, the fourth floor was used for a paint department, and the remaining three floors and the basement were used for storage. The Clemens family was involved in a variety of business enterprises and another one of their companies, the Standard Glass and Paint Company, was housed here from 1924 to 1979. The building is now part of the Hotel Fort Des Moines, and the two buildings were linked across the alley in 1985.
Greenwood Cemetery Chapel is an historic building in Muscatine, Iowa, United States. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2001.
Welch Apartments is an historic building located in downtown Muscatine, Iowa, United States. The Scott House hotel existed on this property prior to this building, which was constructed about 1900. The Italianate-style building contain 26 units with different floor plans. The main floor contains commercial space. The four-story structure measures 120 by 80 feet. The dominant feature of the exterior is the bay windows that protrude from the wall surface. The pressed-metal cornice unifies the building's composition. High parapet gables are located above the cornice. They are executed in the Flemish Renaissance style. The building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979. It became a contributing property in the Downtown Commercial Historic District in 2006.
Tipton State Bank is a historic building located in the central business district of Tipton, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. A bank on this location in Tipton goes back to 1877. Over the years it was known as Cedar County Bank, First National Bank of Tipton, and City National Bank. The directors of City National Bank voted on March 28, 1923 to build a new bank building. They hired the Clinton, Iowa architectural firm J.C. Woods & Co. to design the Neoclassical style structure. Construction was completed in 1924. The east facade of the two-story building features three columns with capitals in the Corinthian order. Around the corner on the south elevation are two full size pilasters. The windows of that elevation were replaced with glass blocks in 1953. After the National Banking Holiday the bank resumed operations as the Tipton State Bank. It continued to occupy this building until they built a new facility across Cedar Street in 1967.
The Lincoln Hotel is a historic building located in Lowden, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. The Lincoln Highway was established in 1913 and passed through Lowden. This hotel was built in 1915 to accommodate the travelers that passed through town. Celia Clemmens, who operated the railroad hotel in town, and her husband A.F. Clemmens built and operated this hotel as well. The hotel is a two-story, rectangular structure with an exterior covered with pebble dash stucco. The shallow-pitched hip roof, wide eaves and the stucco finish reflect the influence of the Prairie School, while the Tuscan columns on the porch and crown window moldings reflect the Neoclassical style. Off the front porch the first floor housed a small lobby, guest parlor and dining room, and the owner's living quarters. The second floor housed the twelve guest rooms and two bathrooms. A first floor addition built in 1920 to increase the size of the owner's quarters has subsequently been removed. The Lincoln Highway in Iowa became U.S. Route 30 in the 1920s, and it was realigned in the mid-1950s just to the south of Lowden. The hotel was able to stay in business until 1981. The building sat empty for the next twelve years before it was converted into apartments from 1994 to 1995.
The Hotel Wapello is a historic building located in Wapello, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001 as Commercial Hotel.
The Lewis Hotel is a historic building located in Cherokee, Iowa, United States. Robert A. Lewis was a New York City native who settled in the Cherokee area in 1872. He had a background in carpentry, but he established a nursery in Cherokee. After moving into town he started planning for his hotel around 1897. He served as the contractor for its construction, and it was completed two years later. The hotel remained in the care of his family until 1966.
The Beers and St. John Company Coach Inn is a historic building located west of West Liberty, Iowa, United States. The company was granted the U.S. Mail delivery contract between Iowa City and Muscatine in 1839 and began service in 1841. Beers and St. John and Egbert T. Smith built this two-story frame structure the following year. At the time, Iowa was still a territory and Iowa City was the capital. It was a swing station where horses and drivers were switched, and it was a crossroads where the Muscatine-Iowa City route crossed with the Davenport-Iowa City route. Smith's wife died in 1854 and is buried on the property, as is a family who died while staying here. The inn closed in 1855 with the arrival of the railroad, and the building was converted into a house.
Hotel Lester-Lester Cafe, also known as the Dodge House-Long Branch, is a historic building located in Mason City, Iowa, United States. Its construction, completed in 1915, was a project undertaken by local real estate developer Meir Wolf. It was built as a two-story building a block away from the passenger and freight depots of the Chicago and North Western Railroad and the Chicago Great Western Railway. The building was meant to be used as a railroad hotel so passengers and rail employees would not have to travel the six to eight blocks to the hotels downtown. It is the only remaining railroad hotel left in Mason City. Hotel guests stayed in the 29 rooms on the second floor, and three commercial spaces on the first floor were occupied by a variety of restaurants, grocery stores and barbershops. Its most famous guest was track star Jesse Owens, who was in town in December 1937 for a basketball exhibition. He could not stay at the other hotel's in town because of his race. In 1975 the hotel's name was changed to the Dodge House and the Long Branch Saloon occupied the space that had previously housed a cafe. By that time it was largely used as a rooming house, and it was used to house the homeless. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
The Laura Musser McColm Historic District, also known as the Muscatine Art Center, is a nationally recognized historic district located in Muscatine, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. Contributing properties include the 1908 residence, the carriage house from the 1920s, and the Japanese garden that was installed in 1929. The house was built for Laura Musser and her husband Edwin McColm by Laura's father Peter. It was designed by Muscatine architect Henry W. Zeidler. It contains 12 rooms that flank large corridors on both floors. After Edwin's death in 1933 Laura married William T. Atkins in 1938 and resided at his home in Kansas City, Missouri. She retained ownership of this house, and visited frequently, until her death in 1964. The following year her heirs donated the estate to the art museum along with a $100,000 endowment to maintain the house. A $1.5 million renovation of the facility was completed in 2017.
The Iowa-Des Moines National Bank Building, also known as the Valley National Bank Building and U.S. Bank, is a historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Designed by the prominent Des Moines architectural firm of Proudfoot, Rawson, Souers & Thomas, it was designed to be a 21- or 22-story building. It is one of the few downtown commercial buildings built in the Art Deco style. It is also thought to be one of the first bank buildings to put the banking room on the second floor while placing retail space on the first floor. Given its location in an area dominated by retail this made sense. This location had a bank on it since 1882 when the Des Moines National Bank built here. The present building was the result when Des Moines National Bank merged with Iowa National Bank and Des Moines Savings Bank and Trust Company in 1929. The original design for the building was a five-story base and a set-back rental office tower on top of it. The base was begun in 1931 and completed a year later. The building is composed of black polished granite on the first floor and the upper floors are Bedford stone. There is a recessed entrance in the center bay of the main facade. The fifth floor was meant to be the base of the office tower that was never built.
The Studebaker Corporation Branch Office Building, also known as the Iowa Truck and Tractor Co., Apperson Iowa Motor Car Co., Sears Auto Co., and the Sanders Motor Co., is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. This is actually two adjacent buildings, built four years apart. The building at 1442 Locust Street was completed in 1918 to house a Studebaker dealership, auto repair shop, and a corporate branch office. The addition of the corporate office made this building different from the others on Des Moines' "Auto Row," where it is located. The building was designed by the prominent local architectural firm of Proudfoot, Bird & Rawson, and built for the Hubbell Building Company who leased it out. The first floor was the location for Glass & Patton, the local Studebaker dealer. The second floor was where Studebaker's wholesale business in the state of Iowa was conducted. The third floor was a store room for automobiles. Studebaker's tenure here was short lived, and by 1919 other auto and truck related businesses started to occupy the building.
Henry Wesley Zeidler was an architect in Muscatine, Iowa. He designed Hotel Tipton in Tipton, Iowa and Greenwood Cemetery Chapel in Muscatine, both of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Paul V. Hyland (1876-1966) was an architect in Chicago, with a Lincoln, Nebraska office. He designed several works which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
