Joseph "Diamond Jo" Reynolds Office Building and House

Last updated
Joseph "Diamond Jo" Reynolds Office Building and House
The Joseph Reynolds Office Building and House.jpg
USA Iowa location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
LocationA and Main Sts.
McGregor, Iowa
Coordinates 43°01′28.5″N91°10′30″W / 43.024583°N 91.17500°W / 43.024583; -91.17500 Coordinates: 43°01′28.5″N91°10′30″W / 43.024583°N 91.17500°W / 43.024583; -91.17500
Arealess than one acre
Built1885
Architectural style Romanesque Revival
Part of McGregor Commercial Historic District (ID02001033)
NRHP reference No. 82002614 [1]
Added to NRHPFebruary 19, 1982

The Joseph "Diamond Jo" Reynolds Office Building and House is a historic building located in McGregor, Iowa, United States. Joseph "Diamond Joe" Reynolds was a New York native who started working in a gristmill in the 1840s. As the grain belt moved to the west, he moved with it, settling in Chicago in the 1850s and McGregor around 1860. [2] Because of difficulties accessing steamboats to ship grain down the Mississippi River, he established the Diamond Jo line in 1866. It grew to become a major player in the transportation industry. He had its headquarters moved from Fulton, Illinois to Dubuque, Iowa in 1874. By the late 1870s railroads had taken over as the primary means of shipping grain, and Reynolds turned his attention to passenger boats. He had this combination office and residential building constructed in 1885. Reynolds died in 1891 and his widow sold the building before her death in 1895. It has subsequently housed grain trader offices, a billiard parlor, the post office, a winery, shops, and apartments.

The building is a two-story brick Romanesque Revival structure. It features round arch windows and doorways, a terra cotta and a triangular pediment above the main entrance. A second-story projecting bay window above the entrance was added about 1900, after the Reynolds' ownership. [2] It has subsequently been removed. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. [1] In 2002 it was listed as a contributing property in the McGregor Commercial Historic District. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

Dubuque County Courthouse United States historic place

The Dubuque County Courthouse is located on Central Avenue, between 7th and 8th Streets, in Dubuque, Iowa, United States. The current structure was built from 1891 to 1893 to replace an earlier building. These are believed to be the only two structures to house the county courts and administrative offices.

Saint Patricks Church (Dubuque, Iowa) United States historic place

Saint Patrick's Church is a Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of Dubuque, and is located at 15th and Iowa Streets, Dubuque, Iowa, United States. The church and rectory were included as contributing properties in the Jackson Park Historic District that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. St. Patrick's Church is located two blocks away from St. Mary's Church. The reason for the close proximity of the two parishes was that St. Mary was originally built for service to German families of Dubuque, and St. Patrick's provided services for the Irish settlers to Dubuque.

Port of Dubuque

The Port of Dubuque is the section of downtown Dubuque, Iowa that lies immediately adjacent to the Mississippi River. The area was among the first areas settled in what would become the City of Dubuque, and the State of Iowa. Historically, the area has been a center of heavy industry, but has recently seen extensive reinvestment and new construction. The area is now one of the main tourist destinations in Dubuque, as well as Iowa.

Diamond Jo Casino

The Diamond Jo Casino is a gambling casino and entertainment complex located in the Port of Dubuque, in Dubuque, Iowa. The casino is owned and operated by Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming, which also owns the Diamond Jo Casino - Worth in Northwood, Iowa. It is a member of the Iowa Gaming Association, and its license is held by the Dubuque Racing Association, which operates Q Casino. Beginning operations on May 18, 1994, the Diamond Jo was a 3-level, 305-foot (93 m), 1,500-passenger vessel in Dubuque's Ice Harbor. The boat was a dockside that did not cruise, the casino became land-based when its new facility opened December 11, 2008.

Mines of Spain State Recreation Area and E. B. Lyons Nature Center

The Mines of Spain State Recreation Area and E. B. Lyons Nature Center is a state park in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States. It is near Dubuque, the eighth-largest city in the state. The park features picnic areas, 15 miles (24 km) of walking/hiking trails, 4 miles (6.4 km) of ski trails, and the Betty Hauptli Bird and Butterfly Garden. It also includes archaeological sites of national importance as an early lead mining and smelting venture led by French explorer Julien Dubuque, as well as Dubuque's gravesite. These sites were collectively designated a National Historic Landmark District as Julien Dubuque's Mines.

St. Marys Church and Rectory (Iowa City, Iowa) United States historic place

St. Mary's Catholic Church, also known as St. Mary of the Visitation Church, is a parish church of the Diocese of Davenport which is located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The church building and rectory were listed together on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. They were both included as contributing properties in the Jefferson Street Historic District in 2004. The parish's first rectory, which is now a private home, is also listed on the National Register as St. Mary's Rectory. It is located a few blocks to the east of the present church location at 610 E. Jefferson St.

St. Josephs Catholic Church (Davenport, Iowa) United States historic place

St. Joseph Catholic Church is a former Catholic parish in the Diocese of Davenport. Its former parish church is located in the west end of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The church and the rectory were listed together on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 1999. After serving as the location of a Reformed Baptist congregation and a private elementary school named Marquette Academy, the parish property now houses a fundamentalist Christian ministry named One Eighty.

St. Marys Catholic Church (Riverside, Iowa) United States historic place

St. Mary's Catholic Church is a parish church of the Diocese of Davenport. The church is located at the corner of St. Mary's and Washburn Streets in the town of Riverside, Iowa, United States. The entire parish complex forms an historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places as St. Mary's Parish Church Buildings. The designation includes the church building, rectory, the former church, and former school building. The former convent, which was included in the historical designation, is no longer in existence.

City Market (Davenport, Iowa) United States historic place

City Market is a historic building located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. In 2020 it was included as a contributing property in the Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District.

St. Lawrence Catholic Church (Otter Creek, Iowa) United States historic place

St. Lawrence Catholic Church is a parish of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. It is located in rural Jackson County, Iowa, United States, in Otter Creek Township. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

Schroeder Bros. Meat Market United States historic place

The Schroeder Bros. Meat Market is a historic building located in the West End of Davenport, Iowa, United States. The Commercial Vernacular style building was complete in 1905 and it has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983.

Arthur Ebeling House United States historic place

The Arthur Ebeling House is a historic building located on the west side of Davenport, Iowa, United States. The Colonial Revival house was designed by its original owner, Arthur Ebeling. It was built from 1912 to 1913 and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Richard Schebler House United States historic place

The Richard Schebler House is a historic building located in the West End of Davenport, Iowa, United States. Richard Schebler, who built this house in 1876, was a grain buyer. Before living here he had lived elsewhere in the neighborhood. The house is an example of a popular form found in the city of Davenport: two-story, three–bay front gable, with an entrance off center and a small attic window below the roof peak. This house is also of wood construction, which allows for more elaboration. Here it is seen in the wall shingles, the small columned porch, and the surround of the attic window. Above the gable window is an intricately carved apron. Surrounding the entrance is an Eastlake-style porch. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983.

Joseph "Diamond Jo" Reynolds American businessman

Joseph Reynolds was an American entrepreneur and founder of the Diamond Jo Line, a transportation company which operated steamboats on the upper Mississippi River. In his youth, while still living in upstate New York, he operated a butchery, a general store, a grain mill, and a tannery.

American House United States historic place

The American House, also known as the American Hotel, Evans Hotel, and Ryan House, is a historic building located in McGregor, Iowa, United States. Ohio native William H. Harding had the three-story structure built in 1854. It is a stone building that is covered with a brick veneer on the upper two floors. McGregor was a river port that immigrants used to get to western Iowa, southern Minnesota and points west. In the early years most people came to town via ferry or packet boats on the Mississippi River. They would leave by horse, stagecoach, wagon or train. The stagecoach departed from in front of the hotel. The ticket office for the railroad, which was located across Main Street, was established in the hotel lobby. An addition was constructed on the southwest side of the original building. The sunrooms were built above it in the 1970s and 1980s. The building was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. In 2002 it was listed as a contributing property in the McGregor Commercial Historic District.

McGregor Commercial Historic District United States historic place

The McGregor Commercial Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in McGregor, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. At the time of its nomination the district consisted of 60 resources, including 51 contributing buildings, one contributing site, one contributing structure, and seven noncontributing buildings. Unlike most river towns in Iowa the central business district does not follow along the Mississippi River, but moves away from it. It is linear in shape, following Main Street, which runs from the southwest to the northeast in a narrow valley between two 400-foot (120 m) bluffs. The narrow valley ends at the river.

Ziepprecht Block Historic building in Dubuque, Iowa, United States

The Ziepprecht Block is a historic building located in Dubuque, Iowa, United States. Completed in 1888, it is a fine example of transitional commercial Italianate architecture. The three-story brick structure features a heavy projecting cornice and rounded pediment from the Italianate, with larger paired windows from the Second Empire style, and three-sided bay windows from the Queen Anne style. It is also one of a small number of double storefront blocks that remain in the downtown area. The building is named for Henry Ziepprecht a German-born druggist who settled in Dubuque in 1856 and died in 1887. His estate paid to have this building constructed on the location of an older building that housed his drug store. Now managed by Joseph Wittmer, the drug store and a confectionery were the first businesses to occupy the storefronts. The upper floors housed apartments. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

Old Chapel Hall United States historic place

Old Chapel Hall, also known as Alumni Hall, is a historic building located on the campus of the University of Dubuque in Dubuque, Iowa, United States. The school started as a German Presbyterian Seminary in 1852. A period of expansion between 1904 and 1922 saw the institution become a liberal arts college called the Dubuque German College and Seminary. This building was part of that expansion. Steffens Hall was completed in 1907, and became the first building on the school's new campus. The chapel was added onto the rear of that building later the same year. It was a gift of the Frank Peters family from St. Louis. The red brick Gothic Revival structure features stone trim, paired lancet windows, a rose window, and a small open bell tower above the entrance. Religious services were held here until 1980 when Blades Chapel was completed. As part of that project Steffens Hall was torn down, except for the front arcade and porch, which makes the old chapel the oldest building on campus. A courtyard was created where the old building stood directly in front of the old chapel. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Diamond Jo Boat Store and Office United States historic place

Diamond Jo Boat Store and Office, also known as the Dubuque Tank Terminal Co. and Inland Molasses Co. Operations Office, is a historic building located in Dubuque, Iowa, United States. This is the last remaining structure in the city that is associated with the steamboat era on the Mississippi River. Several other buildings associated with this line were destroyed in a 1909 fire. This building housed the headquarters of the Diamond Jo Line from the mid-1880s until it was sold to the Streckfus Line in 1911. Originally headquartered in McGregor, Iowa, Joseph Reynolds started in the steamboat business after the American Civil War shipping wheat Minnesota and the Chicago and Northwestern railhead at Fulton, Illinois. In the last quarter of the 19th century the Diamond Jo Packet Line was one of the most active steamboat lines on the upper Mississippi. As railroads gradually took the freight business away from steamboats, Reynolds started to build passenger boats and he bought boats from other lines. The offices were located on the east end of the simple, two-story, brick building, and the rest was used for storage. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The structure resides at the corner of Jones and Water St. in Dubuque Iowa.

The nickname "Diamond Joe" or "Diamond Jo" may refer to:

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. 1 2 Ralph J. Christian. "Joseph "Diamond Jo" Reynolds Office Building and House". National Park Service . Retrieved 2016-10-07. with photos
  3. Leah D. Rogers; Lori Vermaas. "McGregor Commercial Historic District". National Park Service . Retrieved 2016-10-07.