The Bohemian Commercial Historic District, also known as New Bohemia, is located in Cedar Rapids, 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 48 contributing buildings, and 27 non-contributing buildings. Bohemian immigrants began settling in Cedar Rapids in the 1850s, and increasingly after the American Civil War in the 1860s and the Austro-Prussian War in 1866. They grew to be the largest ethnic group in the city, and the only one to settle in a distinct part of Cedar Rapids. They settled along the Cedar River between the downtown area and the T.M. Sinclair and Company meat packing plant. The buildings in the district were constructed between the 1880s and the 1930s. They are largely narrow-front commercial buildings and corner blocks. The buildings housed a variety of commercial establishments: a movie theater, two banks, and several filling stations. It also includes a railroad corridor factory building, a fire station, and fraternal halls. The buildings are representative of various commercial architectural styles and vernacular building forms popular at the times they were built. The Lesinger Block (1883) and the C.S.P.S. Hall (1891) are individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Central City Commercial Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Central City, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. At the time of its nomination it consisted of 27 resources, which included 18 contributing buildings, one contributing object, and eight non-contributing buildings. The historic district exemplifies the importance transportation played in the development of the central business district.
The Clarke County Courthouse is located in Osceola, Iowa, United States. It is the third building used for court functions and county administration in Clarke County.
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 Manning Commercial Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Manning, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. At the time of its nomination it contained 37 resources, which included 26 contributing buildings, four contributing structures, and seven non-contributing buildings.
The Belle Plaine Main Street Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Belle Plaine, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. At the time of its nomination it contained 63 resources, which included 46 contributing buildings, one contributing structure, and 16 non-contributing buildings. The historic district covers most of the city's central business district. Belle Plaine was laid out in 1862 as a railroad town. The Chicago & North Western Railroad was extended from Cedar Rapids the following year. The commercial district is adjacent to the tracks. A major fire destroyed much of the business district in 1894. Thirty-five buildings in the district were built in the months after the fire.
Fort Dodge Downtown Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Fort Dodge, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. Additional documentation for the district was approved by the National Park Service on January 4, 2019. At the time of its nomination it contained 177 resources, which included 100 contributing buildings, one contributing site, one contributing structure, five contributing objects, 64 non-contributing buildings, three non-contributing structures, and three non-contributing objects. The district covers the city's central business district, mainly along Central Avenue, but also along the adjoining streets as well. Commercial development in the district began with the city's original plat in 1854 and continued through the opening of the Crossroads Mall in 1964. Webster County Courthouse (1902), First National Bank Building (1908), and the Wahkonsa Hotel (1910) are all located in the district and are individually listed on the National Register.
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 1857 and 1960, the buildings are composed of masonry construction. The commercial Italianate and Classical Revival styles are dominant.
The Mason City Downtown Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Mason City, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. At the time of its nomination it contained 93 resources, which included 63 contributing buildings, one contributing site, four objects, 22 non-contributing buildings, and three non-contributing objects. Platted in 1855, Mason City is a commercial and industrial center for north central Iowa. It was also a railroad center, but the tracks bypassed the central business district in order to serve the industries located on the north side of town and the wholesale enterprises on the south side. Central Park, a public square, was part of the city's original plat and is the contributing site.
Old Main Street 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 1983. At the time of its nomination it consisted of 33 resources, which included 30 contributing buildings and three non-contributing buildings. In 2015 the boundaries were increased to include five more buildings. Four of the buildings are contributing properties that were excluded from the original district because they were slated to be torn down as a part of the expansion of U.S. Route 61. While the highway was built the buildings were spared. The fifth building is non-contributing as are three structures.
Langworthy 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 2004. At the time of its nomination it consisted of 110 resources, which included 94 contributing buildings, five contributing structures, nine non-contributing buildings, and two non-contributing structures. This residential area was developed from the end of the American Civil War to the beginning of World War I. Most of the houses were built between 1890 and 1910, with four large houses pre-dating the Civil War. For the most part, the houses here are larger in scale and include examples of Victorian and the various revival and American Movement styles from the late 19th and 20th centuries. The district is completely residential with no commercial or institutional buildings, and with only one multi-family house, a duplex. Two houses were individually listed on the National Register: Langworthy House, an Octagon house from 1855, and the Garland House (1907). The district derives its name from the Langworthy family who were early settlers in Dubuque and played a prominent role in the development of the local lead mining industry and the city itself. Three of the brothers built houses here.
Upper Main Street 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 2005. At the time of its nomination it consisted of 24 resources, which included 18 contributing buildings, and six non-contributing buildings. In 2011 the boundaries of the district were expanded to include four additional buildings on the west side of the 900 block of Main Street. The district is the northern end of the city's most important commercial street. It is situated on a level terrace above the downtown area, located to the east. The buildings located on the east side of Main Street have exposed foundations along the alley because the grade descends in that direction. For the most part the district is made up of commercial buildings, although there is one house, four rowhouses, and a church. All of the buildings are masonry construction, and they are between one and four stories tall. The bell tower of St. Luke's United Methodist Church (1896) is equivalent to an eight-story building. St. Luke's Church and the Interstate Power Company Building are individually listed on the National Register.
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 West Side Third Avenue SW 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 2014. At the time of its nomination it consisted of 10 resources, which included seven contributing buildings and three non-contributing buildings. Cedar Rapids was platted on the east bank of the Cedar River as Rapids City in 1841, and it was incorporated in 1849. Kingston was established on the west bank of the river in 1852, and it was annexed by Cedar Rapids in 1870. The streets were laid out parallel and perpendicular to the river, which flowed from the northwest to the southeast. The Chicago, Iowa & Nebraska Railway, later the Chicago & North Western Railway, was the prominent railroad on the west side of town. The first bridge across the river at Third Avenue was built in 1871. The current bridge was completed in 1912. Prior to a bridge, Rapid City and Kingston were connected by a ferry operated by David W. King, the founder of Kingston.
The Corning Commercial Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Corning, 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 78 resources, including 56 contributing buildings, one contributing site, one contributing object, 18 non-contributing buildings, and one non-contributing structure. The district covers most of the central business district. It has a linear layout, with twin main streets, associated with Central Park and the Adams County Courthouse at its uppermost end. This is an unusual town layout and is thought to be the only town in Iowa so configured. The elevation slopes down toward the East Nodaway River, south of the downtown and a light industrial area.
The Waterloo East Commercial Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Waterloo, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. At the time of its nomination the district consisted of 36 resources, including 28 contributing buildings, and eight non-contributing buildings. The city of Waterloo was established in the early 1850s. Its first settlers started developing the west side of the city before crossing the Cedar River and developing east side. The first Black Hawk County Courthouse was built on the east side in 1856 and East Waterloo Township was created two years later. As industry began to develop along the river, and the arrival of the first railroad in 1861, the commercial district on the east side began to grow. Also on the east side of town was the terminus of the streetcar-turned-interurban system. By 1900, the city became one of the primary wholesale and retail centers in northeastern Iowa. In 1911 the Black population increased significantly as workers, primarily from Mississippi, moved into town to work for the Illinois Central Railroad. The following year the saloons in town were closed and bootlegging, gambling, drugs, and prostitution started to increase in the area surrounding the central business district. All of these developed put together created the atmosphere of the downtown commercial district.
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 Colfax Spring City Commercial Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Colfax, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018. At the time of its nomination it contained 48 resources, which included 28 contributing buildings, two contributing sites, two contributing structures, 12 non-contributing buildings, and four non-contributing structures. Colfax was platted in 1866 or 1867 as a railroad and farm-to-market town along the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. Coal mines were also located to the south of town. Mineral water was discovered in the area in 1875, which led to the development of the mineral water-based health industry in Colfax. The historic district represents the growth during this time period. After the health-related mineral water industry declined, Colfax expanded its farm-to-market economy in the late inter-war and post-World War II years.
The Iowa City Downtown Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021. At the time of its nomination it consisted of 102 resources, which included 73 contributing buildings, one contributing site, one contributing object, 21 non-contributing buildings, and seven non-contributing objects. Eight buildings that were previously listed on the National Register are also included in the district. Iowa City's central business district developed adjacent to the Iowa Old Capitol Building and the main campus of the University of Iowa. This juxtaposition gives the area its energy with the overlap of university staff and students and the local community. The district was significantly altered in the 1970s by the city's urban renewal effort that brought about the Ped Mall, which transformed two blocks of College Street from Clinton Street to Linn Street and Dubuque Street from Burlington Street to Washington Street. It is the contributing site and the large planters/retaining walls that are original to the project are counted together as the contributing object. There are also several freestanding, limestone planters, five contemporary sculptures, and a playground area are the non-contributing objects.
