Owatonna Commercial Historic District | |
 View up Cedar Avenue from Broadway Street | |
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| Location | Roughly bounded by North Cedar Avenue, West & East Broadway, West Bridge & West Main Streets, Owatonna, Minnesota |
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| Coordinates | 44°5′3″N93°13′33″W / 44.08417°N 93.22583°W Coordinates: 44°5′3″N93°13′33″W / 44.08417°N 93.22583°W |
| Area | 21 acres (8.5 ha) |
| Built | 1871–1950s |
| Built by | Hammel Brothers and Anderson |
| Architect | Louis Sullivan, Frank A. Gutterson, Long and Long, Olof Hanson, T. Dudley Allen, William Keefe |
| Architectural style | Italianate, Romanesque Revival, Neoclassical, Commercial style, Sullivanesque |
| NRHP reference # | 14001237 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | February 2, 2015 |
The Owatonna Commercial Historic District is a designation applied to the historic downtown of Owatonna, Minnesota, United States. It comprises 75 contributing properties mostly built between 1871 and the late 1950s. [2] It was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015 for having local significance in the theme of commerce. It was nominated for its associations with the growth and prosperity of an agricultural/industrial community and county seat. [2]
Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English-speakers to refer to a city's commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart, and is often synonymous with its central business district (CBD). In British English, the term "city centre" is most often used instead. The two terms are used interchangeably in Canada.
Owatonna is a city in Steele County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 25,599 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Steele County. Owatonna is home to the Steele County Fairgrounds, which hosts the Steele County Free Fair in August.
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant. Government agencies, at the state, national, and local level in the United States, have differing definitions of what constitutes a contributing property but there are common characteristics. Local laws often regulate the changes that can be made to contributing structures within designated historic districts. The first local ordinances dealing with the alteration of buildings within historic districts was in Charleston, South Carolina in 1931.
The Owatonna Commercial Historic District comprises portions of 12 city blocks. Owatonna's Central Park, established in 1871, forms the focal point of the district. The park is bordered by three buildings that were previously listed on the National Register as individual properties: the 1891 Steele County Courthouse, the 1907 Owatonna City and Firemen's Hall, and the 1908 National Farmer's Bank. A total of 74 buildings and one site (Central Park) are considered contributing properties to the district, while 13 buildings and two sites within the boundaries are considered non-contributing. [2]
The Steele County Courthouse is the seat of government for Steele County, located in Owatonna, Minnesota, United States. It was built in 1891. The courthouse is a three-story Austin red-brick building with red mortar, accented with Lake Superior brown stone. It was designed by T. D. Allen of Minneapolis in a Romanesque Revival and Italianate style, featuring corner towers, a turret, and a large clock on four sides. Windows are arched and a statue representing Mercy, Law, and Justice sits above the north face of the building. Polished granite columns support double arches at the entrances. The interior is decorated with wainscoting, woodwork, and an ornate oak staircase. The courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 for having local significance in the themes of architecture and politics/government. It was nominated for its Romanesque Revival architecture and long service as Steele County's government seat.
The Owatonna Firemen's Hall, formerly the Owatonna City and Firemen's Hall, is a historic government building in Owatonna, Minnesota, United States. It was built from 1906 to 1907 to house the Owatonna Fire Department and city government offices. The city offices were relocated to the former campus of the Minnesota State Public School for Dependent and Neglected Children in 1974. The Firemen's Hall continues to serve as the headquarters for the Owatonna Fire Department.
The National Farmers' Bank of Owatonna, Minnesota, United States, is a historic bank building designed by Louis Sullivan, with decorative elements by George Elmslie. It was built in 1908, and was the first of Sullivan's "jewel box" bank designs. The building is clad in red brick with green terra cotta bands, and features two large arches on its street-facing facades. Single-story wings, originally housing bank offices, extend along each side. Internal elements include two stained-glass windows designed by Louis J. Millet, a mural by Oskar Gross, and four immense cast iron electroliers designed by Elmslie and cast by Winslow Brothers Company.
