Marion County and The City of Knoxville are requesting proposals from real estate development companies interested in acquiring, rehabilitating, owning, and operating two historic buildings on the former VA Hospital site. These properties are part of a larger urban development scheme that is underway in the new Veteran’s District. This process will be conducted in two… Read more »
Iowa Public Radio reports that the Ladora Bank Bistro, housed in a nearly 100-year-old building, is losing its chef and sole proprietor. His departure is showing some of the challenges to keeping old buildings open in small communities. https://www.iowapublicradio.org/post/departure-ladora-bank-bistro-chef-shows-difficulties-keeping-historic-buildings-open#stream/0
Preservation Iowa’s 2019 Most Endangered List: C. C. Wolf Mansion, Parkersburg (Butler County) The C.C. Wolf Mansion at 401 5th Street was built in 1895 for local banker and land speculator Charles C. Wolf and his wife Mary. Designed by architect Harry E. Netcott of Independence, this grand Richardsonian Romanesque style home sported copper gutters,… Read more »
Preservation Iowa is pleased to announce the opening of the 2018 Historic Iowa County School Mini-Grant application round. Project awards for this new grant will be presented during the annual Country School Preservation conference. Winning projects will be awarded a onetime grant, as limited by availability, from Preservation Iowa. These projects will be highlighted on… Read more »
Preservation at its Best 2018, Community Effort: Bricker-Price Block (Erlham) Preservation, at its core, is a community-minded endeavor because its purpose is to protect a community’s identity and reinforce its sense of place. Sometimes a preservation project requires an extraordinary community effort. Cephas D. Bricker and Walter J. Price began construction on what would become known as… Read more »
Preservation Iowa’s Most Endangered 2018: Wilson High School, Cherokee (Cherokee County) This two-story former high School building at 100 E. Willow Street was constructed between 1915 and 1917. Built of brick and Bedford limestone in the Simplified Classical Revival Style, the structure was designed by Proudfoot, Bird, and Rawson of Des Moines who were well… Read more »
Preservation promotes prosperity in communities across Iowa, according to a recently released economic impact study commissioned by Smart Growth Development – an Iowa bi-partisan non-profit coalition which advocates for policies promoting smart growth practices and historic rehabilitation. Heritage Works, a Dubuque-based nonprofit organization, specializing as a comprehensive resource for those engaged in preservation and redevelopment… Read more »
Find Your Preservation Story – Researching Preservation Stories Like any archaeologist or newspaper reporter, you’ve got to do some digging to uncover a story. While it’s possible that you might get your hands dirty in the process, you might also start with what’s readily available in special collections, on the internet, or even by oral… Read more »
Find Your Preservation Story – “Tracing the Clues” Workbook Like any detective, to uncover a story you’ve got to search for clues. A good place to start is with what you can see and know on the surface. Trace your first clues by filling in the blanks below and consult the Glossary or Resources Guides… Read more »
Find Your Preservation Story – Glossary of Preservation Terms If you’re new to preservation, the lingo can be quite confusing. Here’s a helpful breakdown of preservation terminology from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Designation—Act of identifying historic structures and districts subject to regulation in historic preservation ordinances or other preservation laws. Please note that… Read more »
