Cass County Courthouse (Iowa)
Encyclopedia
The Cass County Courthouse in Atlantic
, Iowa
, United States
was built in 1934. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 2003 as a part of the PWA-Era County Courthouses of IA Multiple Properties Submission. It was the first courthouse in Iowa built with funding from the Public Works Administration
, or PWA. The courthouse is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration.
was organized in 1853. The first county commissioners met in Indiantown and chose a place called Lewis as the county seat. A two-story house was built for the courthouse. The railroad was built through Atlantic
and the town offered the county land for a new courthouse. In 1869 the county accepted Atlantic's offer and built a small frame building on the site. The building soon proved to be inadequate and the county rented the nearby Park House to provide additional space. A new two-story stone courthouse building was built in 1888. It was destroyed by fire in March 1932.
Because of the Great Depression
, the first referendum
to build a new courthouse failed in the General Election of 1932. The following year President Franklin Delano Roosevelt began the Public Works Administration, and Cass County was the first county to apply for a grant. The second referendum was passed by the voters in 1933 and the county retained the Des Moines
architectural firm of Dougher, Rich & Woodburn to design the new building. C.C. Larsen Co. of Council Bluffs, Iowa
won the bid to construct the building and work began in March 1934. The new building was dedicated on December 26, 1934 with Governor Clyde L. Herring
as the main speaker.
with a central section that is flanked by two lower sections. The exterior is composed of buff colored brick and Bedford limestone
trim. It is three-stories tall and built on a raised basement. On the interior the central corridors extend the length of the building with the county offices opening onto the corridors. The building features multi-colored terrazzo
floors, marble wainscoting and acoustic tiles. The court room was originally decorated in dark wood tones and Art Deco
ornamentation.
Dougher, Rich & Woodburn was able to save three other Iowa counties money by providing a similar design for their county’s new courthouse. Newspapers in Buchanan
and Humboldt
counties printed drawings that were nearly identical when they were planning to build new courthouses in the 1930s.
Atlantic, Iowa
Atlantic is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, Iowa, United States, located along the East Nishnabotna River. The population was 7,112 in the 2010 census, a decline from the 7,257 population in the 2000 census. -History:...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was built in 1934. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 2003 as a part of the PWA-Era County Courthouses of IA Multiple Properties Submission. It was the first courthouse in Iowa built with funding from the Public Works Administration
Public Works Administration
The Public Works Administration , part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recovery Act in June 1933 in response to the Great Depression...
, or PWA. The courthouse is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration.
History
Cass CountyCass County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 13,956 in the county, with a population density of . There were 6,591 housing units, of which 5,980 were occupied.-2000 census:...
was organized in 1853. The first county commissioners met in Indiantown and chose a place called Lewis as the county seat. A two-story house was built for the courthouse. The railroad was built through Atlantic
Atlantic, Iowa
Atlantic is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, Iowa, United States, located along the East Nishnabotna River. The population was 7,112 in the 2010 census, a decline from the 7,257 population in the 2000 census. -History:...
and the town offered the county land for a new courthouse. In 1869 the county accepted Atlantic's offer and built a small frame building on the site. The building soon proved to be inadequate and the county rented the nearby Park House to provide additional space. A new two-story stone courthouse building was built in 1888. It was destroyed by fire in March 1932.
Because of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, the first referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
to build a new courthouse failed in the General Election of 1932. The following year President Franklin Delano Roosevelt began the Public Works Administration, and Cass County was the first county to apply for a grant. The second referendum was passed by the voters in 1933 and the county retained the Des Moines
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
architectural firm of Dougher, Rich & Woodburn to design the new building. C.C. Larsen Co. of Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs, known until 1852 as Kanesville, Iowathe historic starting point of the Mormon Trail and eventual northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trailsis a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States and is on the east bank of the Missouri River across...
won the bid to construct the building and work began in March 1934. The new building was dedicated on December 26, 1934 with Governor Clyde L. Herring
Clyde L. Herring
Clyde LaVerne Herring , an American politician and Democrat, served as the 26th Governor of Iowa, and then one of its U.S. Senators, during the last part of the Great Depression and the first part of World War II....
as the main speaker.
Architecture
The architectural style of the building is known as Depression Modern or PWA Moderne. The building features a symmetrical façadeFacade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
with a central section that is flanked by two lower sections. The exterior is composed of buff colored brick and Bedford limestone
Indiana Limestone
Indiana Limestone, also known as Bedford Limestone is a common regional term for Salem limestone, a geological formation primarily quarried in south central Indiana between Bloomington and Bedford....
trim. It is three-stories tall and built on a raised basement. On the interior the central corridors extend the length of the building with the county offices opening onto the corridors. The building features multi-colored terrazzo
Terrazzo
Terrazzo is a composite material poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of marble, quartz, granite, glass or other suitable chips, sprinkled or unsprinkled, and poured with a binder that is cementitious, chemical or a combination of both...
floors, marble wainscoting and acoustic tiles. The court room was originally decorated in dark wood tones and Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
ornamentation.
Dougher, Rich & Woodburn was able to save three other Iowa counties money by providing a similar design for their county’s new courthouse. Newspapers in Buchanan
Buchanan County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 20,958 in the county, with a population density of . There were 8,968 housing units, of which 8,161 were occupied.-2000 census:...
and Humboldt
Humboldt County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 9,815 in the county, with a population density of . There were 4,684 housing units, of which 4,209 were occupied.-2000 census:...
counties printed drawings that were nearly identical when they were planning to build new courthouses in the 1930s.