Kimballton Commercial District
National Register of Historic Places

Kimballton Commercial District

Kimballton, Audubon County, Iowa
Listed
August 17, 1995
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
95001016

About this property

The Kimballton Commercial District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Kimballton, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. At the time of its nomination the district consisted of 34 resources, including 26 contributing buildings and 8 non-contributing buildings. The district covers parts of four blocks of the central business district. The commercial buildings are mostly masonry structures constructed with locally produced bricks and concrete blocks. Eleven of the buildings are frame construction. The buildings are from one to two stories in height, and Late Victorian architectural styles dominate. Because of the hilly terrain, buildings on one side of Main Street have exposed basements, while those on the other side of street are built into the side of a hill. The Bennedsen, Boldt, and Hansen Building is individually listed on the National Register. Danish immigrants were central to settling the town. Decorative elements that call attention to the Danish presence include scalloped concrete cornice moldings on three of the buildings, and a swastika that decorated a bank building at one time. The arrival of the Atlantic Northern Railroad in 1908 lead to brief period of economic expansion in the town that culminated in a peak in commercial building construction in 1918. An agricultural depression in the 1920s and decline in rail usage for transporting goods to and from the area led to a general decline in the town. For the most part the older buildings were maintained rather than new construction. The town hall, however, was built in 1942 by the Works Progress Administration to replace the opera house, which had been torn down.

Location

Kimballton, Audubon County, Iowa
41.62903, -95.07255

Categories

COMMERCEEUROPEANARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Geology
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Native Heritage
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Settlement
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The Community
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Rivers & Rail
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Nearby Historic Sites

Bennedsen, Boldt, and Hansen Building
Industrial
0 mi
Immanuel Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church
Industrial
0.1 mi
Larsen, Jens T., House
Industrial
0.1 mi
Kimballton West 2nd-West 3rd Street Residential District
Listed
0.2 mi
Jorgensen, Hans J., Barn
Industrial
0.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Kimballton Commercial District listed on the National Register?

Kimballton Commercial District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 17, 1995.

What type of historic resource is Kimballton Commercial District?

Kimballton Commercial District is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Kimballton Commercial District?

The period of significance for Kimballton Commercial District is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near Kimballton Commercial District?

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