Community Building (Princeton, Iowa)
Community Building | |
Early Commercial | |
NRHP reference No. | 08000331[1] |
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Added to NRHP | April 25, 2008 |
The Community Building, also known as Community Hall, Boll's Store, or Boll's Community Center, is a building in Princeton, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.[1]
History
The Community Building was partially constructed by Dr. John Knox as a three-story building as funds were made available to him. He planned for the building to house stores, offices, a ballroom, and a hospital.
A variety of community functions were held in the Community Building as planned. Dances, plays, movies, and meetings were held in the hall on the second floor. The local Presbyterian and Lutheran churches held their chicken suppers in the basement. The
Initially, the dining room and its equipment could be rented for $10, the hall on the second floor was rented on a regular night for $15, or $25 for holidays, and the first floor retail spaces could be rented per month for $20 each.[2] Henry (Heinie) W. Boll, who ran a general store in town, agreed to rent both spaces for $40 per month. He was able to remove part of the wall that divided the space and create a single store. Boles rent declined during the Great Depression to $30 a month, and by 1961 he was paying $85 a month. He continued to rent the retail space in the building until 1963 when he bought the building from the Community Building Company. He handed the building over to his son Merle in 1972 and he operated the store until he sold the building to the city of Princeton in 1997. A few events were held in the hall or basement while the Boll's owned the building, but for the most part, it sat empty. The city renovated the building and in 1998 it re-opened as Princeton's community center.[3]
Architecture
The Community Building is a two-story, five
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Rebecca Lawin McCarley. "NRHP Inventory-Nomination: Community Building". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-03-30. with photos
- ^ "A Brief History of Princeton, Iowa". City of Princeton. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2011-02-19.