Portrait of a building from 1894-1929 time period: the Tama Building
By Kathleen Sloan, The Hawk Eye, Burlington, Iowa | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Four-, five- and six-story "modern" buildings were built to replace smaller ones.
Two- or three-story exquisitely designed boutique-like buildings also mark this period of stable prosperity building on prosperity, according to
McCardle and
The
It takes up a quarter of a commercial block in the heart of downtown. Its storefronts on
It was built in 1896 and designed by the architect
Materials of the
The style of architecture is
The lower storefront section is comparable to the column's base. The middle three stories are identical and correspond to the column's shaft. The top story is distinctive with a wide cornice or ledge or overhang, which corresponds to the column's capital.
The decorative metal belt below the ledge has classical motifs such as garlands, shields, dentils and brackets, McCarley said. It was manufactured locally by a company that shipped goods far and wide, Kaut & Kriechbaum, which became a tenant in the building.
Popular at the time was Greek Classical Revival architecture, and McCarley pointed out the terra cotta quoins or decorative corners. Other classical decorative features include shields on upper stories, lion heads and fleur-de-lis on storefront cornices, all in terra cotta.
At one time, a haut-relief of
The building was built on the site of the 1845 Barrett House. The lot was divided into five and sold at
Rand and Ranke built one building on their three-fifths. Rand owned lumber companies and had several real estate interests. Ranke was a furrier, according to the research. They hired Sunderland who unified the overall design of the two-buildings-in-one. As building manager, Rand rented out office space for the whole building.
Rand's portion went up all five floors throughout, but Ranke's portion only went up three stories in the back portions, which allowed air and light to stream into the inner offices, praised for its innovative design.
City directories in 1900 list more than 50 tenants, including dentists, doctors, attorneys, insurance firms, real estate firms, artists, music teachers, dress makers and other business offices.
Ads in The Hawk-Eye boast of the following amenities: basement vaults, elevator, second floor waiting room, electric and gas lighting, marble bathrooms and telephones.
McCardle said it was the premier office building in
The
In 1942, the Rand heirs sold their portion of the building to
Ranke's descendent,
With only a smattering of offices rented in the upper stories in the early 1980s, the
The building was bought at a tax sale
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