Historic Iowa Postcards

Grinnell College Libraries' Historic Iowa Postcard Collection. A collection of postcards from 1900 through the middle of the 20th century, covering all parts of Iowa.

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Looking northwest at the 1903 three-story Beaux Arts style building designed by Des Moines architects, Gutterson & Smith, and constructed of salmon pink Minnesota limestone. It was the project of the Works Progress Administration. The building originally featured a fountain and stone steps, which were removed in 1955. It is no longer a library, but was acquired by the World Food Prize and is being renovated to serve as a museum to recognize great achievements in agriculture, a convocation center that will hold the World Food Prize International Symposium, a home for the Global Youth Institute, an educational facility that will feature interactive displays on hunger and food security and a conference center and community hall. It is located on Locust Street and listed in the National Register of Historic Places. 1908 postmark.

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The first Clearfield High School was built in 1898 of pressed brick containing 11 rooms at a cost of $20,000. The building was destroyed by fire on March 24, 1940, on Easter Sunday and a new building was completed in 1941. That building was closed in 1986. 1908 postmark.

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Looking northeast at a one story wooden building with bell tower located at 121 Third Avenue NW, Clarion, Wright County, Iowa. 1908 postmark.

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Looking northeast on Broad Street. Often called the "Old Stone Church". Erected in the year 1877. 1908 postmark. Number 156898.

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Looking southeast from North Walnut Street with lunch room and billiards room in the foreground and the Hotel Centropolis in the background. 1908 postmark. Number 9475.

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Looking northeast at an Italianate-Classic style building which was completed in 1880. The red and buff-colored brick used in its construction were made in the old McMillen Brick Plant. The courthouse association paid $5705.90 of the building cost, the county furnished $1040, and the contractors (B. D. Everingham and J. L. Harlow) were said to have lost $1825. There have been additions to the building, but the main structure is still much as it was when completed in 1880. The courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places and is located at 130 North Park Place, Cresco, Howard County, Iowa. Civil War Soldiers Monument is 30 feet high with a soldier atop a round granite column. There are inscriptions of soldiers on four sides at the base. Twenty-four Iowa courthouses had a civil war monument erected on the grounds. The courthouse is located at 137 North Elm Street, Cresco, Howard County, Iowa. 1908 postmark. Number 464.

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Looking at a one-story wooden building with a Notary Public sign near the front door. The Cumberland Saving Bank was organized on January 7, 1905, with a capital stock of $10,000. Edgar S. Harlan was the founding president of the bank. V.E. Benedict, a photographer, was from Cumberland, Iowa. 1908 postmark. Title supplied by cataloger.

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View of a 3 story wooden building with front porch. 1908 postmark. Number 7.

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Looking southwest. The first building on the left is the baggage building and the second building is the depot. The house just beyond the depot is the Burley House, owned by Mrs. B.B. Burley. Two railroad employees are standing near the tracks on the right.

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Looking northeast at the front entrance of Drake University's Administration Building, now known as Old Main. Drake University was founded in 1881. The architectural style is High Victorian Gothic. Old Main is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is located at 2507 University Avenue, Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa. 1908 postmark. Number 1747.

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Looking at streetcar line passing under a bridge in Fairmount Park. Acquisitioned and developed by Andrew C. Graham (“father of the Council Bluffs park system"), Fairmount Park was once considered the greatest park in the area and has a history of being one of the premier parks in the country. It featured a greenhouse, ice skating, sledding, a petting zoo and an old bell tower. 1908 postmark. Number 14.

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A family gathered around the picnic table outside their home near Clarinda, Iowa. 1908 postmark.

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On September 24, 1908 a devastating fire swept throught the business district destroying the whole city block. Pictured in the foreground are the Enterprise building a jewelry shop and the Rowland Restaurant and Lunch Room. 1908 postmark. Number 6.

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On September 24, 1908 a devastating fire swept throught the business district destroying the whole city block. Pictured is the aftermath with townspeople picking through the rubble. 1908 postmark. Number 3.

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On September 24, 1908 a devastating fire swept throught the business district destroying the whole city block. Pictured is the aftermath with townspeople picking through the rubble. 1908 postmark. Number 1.

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On September 24, 1908 a devastating fire swept throught the business district destroying the whole city block. Pictured is a destroyed building with townspeople picking through the rubble. 1908 postmark. Number 5.

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Looking northeast at the brick and stone church built in 1903 by John Lake & Son at a cost of $30,000. Located at 621 South Third Street, Clinton, Clinton County, Iowa. 1908 postmark. Number 15931.

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Looking north on Main Street. 1908 postmark.

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Looking north on Fourth Avenue at a residential dirt road. 1908 postmark.

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A college-sponsored freshman-sophomore tug of war tournament held in 1908 on campus in a trench dug near the athletic field. 1908 postmark.