City Hotel (Wheatland, Iowa) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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City Hotel
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 Location in Iowa
Location in the United States
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| Location | 214 S. Main St. Wheatland, Iowa |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1893 |
| Architect | Antheona Araah |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian |
| NRHP reference No. | 07001031 |
| Added to NRHP | October 3, 2007 |
The City Hotel, also known as Seifert's Tavern and the Wheatland Feed Mill, is an important old building in Wheatland, Iowa. It is located at 214 South Main Street. In 2007, this building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it is a special place that is important to American history.
Contents
History of the City Hotel
The town of Wheatland was started in 1858. It was built near the Chicago & North Western Railway (C&NW) train tracks. The City Hotel was the second hotel built in this exact spot. It was close to the train station.
Building the Hotel
An artist and photographer named Antheona Araah designed the hotel. He was also involved in building other structures. The first hotel on this site opened in 1889. It was in an older building that was changed into a hotel. Sadly, a fire destroyed this first hotel on February 7, 1893. Several other wooden buildings nearby also burned down.
Work on the new City Hotel started right away. It opened for guests in September of the same year.
Changes Over Time
In 1915, the Lincoln Highway was built. This important road passed through Wheatland, but it was north of the train tracks. The City Hotel was not along this new road.
As more people started using cars instead of trains, the hotel's business slowed down. It closed its doors in the late 1920s or early 1930s.
After being empty for a few years, the Seifert family opened a tavern there in 1937. A tavern is like a restaurant or pub. They lived upstairs in part of the building. Two years later, another person bought the building. It was empty again from 1939 to 1951.
In 1951, the inside of the building was changed. It was then used as a feed mill until 1980. A feed mill is where animal food is made or stored. From 1980 to 1995, it was used as a warehouse for storage.
Architecture of the Building
The City Hotel is a two-story building. It is about 60 feet (18 meters) long and 40 feet (12 meters) wide. The building is made of wood, but it has red and yellow bricks on the outside. It sits on a strong foundation made of yellow limestone.
Design Details
The south side of the building used to face a small train yard. That train yard is gone now. However, the main train tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad still pass by to the south. Trains do not stop in Wheatland anymore.
The yellow bricks are a main part of the building's design. Both of the pointed roof sections, called gables, have cool geometric shapes made from yellow bricks. These shapes look a bit like "wings." There is also a round window in each gable, circled with yellow bricks. Yellow bricks are also used for decorative supports called corbels and a decorative line called a string course near the roof.
