Ames Main Street Historic District is a nationally recognized

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

located in

Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is best known as the home of Iowa State University (ISU), with leading agriculture, design, engineering, and veterinary medici ...

, United States. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2018. At the time of its nomination it included 81

resources Resource refers to all the materials available in our environment which are technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally sustainable and help us to satisfy our needs and wants. Resources can broadly be classified upon their a ...

(of which 76 were

contributing buildings In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

) as well as 15 non-contributing buildings. The district covers most of the city's

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

. The area began to develop after the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

along the

Chicago and North Western The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

(CNW) tracks. The district was also served by the Ames & College Railway and its successor, the Fort Dodge, Des Moines, & Southern

Interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 a ...

Streetcar line, from 1891 to 1929. The later connected downtown Ames and the CNW depot with Iowa State College, now known as

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

. Most of the buildings in the district are two stories in height and constructed in brick. There are also several single-story structures and a few that rise to three stories. The facades and storefronts run continuously along the blocks with only two breaks for vacant lots that have been transformed into public park plazas. The facades of the commercial buildings in downtown Ames were radically rehabilitated from the late 1910s and into the 1960s, giving them a more modern appearance. While other communities in the state also saw updates to the buildings in their main commercial areas, the difference here is that it was "nearly universal and helped the central business district retain a unified feeling of design." The

Municipal Building Municipal Building may refer to the following places: United States Arkansas *Crossett Municipal Building, Crossett, AR, List of RHPs in AR, listed on the NRHP in Arkansas *Municipal Building (El Dorado, Arkansas), El Dorado, AR, List of RHPs in A ...

(1916) and the

Masonic Temple A Masonic Temple or Masonic Hall is, within Freemasonry, the room or edifice where a Masonic Lodge meets. Masonic Temple may also refer to an abstract spiritual goal and the conceptual ritualistic space of a meeting. Development and history In ...

(1917) are individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Includes maps, historic photos, and nine photos from 2017-2018. In 2017, the London Underground's building, at 212 Main Street in the district, was to be renovated using grant funding.

References

Ames, Iowa Historic districts in Story County, Iowa Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Story County, Iowa {{StoryCountyIA-NRHP-stub