The Benson Block is a historic building located in downtown

Ottumwa, Iowa Ottumwa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,529 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census. Located in the state's southeastern section, the city is split into northern and southern halves b ...

, United States. It is two-fifths of a building that was originally constructed in 1883 and was damaged in a fire in 1923. with This part of the building was re-constructed as a theatre, but because it lacked a sufficient number of exits, was never used for that purpose. It is noteworthy for the decorative Neoclassical white

terra cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...

cladding on the

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

, which enabled its owners to transform its original appearance. The building 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 1985. In 2016, it was included as a contributing property in the Greater Second Street Historic District.

References

Theatres completed in 1924 Neoclassical architecture in Iowa Buildings and structures in Ottumwa, Iowa Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Wapello County, Iowa Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Iowa {{Iowa-struct-stub