Chariton City Hall and Fire Station is located in

Chariton, Iowa Chariton is a city in, and the county seat of, Lucas County, Iowa, United States. The population was 4,193 at the 2020 census. Lucas is the primary distribution center for and the former corporate headquarters of the Hy-Vee supermarket chain. H ...

, United States. The combination building was designed by city engineer

William L. Perkins William L. Perkins (died 1957) was an American architect of Chariton, Iowa. His career is documented in a National Park Service study, "Architectural Career of William L. Perkins in Iowa:1917-1957 MPS".http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natregadvancedsearc ...

, who had become known for designing residential and public buildings. with The new facility came about because of the inadequate wood frame facilities they shared, and it was underscored by a fire that destroyed the center section of the south side of the town square in March 1930. While its dedication did not take place until March 1932, the city took possession of the completed facility in December 1931. An addition for the fire department was completed in 1979. While the asymmetrical facade and the recessed

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

surround of the main entrance reflects the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style that was popular at the time, the building's styling reflects the Neoclassical style. It is primarily found in the pilasters that flank the entrance, and the low relief emblems and festoons on the stone panels. The city hall\fire station was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. In 2014 it was included as a

contributing property 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 distri ...

in the

Lucas County Courthouse Square Historic District Lucas County Courthouse Square Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Chariton, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. At the time of its nomination the dist ...

References

Government buildings completed in 1931 Chariton, Iowa Neoclassical architecture in Iowa Buildings and structures in Lucas County, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Lucas County, Iowa City and town halls on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Fire stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Iowa {{Iowa-struct-stub