Floral Hall is a historic building located at the Shelby County Fairgrounds in Harlan, Iowa,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. 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 1985. The cross-shaped, frame structure is the oldest building on the fairgrounds, and one of the oldest, relatively unaltered, county fair exhibition buildings in

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. with It is composed of four identical sections organized around a -square central section, which is capped with a square

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

. Both the building and the cupola are capped with a

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

roof. The exhibition hall was built by the Shelby County Agricultural Society, who organized the agricultural fair in 1869. They bought the present fairgrounds in 1879, and this building was built sometime between that year and 1882 to house exhibits that were of interest to women. Over the years it has housed a variety of exhibits. The Shelby County Fair Association took over the fair in 1891

References

Harlan, Iowa Buildings and structures in Shelby County, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Shelby County, Iowa {{Iowa-struct-stub