The Iron Block Building, so named for the words ''Iron Block'' embossed high on its front facade is an historic two-story commercial building located at 530 12th Street West (Old Main Street) across from the

Manatee County Courthouse The Manatee County Courthouse, built in 1913, is a historic courthouse building located at 1115 Manatee Avenue, West, in Bradenton, Florida. On June 11, 1998, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places The National Register ...

Bradenton Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries A settlement established by Maroons or escaped sl ...

Manatee County, Florida Manatee County is a county in the Central Florida portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 399,710. Manatee County is part of the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its county ...

. The Iron Block Building was built in 1896 in the

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

style of architecture by Dr. Charles Ballard. It originally housed Reed's Cash Store. The building would be moved from its original location at the southwest corner of Manatee Avenue and 12th Street West to its present location in 1921. It has been restored and according to ''A Guide to Florida's Historic Architecture'' features original "pressed metal facades on three sides."''A Guide to Florida's Historic Architecture'', 1989, Gainesville: University of Florida Press, p. 117, In 1989, the Iron Block Building was listed in ''A Guide to Florida's Historic Architecture'', published by the University of Florida Press." Today it houses professional offices and retail businesses.

References

Cast-iron architecture in the United States Commercial buildings in Florida Commercial buildings completed in 1896 Buildings and structures in Bradenton, Florida 1896 establishments in Florida {{Florida-struct-stub