J. C. B. Warde House is an historic residence located in Muscatine, 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 has been 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 ...

since 1979. The house 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 West Hill Historic District in 2008.

History

The house was begun in the spring of 1852 for a local attorney named J.C.B. Warde. He abruptly left town with creditors in pursuit in the fall of the same year. It was bought by General John G. Gordon at a sheriff's sale in 1853, and he completed the house the following year. After his death in 1877 Cora Chaplin Weed, a Muscatine socialite, bought the house. She was noteworthy for her lavish parties. Doctors J.L. Klein and A.J. Weaver bought the house and converted it into a private hospital, which functioned here into the 1970s.

Architecture

The Warde House is a fine example of residential

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

architecture in Iowa. It is primarily constructed in brick with decorative elements executed in limestone, wood, and metal. It measures and features five bays on the front and four bays along each side. The bays are divided by

pilasters In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wall ...

that support a full

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

encircling the house. The main facade overlooks the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

and is dominated by a

prostyle Prostyle is an architectural term designating temples (especially Greek and Roman) featuring a row of columns on the front. The term is often used as an adjective when referring to the portico of a classical building, which projects from the m ...

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

. It features four wooden columns in the

Corinthian order The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...

that supports a triangular

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

. A

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 ...

rests in the center of the side

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 ...

d roof.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warde, J. C. B., House Houses completed in 1854 Greek Revival architecture in Iowa Buildings and structures in Muscatine, Iowa Houses in Muscatine County, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Muscatine County, Iowa Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Iowa