The Ola Babcock Miller Building, also known as the State Library of Iowa, is an historic building located in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

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 1978 as the Iowa State Historical Building.

History

The State Historical Department was established by the

Iowa legislature The Iowa General Assembly is the legislative branch of the state government of Iowa. Like the federal United States Congress, the General Assembly is a bicameral body, composed of the upper house Iowa Senate and the lower Iowa House of Repres ...

in 1892. It was originally housed in three rooms of the

Iowa State Capitol The Iowa State Capitol, commonly called the Iowa Statehouse, is in Iowa's capital city, Des Moines. As the seat of the Iowa General Assembly, the building houses the Iowa Senate, Iowa House of Representatives, the Office of the Governor, and the ...

building. The west wing of this building was completed in 1899, and the Historical Department occupied it in March 1900. The legislature appropriated funds to complete the building, and it was finished in 1910. The building was designed by Des Moines architect Oliver O. Smith, and it is considered a good example of the Beaux Arts style. with It is one of the oldest buildings in the Capitol Complex. The state historical society remained here until their present building was completed in 1987. After a historic renovation the building was renamed in honor of Ola Babcock Miller, Iowa's first female Secretary of State. The building now houses the

State Library of Iowa The State Library of Iowa is a library service in the U.S. state of Iowa. Founded in around 1840, it is based in Des Moines and is run by the Iowa Department of Education. The State Library supports local libraries in the state and it itself acts ...

, which has occupied space in the building since 1912.

Architecture

The building features a facade that is organized into five parts, with three projecting pavilions that are connected by hyphens. The raised basement is faced in rusticated stone while the walls are composed of hollow tiles that are faced with

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 ...

veneer Veneer may refer to: Materials * Veneer (dentistry), a cosmetic treatment for teeth * Masonry veneer, a thin facing layer of brick * Stone veneer, a thin facing layer of stone * Wood veneer, a thin facing layer of wood Arts and entertainment * ' ...

. The plan for the central pavilion is a Greek cross. The

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 ...

is arraigned distyle ''in antis'' with columns of the

Ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...

. It is capped with a dome. The building's low, horizontal appearance contrasts with the relatively compact verticality of the capitol building across the street.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Ola Babcock, Building Government buildings completed in 1910 Buildings and structures in Des Moines, Iowa Government buildings in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Des Moines, Iowa Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Beaux-Arts architecture in Iowa