Fort Dodge Downtown Historic District is a nationally recognized

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

located in Fort Dodge, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. Additional documentation for the district was approved by the National Park Service on January 4, 2019. At the time of its nomination it contained 177 resources, which included 100

contributing buildings 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 distric ...

, one contributing site, one

contributing structure 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 distric ...

, five contributing objects, 64 non-contributing buildings, three non-contributing structures, and three non-contributing objects. The district covers the city's

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

, mainly along Central Avenue, but also along the adjoining streets as well. Commercial development in the district began with the city's original plat in 1854 and continued through the opening of the Crossroads Mall in 1964. Webster County Courthouse (1902), First National Bank Building (1908), and the

Wahkonsa Hotel The Wahkonsa Hotel, also known as Wahkonsa Manor, is a historic building located in Fort Dodge, Iowa, United States. It was built by the city's Commercial Club to provide a first-class hotel for the community. The five story, brick, Renaissanc ...

(1910) are all located in the district and are individually listed on the National Register. Buildings usage in the district varies widely and includes commercial, light industrial, residential, religious, governmental, social, and educational functions. There is also a wide variety of architectural styles that reflect the era in which the buildings were constructed. The oldest building in the district is the Reynolds Block (1882) which marks the transition of the business district from the wood-frame structures of its settlement period to masonry constriction. A building boom in the early 20th-century replaced many of the cities older commercial buildings. Building heights range from single story structures to eight stories. Two prominent

Des Moines 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, ...

architectural firms, Liebbe, Nourse & Rasmussen and Proudfoot, Bird & Rawson, designed buildings in the district, as did several other architects. The contributing site is the Public Square, the contributing structure is the foundation of a building that was torn down, and the contributing objects include two memorials/drinking fountains and three neon signs.

References

Fort Dodge, Iowa Buildings and structures in Webster County, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Webster County, Iowa Historic districts in Webster County, Iowa Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa {{Iowa-struct-stub