The Wilson Building, also known as the Wilson Buildings, is a historic structure located in downtown

Clinton, Iowa Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Iowa, United States. It borders the Mississippi River. The population was 24,469 as of 2020 United States census, 2020. Clinton, along with DeWitt, Iowa, DeWitt (also located in Clinto ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2014.

History

The Clinton architectural firm of John Morrell & Son designed the building in the Chicago School style. Daniel Haring was the contractor who built it from 1912 to 1914. Three other phases expanded the building's size over the years. At one time the building housed a J. C. Penney store and a

Walgreens Walgreens is an American pharmacy store chain. It is the second largest in the United States, behind CVS Pharmacy. As of March 2025, the company operated more than 8,700 stores in the U.S. Walgreens has been the subject of a number of lawsuit ...

. They both pulled out of the building and downtown Clinton in the late 1990s. The upper floors of the building housed professional offices. The building was already deteriorating when the Jacobsen Group bought it in 1998, and they stabilized the structure.

Rock Island, Illinois Rock Island is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 37,108 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the confluence of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock a ...

-based Rock Island Economic Growth Corp started converting the building into 33 apartments in 2021. The $13.88 million project is expected to be completed in Mid-2022. Concurrently with the building renovation it continues to house commercial businesses.

Architecture

At six stories and , the Wilson Building is the tallest building in Clinton. The exterior is covered with white

terra cotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based Vitrification#Ceramics, non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used ...

. The building has a lively

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

that is richly textured and ornamented. At the same time its lines retain their definition and appropriateness.

References

{{NRHP in Clinton County, Iowa Commercial buildings completed in 1914 Chicago school architecture in Iowa Commercial architecture in Iowa Buildings and structures in Clinton, Iowa Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Clinton County, Iowa