First Unitarian Church in Iowa City, Iowa, added to National Register of Historic Places

The First Unitarian Church building at 10 S. Gilbert St. in Iowa City, one of the city’s oldest churches, has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs announced the listing last week, citing the building’s historic architecture and its blend of traditional craftsmanship and preindustrial forms.

Steve King, the state’s deputy historic preservation officer, said in the department’s release that the listing is “a significant milestone for Iowa City as it continues to preserve and celebrate its history for future generations of Iowans to enjoy.” He also congratulated those who worked on the nomination.

The church was designed in 1908 by Boston architect Edwin J. Lewis Jr., according to the release. The National Register nomination form describes the building as “an outstanding example of the ‘church home’ architectural aesthetic,” which it says is closely associated with a small but influential group of liberal women ministers who practiced in Iowa and surrounding states roughly between 1880 and 1930.

The site has changed over the years. A parsonage was built next to the church in 1909 but was torn down in 1962 to make way for an education wing, which was later razed, leaving only the church standing.

In 2015, the Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City, the congregation that then called the church home, voted to sell the site so it could build a new, larger church. At that time the church’s registry application was still pending, and developers were reluctant to spend heavily on land that might include a historically protected building. Church officials applied for a demolition permit in an attempt to secure a sale, hoping it would help ensure a full-price offer for the near-downtown land.

The site was ultimately purchased by developer Jesse Allen, of Allen Homes, who plans to preserve the church building. The space will likely be converted into commercial or office use. The Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City now meets in a new church at 2355 Oakdale Rd. in Coralville.

Source: Read the original report