Do you have some preservation news to share with other Iowans? Contact us at news@iowapreservation.org. Give us details or a link to an online news article and we'll add it to our web page as soon as we get a chance. Or, maybe we'll include it in the next quarterly newsletter.
2008 marks the 90th anniversary of the Iowa City Airport, an airfield like no other in the state. Starting as a grassy landing strip in the middle of farmland, the airfield developed into an important spot for refueling on US Air Mail flights west of Chicago. Because of this, the Iowa City Airport is considered the birthplace of commercial aviation in Iowa. In 1922, Iowa City's mayor, Emma J. Harvat, signed a lease on the airfield, taking the airport under municipal responsibility -- the first of its kind in Iowa. During World War II, the airport served as a training depot. Today, with 20 to 30 flights taking off or landing daily, the airport is looking toward the future by repaving and lengthening runways to accommodate modern air traffic, including charter aircraft, private planes, and medical flights.
To learn more about the Iowa City Airport, view the Iowa City Airport History online at the Alexis Park Inn and Suites website.
To read the full article, go to: www.press-citizen.com
The Okoboji Foundation recently awarded a $100,000 grant to the Spirit Lake Protective Association for restoration of the historic Mini-Wakan shelterhouse on the north shore of Big Spirit Lake. This was the first large grant awarded as part of fundraising efforts for the restoration. Although the Iowa DNR will partially fund the work, additional support is still needed. The Spirit Lake Protective Association is working closely with the DNR and the State Historic Preservation Office of Iowa to retain the historic integrity of the structure. Originally built in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the building is the only shelterhouse on Big Spirit Lake and the second of its size in the Iowa Great Lakes. Plans include a kitchen, restrooms, windows, doors, and a new roof.
For more information on the Mini-Wakan project visit miniwakan.theslpa.org/.
To read the full article, go to: www.spencerdailyreporter.com
Formed just over a year ago, the Decorah Historic Preservation Commission is working toward becoming a Certified Local Government. Currently, the commission is in the process of collecting data for a preliminary inventory of historic sites in Decorah, one of the items necessary for CLG designation. Working with the Vesterheim Museum, the commission is also hoping to nominate the Morse House to the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1852, the house is thought to be Decorah's oldest house built of frame construction. The commission has been coordinating with the Winneshiek County Historical Commission, already designated a CLG. Commission members enjoy educating the community on the historic preservation and its economic impact. Their meetings are open to the public and occur the second Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in City Hall.
To read the full article, go to: www.decorahnewspapers.com
By February 2009, the grand gallery of the Des Moines County Historical Society Museum will open in the former Burlington Public Library. It will be followed by the Bart Howard Exhibit in March and the Catfish Corner preschool museum in June. Work is now underway on updating plumbing and electrical systems, replacing modern fluorescent lighting with period reproductions, readying the floors for installation of radiant floor heat (while preserving the historic hexagonal mosaic tiles), and installing new walls to set up rooms for the museum's exhibit space without damaging historic walls. Rehabilitation costs are estimated to be around $500,000, half of which has been raised by the historical society. The rest of the funding comes from grants, including a Vision Iowa grant, a Historical Site Preservation Grant from the State Historical Society of Iowa, and a grant from Downtown Partners of Main Street Iowa.
To read the full article, go to: www.thehawkeye.com
A neon sign that's been a landmark in eastern Iowa since 1950 will become history next week because of an Amana Colonies ordinance.
The steel pole holding the "Ox Yoke Inn Amana Food Family Style" sign will be cut down and the 11 1/2-foot wide by 9-foot tall sign will be lifted by crane onto a trailer. It will be replaced by a 6-foot wide by 3-foot tall white wooden sign with black letters and the restaurant's logo.
Ox Yoke Restaurants president Bill Leichsenring Jr. said the sign was erected by his parents.
"It has always been there,'' said Leichsenring, 52. ``It's all I remember."
The Leichsenring family opened the restaurant in 1940 at a nearby site where the Ronneburg Restaurant now operates. It moved to its current site in 1950 in a former communal kitchen built in 1856, and the neon sign went up a short time later.
A friend suggested the Ox Yoke Inn name in honor of settlers who used oxen to clear the surrounding land.
The sign must be removed because of an Amana Colonies ordinance adopted in 1996 that forbids neon signs.
Leichsenring said his sign was given a variance for some years, but ``now it's time to comply with the powers that be.''
Amana Colonies officials have said that neon signs contrast with the area's designation as a national historic landmark.
Leichsenring said he's asked the Amana Society for storage space for the sign until he decides what to do with it.
To read the full article, go to: www.gazetteonline.com