The Latest from Friends
Johnson County Contractors Available for Historic Window Repair
In 2025, FHP sponsored five local contractors to attend the renowned Window Restoration Boot Camp, where they earned certifications in historic window repair. Congratulations to the following contractors:
Grant Helle
HHI Construction
319-325-2854
helleshomeimprovementllc@gmail.com
Jason Berryman
Liberty Builders
573-819-9383
libertybuildersgroup319@gmail.com
Martin Construction
319-248-0561
info@icmartin.com
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Willy Oxley
319-855-0128
Saving SHSI
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The Centennial Building Research Center in Iowa City, part of the State Historical Society of Iowa (SHSI) , is slated to close at the end of December 2025, and Friends remains supportive of efforts to restore funding to SHSI. The premature closure threatens to upend 60% of the building’s collection, jeopardizing Iowans’ access to historical artifacts and research. Friends of Historic Preservation is staying informed as the situation unfolds, and we encourage our supporters to help the cause by signing the online petition and contacting members of Congress.
Featured Locations
Sanxay Gilmore House
1843
Built in 1843 at 109 E. Market, the Sanxay-Gilmore House is Iowa City’s oldest house within the original city limits. The University of Iowa purchased the home in 2018. A plan to relocate the house has fallen through and its future is uncertain.
Jefferson Building
1913
The Jefferson Building is located at 129 East Washington Street and was designed by architects H. L. Stevens Co. of Chicago. Built 1913, the Jefferson Hotel's “modern” amenities, such as an electric elevator, an artesian well, telephones, electric lights, and hot and cold running water, made it a premier hotel in Iowa at the time. The Jefferson Hotel opened as a six-story building in 1913. Two more stories were added in the 1920s, bringing it to its current 8-story height.
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📷: Busy downtown scene near Racines Cigar Store and Hotel Jefferson Iowa City, Iowa between 1920 and 1925, Frederick W. Kent Collection, Special Collections, The University of Iowa Libraries
Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific (CRI&P) Railroad Depot
1898
The CRI&P Depot stands at 115 Wright St. in Iowa City, IA. Having once served as a major transportation hub in the first half of the 20th century, the Depot's train services shuttled passengers in and out of Iowa City in their locomotive "Rockets."Ceasing passenger operations in the early 1970s, the Depot has functioned as an office space since the early 1980s.
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The Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific (CRI&P) Railroad Depot in Iowa City was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 10, 1982, and is also designated and protected as a Historic Landmark in Iowa City. Today, plans are underway to restore the building as it was during its Rock Island Railroad heydays (1898-1970). Read the full history here.
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The future of Iowa City's railroad depot mimics that of railway stations across the country: Historic US Railway Stations Are Getting a New Lease on Life.
Thomas C. Carson House (Alpha Phi House)
1875
Thomas Carson, a banker and merchant, had this house built in 1875 for $8,000. Carson is said to have arrived New Year's Eve 1855 on the first train to reach Iowa City (Weber, 1992). Carson was president of the Johnson County Savings bank from 1877-1905. This Second Empire style of architecture was popular after the civil war from 1860s-1880s and inspired by the architecture coming out of France during the reign of Napoleon III. The house was built with a fireplace in each of the 14 rooms and a bathroom in every bedroom. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Today the house serves as a home for the Alpha Phi sorority.
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📷: Carson House, 906 E College St, Frederick W. Kent Collection, Special Collections, The University of Iowa Libraries