The Eldora Downtown Historic District is a nationally recognized

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

located in

Eldora, Iowa Eldora is a city and the county seat of Hardin County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,663 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Hardin County. History Eldora was platted in 1853. It was i ...

, United States. 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 2009. At the time of its nomination the district consisted of 84 resources, including 65

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 dist ...

, one

contributing site 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 distr ...

, three

contributing objects 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 distr ...

and 15 non-contributing buildings. with The district takes in the city's

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center 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 wit ...

, which also includes its governmental, educational, and religious activities. It is located in the original town plat from 1853. Development began around the public square and spread out from there. The present building stock is second generation at the earliest. The oldest extant buildings were built in the 1870s, although the greatest number of buildings were constructed in the 1890s. There were also peak years of construction in the 1910s, and the late 1930s and 1940s. The commercial buildings generally range from one to two stories, but the tallest structure is three stories in height. They are primarily composed of brick construction.

Late Victorian Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian we ...

and various revival styles from the late 19th and 20th centuries are dominant. The non-commercial buildings include four government buildings, four churches, three residences, a hospital, and a school. Three buildings that were individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places are

contributing properties 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 distr ...

in the district. They include: the Hardin County Courthouse (1892), the First Congregational Church (1894), and the former Eldora Public Library (1903). The three contributing objects include the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

monument, a Civil War cannon, and a

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

gun. They are all located on the courthouse square, which is the contributing site.

References

Eldora, Iowa Victorian architecture in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Hardin County, Iowa Historic districts in Hardin County, Iowa Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa {{HardinCountyIA-NRHP-stub