Buildings of Iowa

By Gerald Mansheim and David Gebhard

Book Overview

In Buildings of Iowa, David Gebhard and Gerald Mansheim trace Iowa's architectural history from the earliest Native American influences to the present. Divided into five regional areas--Mississippi River East, Mississippi River West, and the Central, South, and North regions--the book's entries within each area are presented on a town-by-town basis to include the full array of Iowa's architectural offerings in various styles. Whether discussing farm houses, barns, and silos or churches, schools, courthouses, and libraries, the volume shows how a unity of rural and urban is effectively mirrored in Iowa's buildings.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195061489
• ISBN13: 9780195061482
• Release Date: March 1993
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 592 Pages
• Weight: 2.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.8" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Almost perfect

As with the other titles in the series, this book is the state-wide catalog of (mostly) historic buildings that you expect, sorted by region and town. Each entry includes a brief descriptive essay, and about one entry in ten also includes a small monochrome photograph. The coverage is comprehensive, with a focus on late Federal and Victorian styles. I also notice that the authors seem to favor domestic architecture over public architecture in this guide, which is something not found in other volumes in the series. In fact, I find the coverage of Sioux City's public architecture (particularly its many fine churches) to be entirely incomplete, and the only real flaw in the book.

Iowa is dope

This book is a handy dandy little guide for the daring soul who enjoys taking lazy Sunday afternoon drives in the great state of Iowa. The book doesn't have a lot of information per se, but it is really nice as a quick reference to many well-designed/constructed buildings that may be lurking just around the corner, or cornfield.