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Allamakee County Court House
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| Location: | 110 Allamakee St., Waukon, Iowa |
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| Built: | 1940 |
| Architect: | Charles Altfillisch |
| Governing body: | County Government |
| MPS: | PWA-Era County Courthouses of IA MPS |
| NRHP Reference#: | 03000827 [1] |
| Added to NRHP: | August 28, 2003 |
The Allamakee County Court House in Waukon, Iowa, United States was built in 1940. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003 as a part of the PWA-Era County Courthouses of IA Multiple Properties Submission.[1] The courthouse is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration.
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There was a long and bitter fight between the towns of Waukon and Lansing as to which one would be the county seat in Allamakee County.[2] There were ten separate elections to determine the county seat before the American Civil War.[3] A courthouse was completed in Waukon for $13,635 in 1861.[2] In 1867 the Iowa Supreme Court finally ruled that Waukon was the county seat. The building constructed in 1861 served as the county courthouse until 1940.
The county board of supervisors applied for and received a grant in 1938 from the Public Works Administration, or PWA, to pay for 45 percent of the constructions costs for a new courthouse.[3] On September 22 of the same year voters approved a referendum that authorized $105,000 in bonds to be sold for construction.[3] Decorah architect Charles Altfillisch was chosen to design the building. Bids for construction were let in March 1939 and Rye & Henkel of Mason City, Iowa won the contract. The Allamakee County Court House was the last PWA funded courthouse built in Iowa.[3]
The architectural style of the building is known as Depression Modern or PWA Moderne. [3] The exterior of the building is composed of pressed brick and Bedford limestone. On the interior the central corridors extend the length of the building and various county offices open onto the corridor. [3] The interior featured a monochromatic color palate and terrazzo floors that were laid out in large squares. The corridors were finished in plaster and marble and aluminum handrails were used in the staircases. There were more structural problems associated with this courthouse that any others that were built in the PWA era in Iowa.[3] A Civil War monument dating from the 1920s stands on the courthouse grounds.[2]
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