Bridges and churches head list of endangered Iowa structures

Two bridges, three churches, a bank, a school, a stone barn and a stone milkhouse have been designated “Most Endangered” by a preservation group. Bill Sherman is a spokesperson for the Iowa Historic Preservation Alliance.They group hopes to generate enough publicity to encourage people to maintain the structures. The 100-year-old St. Patrick, St. Irenaeus and St. Boniface Catholic churches in Clinton are on the endangered list.Two of the churches are still being used, but church officials want to demolish the three buildings and build one big church. Sherman says Preservation Alliance wants to see the churches preserved. The Santa Fe Bridge spanning the Mississippi River at Fort Madison is also on the list.He says the bridge has one level for cars and one for trains, and a swing gate that allows boats to pass on the river. The bridge was built in the mid 1920s. Other structures on the list are: an iron span bridge built in St. Ansgar in 1905; Draley’s Stone Milk House built in 1870 in Dewitt; the Dexter Community House, built 85 years ago; a stone barn in Dubuque once used as a stable for an early hotel; the Live Stock National Bank in Sioux City; a school building complex in Woodbine in which the first building was built in 1887. This is the sixth year the Iowa Historic Preservation Alliance has put out its endangered list. The list also includes a memorial designation for the A-I-B Building in Des Moines that fell under the wrecking ball earlier this year.Sherman says the building was still standing when it was nominated for the list. He says the A-I-B Building is a good example of what can happen to historic structures if we don’t act to preserve them.