# Benson Block

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> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Benson_Block.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benson_Block
> Source revision: 1302199542
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox NRHP
  | name = Benson  Block
  | nocat = yes
  | image = The Benson Block.jpeg
  | caption = 
  | location = 109-112 N. Market<br>[Ottumwa, Iowa](/source/Ottumwa%2C_Iowa) 
  | coordinates = {{coord|41|1|3|N|92|24|35|W|display=inline,title}}
  | locmapin = Iowa#USA
  | area = less than one acre
  | built = 1924
  | architect = 
  | architecture = [Classical Revival](/source/Neoclassical_architecture)
  | added = January 3, 1985 
  | mpsub = 
  | refnum = 85000009<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref>
  | nrhp_type = cp
  | partof_refnum = 16000365
  | designated_nrhp_type = June 24, 2016
  | partof = [Greater Second Street Historic District](/source/Greater_Second_Street_Historic_District)
}}
The '''Benson  Block''' is a historic building located in downtown [Ottumwa, Iowa](/source/Ottumwa%2C_Iowa), United States. It is two-fifths of a building that was originally constructed in 1883 and was damaged in a fire in 1923.<ref name=Jacobsen>{{cite web|url={{NRHP url|id=85000009}}|title=NRHP Inventory-Nomination: Benson Block|author=James E. Jacobsen|accessdate=2019-03-26|publisher=[National Park Service](/source/National_Park_Service)}} with {{NRHP url|id=85000009|photos=y|title=photos}}</ref> This part of the building was re-constructed as a theatre, but because it lacked a sufficient number of exits, was never used for that purpose. It is noteworthy for the decorative [Neoclassical](/source/Neoclassical_architecture) white [terra cotta](/source/terra_cotta) cladding on the [façade](/source/fa%C3%A7ade), which enabled its owners to transform its original appearance.<ref name=Jacobsen/> The building was listed on the [National Register of Historic Places](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places) in 1985.<ref name=nris/> In 2016, it was included as a [contributing property](/source/contributing_property) in the [Greater Second Street Historic District](/source/Greater_Second_Street_Historic_District).<ref name=Naumann>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/pdfs/16000365.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203100112/https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/pdfs/16000365.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 3, 2017|title=NRHP Inventory-Nomination: Greater Second Street Historic District|author=Molly Meyers Naumann|accessdate=2019-03-26|publisher=[National Park Service](/source/National_Park_Service)}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{commons category|Benson Block}}

{{National Register of Historic Places}}
{{NRHP in Wapello County, Iowa}}

Category:Theatres completed in 1924
Category:Neoclassical architecture in Iowa
Category:Buildings and structures in Ottumwa, Iowa
Category:Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa
Category:Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Wapello County, Iowa
Category:Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Iowa

{{WapelloCountyIA-NRHP-stub}}
{{Iowa-struct-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Benson Block](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benson_Block) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benson_Block?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.