August F. Martzahn House

The August F. Martzahn House is a historic building located in the West End of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983.[1]

August F. Martzahn House
August F. Martzahn House is located in Iowa
August F. Martzahn House
August F. Martzahn House is located in the United States
August F. Martzahn House
Location2303 W. 3rd St.
Davenport, Iowa
Coordinates41°31′20″N 90°36′47″W / 41.52222°N 90.61306°W / 41.52222; -90.61306
Built1911
ArchitectArthur Ebeling
Architectural stylePrairie/American Craftsman
MPSDavenport MRA
NRHP reference No.83002466 [1]
Added to NRHPJuly 7, 1983

August F. Martzahn

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August F. Martzahn was born in Davenport on January 26, 1861, the son of Fred Martzhan, an immigrant from Mecklenburg and Elizabeth (Beyer) Martzhan.[2] He was educated in the city's public schools and learned the butchers trade. He opened his first shop at 1701 West Third Street when he was still 18 years old. Martzahn organized the Davenport Slaughter & Rendering Company, which was the only such business in the city and became one of the largest in Eastern Iowa.[2] The company's specialty was rendering and dealing in hides. Martzahn married Minnie Schmidt in 1884 and they raised a son. He built this house along West Third Street in 1911.

Architecture

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The Martzahn House continued the popular 19th-century tradition of combining several architectural styles into one house.[3] This house combines Georgian Revival mass with decorative elements of the American Craftsman and the Prairie School. Those elements include the two-tone stucco façade, the geometrically patterned leaded glass, the large rectilinear brackets at the main entrance, and the wide eaves with projecting rafter ends. The short posts that support the deep cornice returns on the dormers are also of interest. The house was designed by Davenport architect Arthur Ebeling.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ a b "Biographies". Scott County Iowa USGenWeb Project. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  3. ^ Martha Bowers; Marlys Svendsen-Roesler. "August F. Martzahn House". National Park Service. Retrieved 2014-11-04. with photo
  4. ^ The Ohio architect and builder, Volume 26. 1915. Retrieved 2010-11-07.