Second Story Tour

Join Newton Main Street for the Second Story Tour from 9 a.m. to noon on September 24, 2022 .

Tour FIVE upper story locations in downtown Newton with the purchase of a $25 passport. You’ll purchase and pick up your passport at the Newton Main Street office located at 122 1st Street N.

While walking between location, you’ll be able to explore downtown history through a self guided walking tour with volunteers located at points of interest to share more information about some of the best kept secrets in our downtown.

Questions? Call Erin at 641-791-9617 or email her at newtonmainstreet@gmail.com.

Want to learn more about the buildings in downtown Newton on your own? The Newton Public Library Digital Archive features the Newton Historic Preservation Commission Downtown Inventories which are a State Historical Society of Iowa inventory form describing the historic functions and architectural classifications of the property. Includes maps, photographs, and a description of the historical significance of the location. Click here to view the digital archive (no sign in required).

111 W 2nd St N (Bridge house Building)

The Power Rexall Drug Store building, located at 111 W. 2nd St. N., was constructed in 1875 for Caleb Lamb, one of Newton’s early citizens. The earliest business found to exist in the building was a milliner, who occupied a room on second ‑floor. Several professionals, including lawyers, barbers and the Eyerly Printing Company all had offices on the second ‑floor prior to 1929. The longest-tenured second-‑floor tenant was the Beard School of Music and Fine Arts, which operated in the building from the 1920s until the early 1950s. Since the mid-1950s, the second ‑floor has been divided into apartments. The upper ‑floor, covering about 1,760 square feet, currently features a small apartment in the front of the building and a vacant, semi-finished space in the rear of the building. The current building owners are exploring the potential for a new apartment unit in the vacant space.

306 1st Ave W (Skullduggery Tattoo’s)

This building was constructed in 1925 with the ground floor housing Bridges Auto Supply and Colfax Coal.  The 2nd story had six apartments.  Throughout the years it housed many different businesses with Randy and Marilyn Terlouw purchasing the building in 2001.

Currently the building’s ground level has multiple uses including rental income, garage storage and a workshop. The 2nd story was in serious dilapidation and nonfunctional for any type of use.  We made the decision to use the 3,500 square feet as a loft for our personal home. To make it possible and affordable we did a lot of the work ourselves, used a 2nd story city grant and lived in a make-shift temporary apartment below for just over a year. We also invested in 77 solar panels on the flat roof for clean energy.

107 1st Ave W- (Farmhouse Creation)

The Larchwood Florist building, located at 107 1st Ave W., was constructed 1910. In 1910, Forrest Taylor Patterson, former United States Express Company agent, opened a piano and music store where he sold (and repaired) musical instruments, the New Brunswick phonograph, and four lines of radios. He also tuned pianos. By 1920 his son, Lee F. Patterson, a graduate of Iowa Business College in Des Moines, was selling shoes from this location. The Pattersons were co-owners of the shoe and music store for many years. In 1939, Mrs. Elna E. Meyer was listed selling ladies’ and children’s wear here. By 1945 Newton Office Supply Co. was in with Mrs. Meyer, replacing the music store at 107. Mrs. Meyer is listed through 1964. Larchwood Florist, Inc., of which Carroll C. and Otto L. Warford were the owners, came in in 1964. A new front was put on the store, and Meyer Construction, of Newton, paneled the interior walls and installed a drop ceiling for use as an office and sales room. On April 1, 1973, Richard Dean “Dick” and Connie J. Knoot became owners of the business. Knoot came to Newton from Pella in 1968 to work for the Warford brothers. Larchwood’s thrived under Knoot’s management, and he saw the need to move to larger quarters. In the spring of 1981, the business was moved to 326 1st Ave. W. Later that year building owners Doug Fisher, Denis Wilcox, and Knoot remodeled the interior of the building and installed a rear exit at a cost of $6,000. Then for a dozen years thereafter 107 was Tober’s for Fashion, a ladies’ ready-to-wear retail outlet, managed by Karen Guffey, Patty A. Thoma, Shelley Kragel, Patty J. Castings, Robin Swisher, and Melinda Herwehe. Thereafter Quality Name Brand Furniture was at this location. Thereafter the store is Computer Pro, computer sales, service, and repair

115 W 2nd St N (Dean Read State Farm & Northwestern Mutual)

In 1867, Mssrs. Miller and Sampey owned the north half of Lot 2 in Block 16 of the Original City Plat of Newton and William Bailey owned the south half of the lot. Henry Sampey had consolidated ownership of the North 44 feet of Lot 2 and had a double wide two-story building constructed on the lot ca. 1880. An 1885 article in The Newton Journal touted the improvements made by Mr. Sampey in the building to benefit his current leasees, McFarland & Son Dry Goods and W.J. Morgan & Co. Furniture. Ca. 1902 Henry Sampey sold his building to Mr. Dominicus (Dump) Wormhoudt, who later served as president of the Newton Country Club and as a director of the Newton National Bank. Mr. Wormhoudt opened a men’s clothing business in the south half of his building and leased the north half of the building over the next 72 years to a variety of businesses that included Townsend Bros. Confectionary and Ice Cream Parlor, Davos & Paulos Deluxe Sweet Shop, Davis Café, Fair & Square Grocery, Earl May Co., and 4 Banger Boy’s and Men’s Clothing. Wormhoudt operated his men’s clothing store until ca. 1974 when he sold the building to Lew Bradford. Wormhoudt was part of the group that drove the modernization and drastic remodeling of business storefronts around the Newton city square in the 1950’s. Wormhoudt had the façade of his own business altered ca. 1954. The old commercial storefront with its recognizable parapet was removed and a modular brick masonry façade was installed. The south storefront retained a single door in the middle flanked by display windows on both sides. The north storefront retained a single door on the right side and the balance of the street level façade was display windows. Five steel frame windows were installed on the second floor of the storefront. The middle window is filled with glass block which admits light to the second-floor stairwell. Leuthold-Bradford Men’s Clothes ran its business in the entire double-wide store for the next 30 years. In 1988 it diversified and changed its name to Leuthold’s Men’s and Women’s Clothes. In 2004 Bradford sold his business to Ron Forbes who operated Forbes (office) Technology and Forbes Quick Print out of the two business addresses. In 2011 Forbes leased the building to a business cooperative called Market Place on Second; however, the business opted out. Jimmy Johns sandwich shop came later and the current space houses Dean Reed State Farm Insurance and Northwestern Mutual. Northwestern Mutual purchased the in 2020, took on restoring the front façade back to the brick with updating the store fronts. Renovation was made from the Jimmy John sandwich shop to the Northwestern Mutual office space.

Building 16 (Legacy Plaza)

W.P Proudfoot, or Proudfoot and Bird, drew plans for a new 220 x 80-foot four-story building in October of 1913. The building was completed in 1914 at a cost of $105,051. In 1927 the building was largely used for crating & shipping, toolroom and steel storage. Machine testing continued taking place on the 1st floor for the life of the company.