CATTLE BARN
Built: 1924-25, Rebuilt: 1931-32
Architect: Proudfoot, Bird & Rawson, Proudfoot, Rawson, Souers & Thomas
Contractor: Netcott Bros., Fred Fisher, 1958 repairs after fire: J.E. Whitfield Construction Co.
Razed: October 6, 1931 (Destroyed by fire)
An appropriation of $10,000 for a cattle barn was made in 1923 and the architect was requested to provide plans for the building. Bids were received in January 1924. The lowest bid then was $17,000, but an increase in bricklayers’ scale of wages at that time resulted in failure to execute a contract.1 New bids were taken in December 1924, after an appropriation increase to $20,000, and a construction contract for the east wing was awarded to Netcott Bros. That firm was low bidder for the construction to complete the barn when bids were taken in June 1925.
The building was described in the Iowa State Student on March 25, 1925:
Part of what will eventually be the new U-shaped beef cattle barn has been recently completed. The east wing of this building is now practically ready for occupancy.
When the barn is completed, it will be a complete U-shaped structure, protected on the north by the base of the U. and will have a court facing the south. The west wing of the completed barn will line on the Meat laboratory and on the Judging pavilion.
The east wing is 168 feet long and 32 feet wide. Fire resisting materials were used thruout the external structure in building, but the inside is of shed construction. When the barn is completed, the two wings will be joined by a section 80 feet long. In the finished building heated rooms, feed bins, and other furnishings of the barn will be located in the west wing. The east wing will be used as a supplement to the old barns, until such time as the barn is completed, when beef cattle headquarters will be moved into the structure.
Lack of funds prevented construction of the west wing first, as had been desired, and as a result the east wing was built first. This unusual procedure has caused much wonderment, according to Prof. H.H. Kildee, head of the animal husbandry department. Many people thought it strange that the new barn should be constructed with the court facing the west. This will be remedied when the barn is completed, and the court enclosed by the west wing.
The construction was completed in the late fall of 1926, including silos at the northeast and northwest corners of the building.
On the night of October 6, 1931, lightning struck the building, causing a fire that destroyed the entire barn. Steps were taken immediately to replace it. The contract to rebuild was awarded to Fred Fisher later that month, and the new structure was occupied the following February.2 The silo which received the lightning blow was not rebuilt until 1935.3
Fire struck again on October 19, 1958, when the east wing roof was burned along with a large quantity of hay. Cost of replacement came to $23,000.4
The silos were razed in 1968.