FEED STORAGE ELEVATOR

A fund of $22,500 was allocated for a Feed Barn in the spring of 1927.¹ According to the Iowa State Student of April 16, 1972, “The feed barn will be the central feed storage and feed grinding building for all the college feeds.” In August of that year the preliminary plans were approved and authorization was given to prepare final plans and specifications and to advertise for bids, with the total project cost not to exceed $24,193.55 and for the building itself a maximum cost of $21,268.00. ²

Bids were received the following April but were rejected because all exceeded the available funds. New bids were taken in April 1929 and the contract award was made to L.D. Anthony “for the brick, hollow tile, and labor on the masonry work” in the amount of $3,559.77. ³

The building stood just east of the (old) Meat Laboratory and was described in the Dec. 17, 1929, issue of the Iowa State Student:

A grain storage building made of hollow tile, which has the appearance of an elevator with a silo at each of the four corners, was erected during the past summer by the Agricultural Engineering Department for the Animal Husbandry Department at Iowa State. The building is causing considerable comment among those interested in farm buildings.

The structure of the granary is such that it will easily hold 10,000 bushels of ear corn and an equal amount of small grains. Air hoists, electrically controlled, elevate the grain into the various bins. One unusual feature of the corn bins is the fact that they have solid tile walls in contrast to the usual corn crib construction. These two bins are equipped with false bottoms to provide the necessary circulation of air through the corn.

The entire building was erected at a cost of $9,000 with an additional cost of $2,000 for equipment including hoists, electric controls, a corn sheller, a feed grinder, scales and other lesser items.

The Feed Storage Elevator was razed in 1969 when it was no longer of use or value to the university.