Wednesday Walk: Clinton Shockely's architecture in Waterloo, Iowa

My great grandfather was an architect in Waterloo, Iowa and these are some of the buildings he designed.

While I was in Waterloo, Iowa on a research trip I visited five buildings Clinton designed:

Lincoln park buildings
Elk's Club, 1924
Walnut Street Baptist Church, 1908
First Presbyterian Church, 1923
The Overland Building, 1916

Downtown building
The Black's Building, 1914

Join me for a walk around Lincoln Park.

The Elk's Club

The Elk's Club building was designed by Clinton Shockley in 1924.

According the History of Waterloo, "Mr. Shockley belongs to Benevolent Protective Order of the Elks", which I find so wonderful that he designed a building that he then used.

I got to see the inside of the Elks Club.

I loved the light coming into the room

Walnut Street Baptist Church

Clinton grew up in Vinton, Iowa. He went to school at the Armored Institute in Chicago and started his practice in Waterloo in 1906. This beautiful brick church was one of his first buildings and was built in 1908.

After I took some pictures of the building I was sitting in the car putting the next stop in my GPS and a car going the other way stopped and said he hopes I buy the building. He lives in the area and hopes that it gets renovated. I do too. It is abandoned and this part of Waterloo is really struggling.

I do love the red brick with the white accents. It part of the Arts and Crafts movement. I am watching a show called Renovation and Brett Waterman restores homes in California and a lot of Arts and Crafts and were also built around the turn of the century.

First Presbyterian Church

Like the Elk's Club Clinton had direct ties to the Presbyterian Church. Him and his family were members of the church on the west side. This beautiful gothic revival was built in 1923.

As I was looking for that date I found this picture on the church's website. I asked AI who was in the picture.

Key Figures Captured in the Photograph Clinton Shockley (Center): The prominent man standing with his foot resting on the brickwork next to the cornerstone is the building's architect, Clinton Shockley. He was a highly influential local architect responsible for designing several landmark east-side buildings during Waterloo's industrial era.
Building and Finance Committee Members: While individual positioning of every face in the crowd isn't completely indexed, the key church leadership and building committee members present at this specific 1922 ceremony included prominent local figures who financed and supervised the project:
J.W. Rath (Founder of The Rath Meat Packing Co.)
James Black (Proprietor of the James Black Dry Goods Company, who also donated the church's Skinner pipe organ)
Margaret Ballie
Mr. and Mrs. Warren Brown
Mrs. A. M. Place

I have never seen this picture of my great grandfather. He is so handsome. Sadly, he died in 1927 at the age of 48 years old.

I was able to see the inside of this church! I really like stained glass as you will see below.

It was special to see both the inside and out. During this time the architect was also the interior designer. I was impressed with his design inside with the lines and beams on the roof and all the stained glass.

The Overland Building

This gorgeous building is now home to the TV and radio station in Waterloo. It was originally built for Willys-Overland Motors in 1916. It is classic revival style and has great brick, terracotta pilasters and plaques and fancy molding. I saw this one from far away and thought, "Oh a big square building." As I got closer and saw the details I was very impressed with it. Source

The Blacks Building

Which is in downtown Waterloo. When I was doing family history the Black's Building was always mentioned as Clinton Shockley's crowning designs.

If you will remember, in the picture above one of the people mentioned was James Black. This was his dry goods store. A very big store indeed- 9 stories high. The store closed it's doors in 1981 and is being made into a hotel. I am so glad about this. Downtown and the east side of Waterloo are in need of some revitalization! Source 1, Source 2

Here is a video I found about the Black's Building

Thanks for joining me on this tour of 5 of Clinton Shockley's buildings in Waterloo, Iowa. It was so great for me to learn more about my grandma's father and connect with him through his art and design.