Vogel Place Historic District
The Vogel Place Historic District is an early 20th century residential neighborhood located in the northern part of Ottumwa, between the Ottumwa Cemetery on the south and the Ottumwa Country Club golf course on the north. The district is bounded on the east by the former St. Joseph Hospital (pictured at right) and on the west by Court Street. The major resources in the district are 91 houses, one hospital, one church, a brick paved street, and four distinctive driveways. Two-thirds of the houses were built in the 1920's and 30's.
Vogel Place was platted on land owned by E.B. and Elizabeth Vogel and given to their daughters following E.B.'s death. The original plat map of Vogel Place was certified by the county surveyor in September 1907 and filed with the county recorder in March 1908. The daughters retained the services of an attorney and began selling lots in 1908.
The Ottumwa Electric Railroad line ran past Vogel Place on Court Street. The streetcar line and the district's location next to the Country Club made it an attractive place to live. The houses are typical middle class residences being one and one-half or two stories in height. Wood is the most common building material, but there are a number of brick veneer residences, and two unique "concrete" (cement block) houses. Vogel Place is one of the first neighborhoods where garages were considered to be an important part of the development. Small garages dotted the rear of almost every lot in the district.
Architectural Styles
Bungalow and Craftsman
There are five major architectural styles in the Vogel Place Historic District. The most popular was the Bungalow or Craftsman house. Twenty four percent of the housing stock is of this type. The bungalows range from small one story designs to large, architect designed houses. These houses feature a gable roof and broad front porches. Most have exposed rafter ends and diagonal eave braces. Bungalows remained a popular style for decades, and the ones in Vogel Place reflect this as their period of construction spans the years between 1912 and 1930.
The house pictured above is a small bungalow style house that retains its original tiny garage and driveway.
The houses below are other examples of the Bungalow style architecture. The house on the left is a good example of a Bungalow style house executed in brick. The middle picture is an architect designed house. The house on the right is a two story Craftsman house with the entrance on the gable end.
Tudor Revival
Tudor Revival is a popular architectural style in Vogel Place district. Two types of Tudor Revival are common in the district: half-timbered and English Cottage. The half-timbered houses illustrate the use of brick for the first floor with a combination of stucco and "half-timbering" in the gable ends. The English Cottage type of Tudor Revival features a steeply pitched gable roof with a projecting gable entry. The doors are usually arched and have a stone surround. The house pictured to the right is a very good example of this popular smaller English Cottage style of Tudor Revival.
Colonial Revival
During the 1920's many houses were built in the Colonial Revival style. Most of these houses are two stories with a gable roof, the entrance usually entered on the long, or eave side. Wood was the most common building material. Porches have classical columns and/or pilasters.
Romantic Revival
Some of the largest houses in the Vogel Place district are in various Romantic Revival styles. Most of these houses face or side onto Court Street. A fine example of Neo-classical design is shown on the right. This two story brick residence features symmetrical facade with two story portico with monumental classical columns. The entrance is pedimented with sidelights and windows feature jack-arched tops. A two story solarium balances the single car garage on the other end. This house from 1915 is one of the earliest in the neighborhood.
The house on the left is a "cement" house built for Lester Fullmer in 1908-12. Built of rusticated concrete blocks, smooth finished concrete, and concrete blocks with other decorative details, it is two stories with a broad porch across the front. The major stylistic element is the Baroque parapet on the front dormer, with smaller versions at each end of the porch roof. This type of parapet is characteristic of the Mission Revival style.
American Four Square
Five of the houses in the district are American Four Square. They are all locate on Vogel Avenue. These are typical examples of style being two stories with hip roof, dormer, and (originally) a broad porch with fairly heavy, or paired, posts across the front. All were built of wood. The house pictured here is a good example of American Four Square architecture.
Roughly bounded by Ottumwa Country Club, Court St, Ottumwa Cemetery and former St Joseph Hospital - Ottumwa, IA
- Historic Significance: Architecture/Engineering
- Architect, builder, or engineer: et al., Kerns, George M.
- Architectural Style: Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Bungalow/Craftsman
- Area of Significance: Architecture
- Period of Significance: 1900-1924, 1925-1949
- Owner: Private, Local Gov't
- Historic Function: Domestic, Health Care
- Historic Sub-function: Hospital, Single Dwelling
- Current Function: Domestic, Health Care
- Current Sub-function: Hospital, Single Dwelling
It is on the National Register of Historic Places.