Downtown Commercial Historic District (Muscatine, Iowa)

The Downtown Commercial Historic District in Muscatine, Iowa is a historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. At that time, it included 93 contributing buildings, one other contributing object, and 18 non-contributing buildings. The city of Muscatine was established as Bloomington in 1836. The original town was built on land that is generally flat along the Mississippi River. Residential areas were located on the surrounding hills. Commercial and industrial interests developed on the flatter land near the river. Muscatine's commercial and industrial center had developed in a 12-block area along Front Street, now Mississippi Drive, and 2nd Street between Pine Street and Mulberry Street by 1874. This area, represented by the Downtown Commercial Historic District, is the city's original commercial area. Within its boundaries is a large number of 19th century commercial buildings, many of which were modified in the first half of the 20th century.