Name/Title
Pottawattamie County, Iowa Courthouse, Council Bluffs, Iowa, 1885Entry/Object ID
2007.33.908Description
Pottawattamie County, Iowa Courthouse, Council Bluffs, Iowa, 1885. Designed Eckel & Mann, Architects. Constructed 1885. The Courthouse was placed on National Register of Historic Places in 1972. See description below.
07.33.908 Exterior View, front & side of building
From Pottawattamie County website: Nov. 2011
"The historic court house on South Pearl Street was perhaps the most famous landmark in Council Bluffs for almost ninety years. Construction of the court house and the Squirrel Cage Jail began in 1885 and was completed in 1888, replacing the original court house, which dated to 1868. The new court house included an 11-foot-tall statue of Lady Justice. She was placed on a platform 74 feet above the sidewalk for some 90 years. The statue is now displayed in the lobby of the current 1978 court house. The ground for the new modern facility was broken in February 1975 and the building was dedicated November 20, 1977.
The Squirrel Cage Jail was invented by William H. Brown and Benjamin F. Haugh of Indianapolis, Indiana. Seventeen human rotary or "squirrel cage" jails were built in the late 1800's. Only three of these remain. One resides in Council Bluffs, and the others in Missouri and Indiana. The Council Bluffs jail is the only one left having three stories. The jail was designed to achieve maximum security with minimum personal contact between the prisoner and the jailer. The jail was placed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1972 and is now operated as a small museum."Collection
Eckel-BrunnerMade/Created
Date made
1885Place
City
Council BluffsState/Province
IowaNotes
Medium: Photographic PaperLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Secondary Object Term
Print, PhotographicNomenclature Primary Object Term
PhotographNomenclature Sub-Class
Graphic DocumentsNomenclature Class
Documentary ObjectsNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsLOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials
Architecture, CourthousesSearch Terms
Courthouse, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Out of Town, Council Bluffs, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County Courthouse, Eckel & Mann ArchitectsDimensions
Dimension Notes
Printsize: 8" x 11 ¼"
Mounted on linenRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Edmond Jacques Eckel