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 (Sentinel photo by Beverly Van Buskirk) The building housing Floyd Valley Apartments, which was formerly Sacred Heart Hospital, is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Architect William L. Steele designed the structure that opened in 1923 as a hospital operated by the Sisters of St. Francis from Dubuque. [Click to enlarge] |
Floyd Valley Apartments, at 110 Sixth Ave. N.E. has been named to the National Register of Historic Places. That confirmation was made Feb. 3, 2010, according to Iris Hemmingson, president of the Le Mars Historic Preservation Commission.
"This designation adds to our already lengthy list of individual buildings that have been placed on the National Register as well as our two historical districts," Hemmingson said.
 (Photo contributed) This postcard, mailed in 1926 to Luxembourg, Europe, is one of the earliest pictures of Sacred Heart Hospital. The writer wrote, "This is certainly any more the Wild West. Nice farms, wealthy people. Buffalos, Indians a thing of the past." Lew Weinberg, who developed the building into Floyd Valley Apartments and pursued the National Register designation, recently acquired this previously unseen postcard. [Click to enlarge] |
Before it had served as Sacred Heart Hospital under ownership of the Sisters of Saint Francis from Dubuque and later as Floyd Valley Hospital under ownership by the City of Le Mars.
While the designation adds to the historical significance of the building, it also opens financing sources at the state and federal level, including tax credits, to Weinberg.
Those sources could be used in a potential updating project Weinberg is looking at the for the apartment building.
"This designation will allow Mr. Weinberg to apply for grants that will help in the rehabilitation of the building," added Hemmingson.
It was Weinberg who started the application process for the historical designation.
With the assistance of architectural historian Sheriffa M. Jones of Rural Preservation Partners of Spencer, and members of the Le Mars Historic Preservation Commission, the application was put together and submitted in May 2009.
Jones found the building was designed by William L. Steele, a well-known architect in the Midwest and U.S.
Locally, Steele is known for his design of the Woodbury County Courthouse in Sioux City.
According to the application, "The Sacred Heart Hospital is an excellent example of stripped Classicism designed by William L. Steele. It is reflective of his desire to seek a new style while meeting the expectations for the Catholic church. The elements that show Steele's workmanship is the simple use of brick and stone belt courses with minimal details in the stone pillars at the front entrance as well as the original light fixtures and front door."
The cornerstone on the building reads "Sacred Heart Hospital 1921" and is near the front entrance of the building.
While the building has been converted to apartments, Jones noted in the application the brick and stone materials of the Sacred Heart Hospital are entirely intact.
At the time the application was filed, even the landscape around the building appeared much as it did while it was Sacred Heart Hospital, including the circular drive on the west side.
That landscape changed in fall 2009 when a street project between the property and Gehlen Catholic School was completed, and the west area was redone to allow more parking for apartment residents.
The five-story building opened as Sacred Heart Hospital in 1923 and was constructed at a cost of about $350,000, which included the equipment and fire-proof construction.
Sacred Heart Hospital was turned over to the City of Le Mars in 1966 and renamed Floyd Valley Hospital.
In 1977, the building became Floyd Valley Apartments under the ownership of Sioux Falls Environmental Access, Inc. At that time, the facility was renovated from a hospital to a multi-unit dwelling for seniors. There are 59 senior living apartments in the building.
In the application, Jones noted a high percentage of original material, design, workmanship, location, feeling, association and setting are still visible as Sacred Heart Hospital, and contribute to the historical significance of the building.