Bloomfield Square - Bloomfield, IA - Wikipedia Entries on Waymarking.com

County of district: Davis County
Location of district: bordered by Jefferson (north), Washington (east), Franklin (south) and Madison (west) Streets, Bloomfield
Created: 1976

"Bloomfield Square consists of a central park, courthouse, and 55 commercial structures which face the square on four sides. The park area of green space is 300 feet square, with the courthouse at the center. It is bordered by Jefferson (north), Washington (east}, Franklin (south) and Madison (west) Streets. Although not unique in its overall town plan, Bloomfield's Square is an especially good example of how man-made materials and designs are arranged to interrelate in a large area of well-defined space. Visible for miles around the clock tower and roof cresting of the Bedford stone Second Empire courthouse draw the viewer to the center of this vital county seat. And once at the center, one can appreciate immediately the complementary interaction of the low profile structures surrounding the platform of this remarkable building.

"Much of Bloomfield Square's significance derives from the continuity of its architecture and the fact that so much it its Victorian flavor remains. Although there is a certain unevenness in the quality, the district as a whole presents an harmonious and attractive grouping of late 19th-century commercial styles, which reflect the tastes of a small, mid-western city during the period of transition from log and wood structures to substantial and decorative brick buildings. They also form a most suitable backdrop for the centrally located courthouse. Taken together, the courthouse, green space and surrounding commercial j structures are supremely typical of 19th-century mid-American town planning, but atypical I in the extent to which the late-Victorian character of the district has been preserved." ~ NRHP Nomination Form