Union Block (Mount Pleasant, Iowa)

Union Block
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	109--113 W. Monroe Mount Pleasant, Iowa
Coordinates	40°57′56″N 91°33′13″W
Built	1861
Architect	McCandless, William
Architectural style	Italianate, Vernacular Italianate
MPS	Mount Pleasant MPS
NRHP reference No.	91001110
Added to NRHP	September 06, 1991

Union Block in 1870.

Union block, 2008, before fire and renovation

The Union Block of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, was built by William McCandless in 1861. Historically it was used as offices and by the county courts. In the Union Block in 1869, Arabella A. Mansfield became the first woman in the United States to be awarded a license to practice law. The third floor housed the Opera House or Union Hall, a gathering place for the community. Early supporters of women's rights and civil rights spoke there, including Frederick Douglass, Bronson Alcott, Anna Dickinson, and possibly Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Preservation Iowa had listed Union Block on its most endangered buildings list because of its poor condition and lack of preservation plan. The building was badly damaged by an early morning fire on Jan. 25, 2011.

Preservation Campaign & Restoration

The Union Block Revitalization Committee was formed to raise awareness and funds for the restoration of the Union Block. Money was raised by the people in the community and the building was renovated. It reopened in August 2014 housing businesses on the first and second floors. The ballroom was restored and updated on the third floor making it a hall used for a variety of community gatherings, events, and private parties.