News

EXCITING NEWS!

May 2026

The National Park Service listed the Harcourt Consolidated School Gymnasium (1941) in Harcourt, Iowa on the National Register of Historic Places on May 21, 2026.  This building, designed by Iowa architect Thorwald Thorson, is a well-preserved example of a gymnasium in the Moderne style, an architectural expression popular in the Depression era and closely associated with the New Deal programs of the 1930s and early 1940s. The building’s design and construction was funded by the Work Projects Administration (WPA) and built using local labor. The architect’s use of laminated arches to support the soaring roof and other innovative materials including plywood and fiberboard represent both the development of new materials in the mid-twentieth century and of Depression-era frugality. Finally, Iowa sculptor Christian Petersen created bas relief portraits of presidents Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt and a girl and boy basketball player for the façade, an example of the federal government’s employment of artists during the Depression. 

This building is much loved by the residents of Harcourt and it continues to serve as a community center for meetings, recreation, and special events.   Congratulations Harcourt!