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Seth Richards Commercial Block
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Location	300-310 Court Avenue Des Moines, Iowa
Coordinates	41°35′05.8″N 93°37′14.3″W / 41.584944°N 93.620639°W / 41.584944; -93.620639
Area	less than one acre
Built	1890, 1897
Architectural style	Romanesque
NRHP reference No.	01001460
Added to NRHP	March 11, 2005

The Seth Richards Commercial Block, also known as the Lederer-Strauss Building, is a historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Its construction represents the transition of Court Avenue from a retail center to the city's wholesale district.

Seth Richards had acquired the property that had been the location of several business houses. One of the lots had been owned by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The four-story brick Romanesque Revival building was constructed in two parts. The commercial blocks at 300-302 and 304-306 were completed and occupied in 1890, and 308-310 was completed and occupied by 1897.

Various wholesale clothing firms occupied the various blocks, but by 1920 Lederer, Strauss & Co., Inc., a millinery fabricator and wholesaler, occupied the entire building. The family-run business was sold in 1944 to the Hiersteiners, who incorporated the business as the Landsco Millinery Co. The business was scaled back, and they occupied less of the block, which was filled with other wholesalers by the mid-1950s. In 1957 the Landsco Millinery Co. was liquidated.

The building has been converted for other retail uses in the Court Avenue Entertainment District after this area ceased being a wholesale center. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

References

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. ^ William C. Page; Alexa McDowell. "Seth Richards Commercial Block". National Park Service. Retrieved 2017-11-24. with photos

v t e Historic buildings and structures in Des Moines, Iowa
Apartment buildings	Ayrshire Apartments Bryn Mawr Apartments The Elmwood-The Oaks-The Birches Franklin Apartments Hallett Flats–Rawson & Co. Apartment Building Kromer Flats The Lexington The Maine Murillo Flats The New Lawn Norman Apartment Building Plymouth Place
Civic buildings	Des Moines Fire Department Headquarters-Fire Station No. 1 and Shop Building Fire Station No. 4 Iowa Commission for the Blind Building Iowa State Capitol Iowa State Historical Building Municipal Building Polk County Courthouse Public Library of Des Moines United States Courthouse U.S. Post Office
Commercial buildings	American Republic Insurance Company Headquarters Building Apperson-Iowa Motor Car Company Building Argonne Building Baker-Devotie-Hollingsworth Block Burnstein-Malin Grocery D.S. Chamberlain Building Clemens Automobile Company Building Des Moines Building Earle & LeBosquet Block Elliott Furniture Company Equitable Life Insurance Company of Iowa Building Fleming Building Flynn-Griffin Building Hawkeye Insurance Company Building Hippee Building Hohberger Building Home Federal Savings and Loan Association of Des Moines Building Homestead Building Hubbell Building Iowa-Des Moines National Bank Building G.W. Jones Building Liberty Building Perry and Brainard Block Register and Tribune Building Seth Richards Commercial Block Rumely-Des Moines Drug Company Building Sargent's Garage Studebaker Corporation Branch Office Building Syndicate Block Teachout Building Walnut Tire and Battery Co.-Globe Publishing Company Building Wherry Block Youngerman Block Younker Brothers Department Store
Education	Abraham Lincoln High School Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training School Grand View College (Old Main) Methodist Deaconess Institute—Esther Hall David W. Smouse Opportunity School Theodore Roosevelt High School
Hotels	Hotel Fort Des Moines Hotel Kirkwood Hotel Randolph Northwestern Hotel Savery Hotel
Industrial buildings	Boyt Company Building Crane Building Des Moines Saddlery Company Building Des Moines Western Railway Freight House Firestone District Office and Warehouse Grocers Wholesale Company Building L. Harbach and Sons Furniture Warehouse and Factory Complex Hawkeye Transfer Company Warehouse Herring Motor Car Company Building Iowa Ford Tractor Company Repair and Warehouse Building Mack-International Motor Truck Corporation Building National Biscuit Company Building Schmitt and Henry Manufacturing Company Standard Glass and Paint Company Building Taft-West Warehouse Warfield, Pratt and Howell Company Warehouse
Structures	Court Avenue Bridge Allen Hazen Water Tower Southeast Water Trough Southwest Fifth St. Bridge
Miscellaneous	Des Moines Art Center Fish and Game Pavilion and Aquarium Masonic Temple of Des Moines Scottish Rite Consistory Building
National Register of Historic Places listings in Des Moines, Iowa List of National Historic Landmarks in Iowa

• Commercial buildings completed in 1897
• Romanesque Revival architecture in Iowa
• Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa
• National Register of Historic Places in Des Moines, Iowa
• Buildings and structures in Des Moines, Iowa