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Encyclopedia Dubuque

www.encyclopediadubuque.org

"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.




EDWARD LANGWORTHY-1095 W. 3rd

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Octagon building design was claimed to offer more room.

OCTAGON ARCHITECTURE. Octagon style peaked in popularity in the United States between 1848 and 1860. Orson S. Fowler, author of A Home for All, or the Gravel Wall and Octagon Mode of Building, has been considered the inspiration for the eight-sided style which he claimed enclosed 20 percent more room than a square with the same total length of wall. Fowler, among the first Americans to encourage the use of concrete (gravel) walls, also boasted the style was more energy efficient. Although the eight sides is the most obvious key to identification, octagon architecture also is characterized by a raised basement, cupola, belvedere or roof deck, veranda, and little ornamental detail.

The only octagon house remaining in Dubuque in 2015 was the home of Edward LANGWORTHY. Designed by John Francis RAGUE, the home was the second octagon house built in Dubuque. The first was torn down in 1932. Langworthy constructed the home using red brick from his own brickyard at a total cost of $8,000. Furnished with ornate furniture from Europe, the home remained a popular scene of entertaining and was regularly photographed by visitors to the city.

Additions to the rear of the house now obscure the original eight sides of the residence. The home was recorded by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1934 and has been listed on the NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES. (Picture Credit: http://dubuque-tour.tripod.com)