8-10 South Main Street

Built in 1879 by pioneer attorney John S. Townsend, who owned many buildings himself and with his law partner T. B. Perry Sr., this utilitarian-style double-front building housed a number of service and retail businesses. Its most notable feature is a brick frieze found on no other building in Albia. Such single-story structures most often housed service businesses and were generally located off the Square on side streets. For many years, the south side housed the offices and press room of the Albia Union Newspaper, and uneven areas of the floor inside remain where concrete was poured beneath the wooden floors to support the weight of the printing press.

Albia, Iowa · United States