Before being clobbered and closed by the July 19 tornado, one could still smell oil in the rear storage area of the Senior Citizens Center Building at 20 E. State Street.

And it should not come as a surprise because two oil pits were once visible in the large, two story brick building originally constructed in 1920 to house the Motor Inn Garage.

An East State Street landmark, the 98-year-old building has had several owners.

One colorful owner of note was the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Harry C. Harter post No. 839. It purchased the building in 1946.

The June 6, 1949 “Fifty Years of Progress in Marshalltown” saluted the VFW, heralding the “newest veterans club building” in the city. In tandem, almost a full page of copy was devoted to the history of veterans organizations in Marshalltown. An accompanying picture showed large VFW letters prominently set in concrete above the building’s entrance.

However, controversy was a companion to the VFW during its 23 years of ownership. Allegations of gambling and illegal liquor service caused the state VFW commander to withdraw the post’s charter on one occasion, according to T-R archives. Additionally, a lawsuit filed by the club’s former managers and other financial issues eventually forced the VFW to find a new home.

It moved to the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in 1969.

But other history is embedded in its walls, with hundreds of thousands passing through its doors and up and down steps. The attic once housed Marshalltown Community College basketball players when its campus was northwest of downtown on North Second Avenue — now the site of Crestview Apartments.

A 1960 city directory listed several insurance offices, a watch and jewelry repair business, auto repair shop (rear) and auto body shop under its massive roof.

The building was sold to its current owner, the city of Marshalltown in 1975 for $64,750.

During the last 43 years, local and Central Iowa senior citizens made extensive use of its ground floor.

Billards, card playing, crafts, food, companionship and shuffleboard were a staple. Visitors from Des Moines and elsewhere came to down to play on its famous shuffleboard courts. Upstairs on the second floor, the Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging had been a tenant since 1975.

A large kitchen was used extensively preparing meals for seniors, including for the popular “Meals on Wheels” program. The agency also provided a case worker to help seniors access programs and space to keep confidential records. Post-tornado, the organization found space at the local Central Christian Church.

At one time Marshalltown Parks and Recreation used a gleaming, refurbished wooden dance floor to conduct youth martial arts classes twice a week. Years ago, Lennox Manufacturing made use of it to host its annual Christmas party.

The large room was ideal to host wedding receptions and other functions — all booked through Parks and Recreation.

But before the tornado, the building’s days appeared to be numbered. The city had deferred maintenance for many years and rent from its two tenants was not equaling utilities, said city officials.

Its prime location made it of interest to developers, and the tornado’s vicious force flattened other properties nearby, making the area even more attractive. Consequently, the Marshalltown City Council voted to accept an actual cash value payment of $692,571.96 from the city’s insurer for the building.

The plan is to take $500,000 from the settlement to demolish the building and clear the site. The .25 acres site would be packaged for sale with other sites at 12 E. State St. and 26 E. State St.

“You have to strike while the iron is hot,” Marshall Economic Development President Tom Deimerly told the council prior to its vote.

Opponents of the plan, led by resident Linda Clark, presented 421 signatures on a petition to take an alternative insurance company offer of $1.2 million to repair the building and find other revenue to bring it up to code. However, the 5-0 vote (two councilors were absent) by council at conclusion of discussion to accept the first offer, put that idea to rest.

First Ward Councilor Sue Cahill may have been speaking for other councilors, saying at the meeting she supported accepting the $692,571.96 offer only on the condition Marshalltown seniors would have a designated area at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum to call their own.

That building was also extensively damaged July 19, but an engineer’s assessment later deemed it safe post-repair. The city is using insurance money and other sources for extensive repairs to that historic more than 90-year-old property. Proposed improvements will make it Americans with Disability Act compliant, perhaps including an elevator.

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