Redesigning American ethnic communities: A case study of the Dutch of Orange City, Iowa
Date
1993
Authors
Hielkema, Timothy H.
Major Professor
Advisor
Shinn, Duane
Engelbrecht, Mark
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Abstract
Orange City, Iowa, a small Dutch-American town of approximately 5,000, is a community that has a desire to relate architecturally to its ethnicity. Orange City has understken an extensive redevelopment project for all of the commercial areas in town. The code calls for the reconstruction to "reflect architectural styles, colors, trim and decor of The Netherlands between 1600 and 1900." Several buildings have been renovated downtown with mixed results. Additionally, several new projects have been built along the highway new projects coming into town. Although many of these projects are handsome, they seem to look out of place on the American landscape. The buildings express the community's ethnic heritage but they fail to express their relationship to the Americal soil upon which they are built. They are only Dutch and not Dutch-American. The architectural problem therefore is how to design with respect to both of the cultural influences that impact this Dutch-American town.
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