now Lee County Office Building
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YWCA (now Lee County Office Building)
c. 1910. Southeast corner of N. 5th St. and Blondeau St.
The underlying concept of the building, and its proportions, symmetry, and balance, are purely classical, but the building is detailed in a fashion one associates with the Midwest Prairie school. The Prairie-style features are found in part in the light cream-colored terracotta which sharply contrasts with the surrounding dark brick surfaces. The recessed entrance with a segmental curve carried above the upper window is a design device often used by the Chicago architect George W. Maher. The suggestion of engaged piers with horizontally banded capitals on the two side pavilions, together with the design of the terracotta panel on the building (consisting of four small squares and the sign between), is another set of devices frequently used in the Prairie style.
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