Iowa PBS presents Historic Buildings of Iowa: Council Bluffs

Explore the innovation and architecture of historic Council Bluffs in Iowa PBS’s hour-long documentary, Historic Buildings of Iowa: Council Bluffs. The latest installment of the network’s architecture programs premieres online and on air Tuesday, November 26 at 7 p.m. as part of Fall Festival 2024.

History buffs who can’t wait for the broadcast can enjoy an advance, premiere screening of Historic Buildings of Iowa: Council Bluffs hosted Friday, November 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Hoff Family Arts & Culture Center in Council Bluffs. Doors to the auditorium will open at 7 p.m. with light refreshments served. Iowa PBS Producer/Director Dan Bolsem will also share insights into the making of this documentary before the film begins. Open captions will be provided for this screening. For more information and to register for this free premiere, visit iowapbs.org/events.

Historic Buildings of Iowa: Council Bluffs journeys west to ride the rails to Council Bluffs, where historic buildings and landmarks tell the tale of the innovators and explorers who would come to define this gateway to the American West. 

"It was fun to learn how the railroad really created Council Bluffs, and how it was so important for the expansion of the American west,” said Iowa PBS Producer and Director Dan Bolsem. “From General Grenville Dodge, to farm implement warehouses, to the earliest neighborhoods built on the bluffs of loess soil, the people brave enough to explore and expand the railroad really created this city. I hope viewers will take away how important the historic buildings, the monuments and the people of Council Bluffs are to the history and the future of our great state and country."

Buildings featured in the documentary include:

• Historic General Dodge House
• Union Pacific Railroad Museum
•  Hoff Family Arts and Culture Center
•  Lincoln-Fairview Historic District
• Squirrel Cage Jail
• Bregant House
• Iowa School for the Deaf