Tate Arms
Elizabeth “Bettye” Tate and Junious “Bud” Tate bought the house in 1940. Bud operated a janitorial service, and Bettye had operated a rooming house for black male students in their previous home at East Prentiss Street. She later spent 22 years working at the University of Iowa's cardiovascular laboratory. After the Tate's bought this 12-room house they changed the name to the Tate Arms and housed up to 20 male students a year. Bettye was known for her disciplined residence and did not permit liquor, women in the bedrooms, and tenants were expected to make their beds. The Tate Arms continued as a black student boarding house until 1961 when the Tates divorced. It continued to house students after this time, but they were not necessarily black. Housing discrimination in Iowa City continued until the Fair Housing Amendment to the Iowa Civil Rights Act was passed in 1967. Prior to that there was no history of city ordinances requiring racial segregation in housing, it was just a fact. In 1979 Bettye Tate sold the building, which had been vacant since 1970, and it was slated for demolition several times until 2014 when it was designated an Iowa City Historic Landmark. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.
References
- ^ "National Register of Historic Places - Weekly List". National Park Service. December 13, 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-14.
- ^ Richard J. Carlson. "National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Tate Arms" (PDF). City of Iowa City. Retrieved 2019-12-14.
- ^ "Preserving Black History in Iowa City: Tate Arms and the Iowa Federation Home". City of Iowa City. Retrieved 2019-12-14.