The original building was designed by Smith and Gutterson and built in 1893 in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, as indicated by heavy stone exterior and rounded arches. The original entrance to the building is the central east entry; there was only a small single door entry on the south. The two bays on the west were added in 1905 by Smith and Gage. The original eastern one third was built with masonry walls and wood framing and the western two thirds with a cast-iron skeleton and wood framing. The building was constructed for the Iowa Homestead, a regional farming magazine which had a paid circulation of more than 110,000 subscribers in 1918. By the 1920’s the Building had be converted to the Martin Hotel and the front façade was completely changed. When the building was renovated in 1985 it was a major challenge to make the building responsive to the downtown to the south: by creating a new south main entry the building. It was placed on National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and restored in 1985 by the firm Bussard/Dikis, now RDG Planning & Design.