Mt. St. Clare Jr. College/Sisters of St. Francis

Mt. St. Clare Jr. College/Sisters of St. Francis (Mt. St. Clare Jr. College), 400 North Bluff Boulevard; 1910-1911; J. B. McGorrick, Architect, of Des Moines; Lightner Bros., Builder.The main building was opened in September of 1911 as a girl's school and home for the Sisters of the Order of St. Francis. Mt. St. Clare was originally located in Clinton at the "Judge Chase Home", 262 North Bluff Boulevard, in 1893. In 1899, the estate, "Evergreen", of Dr. J. S. Corbin at 400 North Bluff Boulevard, became the site for the girls' school and the college was formed in 1928. The main building of 1911 is a prominent landmark atop the ridge immediately west of Bluff Boulevard. The building design is eclectic in derivation, but the sitting, overall massing, and especially the warm reds of brick walls and tile roofs, suggests an Italian monastery or hill town. The building was the nucleus structure for the Mt. St. Clare Jr. College. The building, except for aluminum replacements windows and main entry relocated to orient to the vehicular drive on the west, appears much the same as originally built. The top floor was used as a convent until a new one was built on the campus. The campus has changed in appearance with the construction of many new buildings in the late 1950's and early 1960's.