Coralville's first church was a frame structure built by a Methodist Episcopal congregation.[2] It was destroyed in a fire around 1880. The Coralville Union Ecclesiastical Society was formed to build a new church. The simple brick structure with a gable roof was built about 1885 to serve as a multi-denominational church on the main floor and as a town hall on the lower level. Any orthodox church, which excluded the Unitarians or Universalists, could use the building.[2] In addition to the town's administration, the lower level could be used for a variety of social functions, excluding dancing. The town purchased the building in 1921 for $2,500,[3] and it was used as a school, a meeting house for the Evangelical Free Church, and as the town's administrative center. It was renovated for the later purpose in 1953.
After its use as a town hall the building was converted into a museum. The building stood in the way of economic development, and in order to preserve it, the city of Coralville moved it from Second Avenue to Fifth Street in 2014.[3] It now sits across the street from the historic Coralville Public School (1876). Both buildings flank the entrance to a mixed use development known as Old Town.
