The Liberty Building is a historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It has been a downtown landmark since 1923. The Liberty Building is located at the SW corner of 6th Avenue and Grand Avenue in the heart of downtown Des Moines. The building was originally home to Bankers Life Insurance & WHO (AM) Radio. Designed by the prominent Des Moines architectural firm of Proudfoot, Bird & Rawson, the 12-story building rises to a height of 174 feet (53 m).
The Scottish Rite Consistory Building in Des Moines, Iowa was built during 1926–1927. It is a late date example of Neo-Classical style architecture, designed by Roland Harrison, a partner in the Des Moines architectural firm of Wetherell and Harrison.
The Hotel Fort Des Moines is an historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The Savery Hotel, now known as the Renaissance Des Moines Savery Hotel, is a historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. This is the third hotel in the city with that name and the second at this location. The prominent Chicago hotel design firm H.L. Stevens & Company designed the 233-room hotel in the Colonial Revival style, which was a rare choice for commercial architecture in Des Moines. The hotel is an eleven-story brick building that rises 140 feet (43 m) above the ground. Opened in 1919, it has additions completed in 1952 and 1953. Across the alley to the west is an annex that was completed c. 1899 for the previous hotel building. During World War II, Des Moines was the location for the first Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) training center. The Savery augmented the facilities at Fort Des Moines and served as the induction center, barracks, mess hall, and classrooms from 1942 to 1945.
The Hohberger Building is an historic building located in the East Village of Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The building was built in 1895 and is one of the few remaining examples of a cast-iron column structure in the city. A dry goods store named Dockstader & Co. was the first retail establishment to occupy the building (1899–1915). The building stood empty for several years until it was renovated in 1999. The ground level of the building remains retail space and the upper floors are occupied by offices. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.In 2019 it was included as a contributing property in the East Des Moines Commercial Historic District.
The Teachout Building is an historic building located in the East Village of Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. In 2019 the building was included as a contributing property in the East Des Moines Commercial Historic District.
The Hubbell Building is an historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. It has been featured on the Discovery Channel show Dirty Jobs.
The Clemens Automobile Company Building is a historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was completed in 1916 as an "automotive department store" operated by the Clemens Automobile Company. They sold cars here that were produced by Willys-Overland Motors from 1916 to 1923. There was a claim that this was the largest building in the city that was devoted to automobiles. The first floor was used for the main sales room and offices, the second floor was used for used car sales and the service department, the fourth floor was used for a paint department, and the remaining three floors and the basement were used for storage. The Clemens family was involved in a variety of business enterprises and another one of their companies, the Standard Glass and Paint Company, was housed here from 1924 to 1979. The building was part of the Hotel Fort Des Moines until 2016, the two buildings were linked across the alley in 1985. The first and second floors housed Raccoon River Brewing Co. from May 1997 to March 2015. The building underwent a renovation in 2015 when it was converted to 44 apartments. At that time, the connection to the Hotel Fort Des Moines was sealed off. The first floor has been home to southern restaurant Bubba https://bubbadsm.com/ since July 2016.
The Schmitt and Henry Manufacturing Company is a complex of three historic buildings located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The complex was built in three stages from 1901 to 1914 by Schmitt-Henry, who manufactured furniture. It was designed by Des Moines architect Harry D. Rawson of the firm Proudfoot, Bird and Rawson. Sealy Mattress Company took over the building in 1973 after Schmitt-Henry moved to West Des Moines. Hubbell Reality purchased the complex in 1994 for $75.000. Plans were approved in 2009 to convert the complex, as well as the Hawkeye Transfer Company Warehouse, into loft apartments. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.
The Lexington, also known as Lexington Apartments, is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The five-story brick structure on a raised basement was completed in 1908 as the city's first high-rise apartment building. It was designed and built by local architect-builder Fred Weitz. The exterior features a Colonial Revival style entrance with a recessed door, arched fanlight, and engaged Doric style columns that support the pediment. Wrought iron balconies are located on the two floors above the entrance. On the interior there are two apartments on every floor, and they originally featured servant's quarters. They have subsequently been converted into other purposes. The upper floors are served by a large, open-cage brass elevator. The building purportedly had paranormal activity involving its elevator. It was renovated between 2012 and 2014. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The building was included as a contributing property in the Sherman Hill Historic District in 1979. It is currently owned by the Allen Family Trust.
The Hallett Flats–Rawson & Co. Apartment Building at 1301–1307 Locust St. in Des Moines, Iowa is a pair of abutting buildings. The Hallett Flats building, at 1305–1307 Locust St., is a three-story building designed by architect George E. Hallett and was built in 1904. It has also been known as Hallett Apartments. The Rawson & Co. Apartment Building, a four-story building designed by Proudfoot, Bird and Rawson, was built in 1915 in such a way that the two would function as one building. It has also been known as Arlington Apartments. The combination was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. The listing included two contributing buildings and one other contributing structure.
The Pella Opera House is a historic building located in Pella, Iowa, United States. Herman Rietveld, a local businessman and promoter, was the main backer for building the opera house, which was underwritten by the Pella Opera House Association. A previous opera house had been destroyed in a fire in the late 19th century. Pella architect Henry DeGooyer designed the four story, brick Romanesque Revival structure. He used the opera house in Sioux City, Iowa, as his guide. The locally produced orange-colored bricks are said to be distinctive to Pella.
The Former Mount Pleasant Public Library is a historic building located in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, United States. The library here was established in 1875. The community applied to Andrew Carnegie for a grant to build a new building, which was accepted on January 13, 1903. They were initially granted $10,000 and then were given a further $2,500. The Chicago architectural firm Patton & Miller designed the Romanesque Revival structure. They adapted Henry Hobson Richardson's Thomas Crane Public Library (1882) for this building. Unlike the Crane Library, this building is primarily brick with rough stone used for a short tower on the main facade and for the trim. It also features an asymmetrical grouping of intersecting gables. The building opened on Wednesday, February 22, 1905. An addition was built onto the rear of the building in 1926. It was designed by the Des Moines architectural firm of Dougher, Rich & Woodburn. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The library has subsequently moved to another facility and this building now houses a branch of Southeastern Community College.
The Home Federal Savings and Loan Association of Des Moines Building, also known as American Federal Savings and the Catholic Pastoral Center, is a historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Completed in 1962, it is considered to be "one of the most well-known examples of mid-century modern architecture in Des Moines." It was designed by the prominent Chicago architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and it is one of the first steel and glass modernist buildings in the city's downtown. Initially, the roof was designed to be suspended from two lengthwise trusses, similar van der Rohe's designs at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. That design was abdoned for a simpler and more direct design that features a steel-frame, glass-infill, and granite and travertine marble on the base. The three-story building rises to the height of 40.25 feet (12.27 m). It was built for the Home Federal Savings and Loan Association of Des Moines and later American Federal Savings, which failed in 1990 amid the country's Savings and loan crisis. There was concern that the building would be torn down so the Des Moines City Council designated it as a local landmark. In 1992 philanthropist Ed Ochylski acquired it and donated it to the Diocese of Des Moines, who converted it into their headquarters. From 2016 to 2017, the building underwent a $10 million renovation. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.
The Iowa-Des Moines National Bank Building, also known as the Valley National Bank Building and U.S. Bank, is a historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Designed by the prominent Des Moines architectural firm of Proudfoot, Rawson, Souers & Thomas, it was designed to be a 21- or 22-story building. It is one of the few downtown commercial buildings built in the Art Deco style. It is also thought to be one of the first bank buildings to put the banking room on the second floor while placing retail space on the first floor. Given its location in an area dominated by retail this made sense. This location had a bank on it since 1882 when the Des Moines National Bank built here. The present building was the result when Des Moines National Bank merged with Iowa National Bank and Des Moines Savings Bank and Trust Company in 1929. The original design for the building was a five-story base and a set-back rental office tower on top of it. The base was begun in 1931 and completed a year later. The building is composed of black polished granite on the first floor and the upper floors are Bedford stone. There is a recessed entrance in the center bay of the main facade. The fifth floor was meant to be the base of the office tower that was never built.
The Flynn–Griffin Building, also known as the Flynn Block, Peoples' Savings Bank Building, and the Edna M. Griffin Building, is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
The G.W. Jones Building, also known as the Electric Farm Lighting Co. and the Laster Motor Company, is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It is significant for its association with the rise of the automobile industry in the city. George W. Jones was a pioneering Des Moines auto dealer and Delco-Light generator distributor who occupied the building from 1920 to 1922. In this building he sold generators and appliances that were manufactured by General Motors, and they were sold by regional distributor-dealers in a similar fashion to automobiles. Jones continued to own the building until 1943 and he leased it to other automobile-related businesses. It is also significant for its association with the prominent Des Moines architectural firm that designed it, Proudfoot, Bird & Rawson. Completed in 1920, it was designed and built within the period of time the firm was at its most prolific (1910-1925). Local contractor A.H. Neumann built the two-story brick structure. It features a symmetrical facade, large square window openings, restrained Neoclassical details, and parapet walls. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
The Des Moines Fire Department Headquarters' Fire Station No. 1 and Shop Building are historic buildings located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Completed in 1937, the facility provided a unified campus for the fire department's administration, citywide dispatch, training, maintenance, as well as the increased need for fire protective services in the commercial and warehouse districts in which the complex is located. It was designed by the Des Moines architectural firm of Proudfoot, Rawson, Brooks and Borg, and built by local contractor F.B. Dickinson & Co. The project provided jobs for local residents during the Great Depression, and 45% of its funding was provided by the Public Works Administration (PWA). The City of Des Moines provided the rest of the funds. The radio tower, which shares the historic designation with the building, was used to dispatch fire personnel from 1958 to 1978. The buildings were used by the local fire department from 1937 to 2013. It was replaced by two different facilities. The old fire station and shop building was acquired by the Des Moines Social Club, a nonprofit arts organization.
The Hippee Building, also known as the Southern Surety Building, the Savings and Loan Building, and the Midland Building, is a historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was completed in 1913 by George B. Hippee whose father, George M. Hippee, was one of the first merchants in Des Moines. George B. developed the first interurban railway in the city and it connected Des Moines to other communities in central Iowa. The 172-foot (52 m), 12-story structure was designed by the Des Moines architectural firm of Sawyer and Watrous in the Early Commercial style. At the time of it completion, the building was Iowa's tallest skyscraper. It was used as an office building until the Aparium Hotel Group of Chicago acquired it in 2017 and began converting the building into a 138-room hotel. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.
The Elmwood-The Oaks-The Birches, also known as the Grand Trees Apartments, are three historic buildings located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The local architectural firm of Vorse, Kraetsch & Kraetsch designed three-story brick structures that were built in 1923. The buildings, which together contain 93 units, are connected by courtyards and stone archways. Above the main entrances are imprints of the trees' leaves - elm, oak, and birch - in the stonework. Parking lots for the apartments are located behind the buildings. A $16.9 million historic renovation was begun in 2021 and will include adding elevators, which the buildings did not have. The buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.
