Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM) is the largest home furnishing store in North America selling furniture, flooring, appliances and electronics. NFM was founded in 1937 by Belarus-born Rose Blumkin, universally known as Mrs. B., in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Under the motto "sell cheap and tell the truth," she worked in the business until age 103. In 1983, Mrs. B. sold a majority interest to Berkshire Hathaway in a handshake deal with Warren Buffett.
Salisbury House in Des Moines, Iowa is a Tudor, Gothic and Carolean style manor home. It was built by cosmetic magnate Carl Weeks and his wife, Edith Van Slyke Weeks, between 1923 and 1928. Salisbury House was modeled after the King's House in Salisbury, England, contains 42 rooms and measures just over 22,000 square feet (2,000 m2). The property is owned and operated by the Salisbury House Foundation and is open to the public for tours, public events, and private rentals.
Proudfoot & Bird et al. was an American architectural firm or partnership that designed many buildings in the U.S. Midwest. Partners included Willis Thomas Proudfoot (1860–1928) and George Washington Bird (1854–1953) and Harry Dustan Rawson (1872–1934). At times it was known as Proudfoot, Bird and Rawson, Proudfoot, Rawson & Souers, Proudfoot, Rawson, Souers & Thomas,Monheim, Bird & Proudfoot, Proudfoot, Rawson Brooks & Borg, Brooks - Borg Architects - Engineers, Brooks Borg and Skiles Architects Engineers, and finally BBS Architects|Engineers.
The Newens Sanitary Dairy Historic District is located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It consists of three buildings, the former dairy buildings and the Newens’ family home. The district has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2003.
The Henry Wallace House is an historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was the home of Henry Wallace who was an advocate for agricultural improvement and reform. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing property in the Sherman Hill Historic District in 1979 and it has been individually listed since 1993.
The Hawkeye Transfer Company Warehouse, also as the Rocket Transfer Building, is an historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The building was built by Frederick Hubbell who founded F.M. Hubbell and Son, which became Hubbell Realty Co. The company has retained ownership of the building since it was built. Plans were approved in 2009 to convert the building, as well as the Schmitt and Henry Manufacturing Company complex, into loft apartments. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.
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 1901-1914 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 Standard Glass and Paint Company Building, also known as 10th Street Lofts, is an historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Ashton and Ross Clemens, who were brothers, had the building built in 1913 to house their company, which was said to be the largest glass and paint business west of Chicago. Local contractor J.E. Lovejoy was responsible for its construction. It was one of several warehouse buildings on the southwest corner of the downtown area. Established by the Clemens brothers, Standard Glass and Paint Company was in existence from 1903 to 1979. It was Des Moines' leading wholesale and retail supplier of a variety of building and remodeling supplies. The company remained in this building until the mid-1920s when they moved to the Clemens Automobile Company Building, which was owned by the same family. After it sat empty until 1931 various wholesale companies occupied this building over the succeeding years. Along with the neighboring Herring Motor Car Company Building it has been converted into loft apartments. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
The National Biscuit Company Building, also known as National Biscuit Company Flats, is an historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The heavy timber and masonry building was built in 1906. Only half of the planned building was completed, and the north half of the property was later sold. It initially served as a production and distribution facility for the National Biscuit Company. Architect William F. Wilmouth, who designed the company's buildings is presumed to be the architect of this four-story Neoclassical building. Benson & Marxer served as the contractors. Des Moines was the third largest sales territory for the company. It was one of a few bakeries in the company that produced the Uneeda Biscuit, and it was one of three that produced a corn cracker in the mid-1920s.
The Rumely–Des Moines Drug Company Building at 110 SW. Fourth St. in Des Moines, Iowa is a large brick warehouse block building. It is a work of architects Hallett & Rawson. It has also been known as the Rumely Bldg, as the Federal Machine Corp Bldg, and as the Security File Warehouse Building. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Des Moines, Iowa, USA.
The Boerner-Fry Company/Davis Hotel is a historic building located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Emil Louis Boerner was born in Prussia and came to Iowa City with his family when he was 12. He was educated at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, and he owned and operated a drugstore in Iowa City for 57 years. He was also one of the primary organizers of the Iowa Pharmaceutical Association, a member of the faculty at the newly established Iowa College of Pharmacy in Des Moines, and was involved in establishing the Department of Pharmacy at the University of Iowa where he served as its first dean. Boerner and his partner William A. Fry had this build constructed in 1899 as a factory that produced toilet articles and light pharmaceuticals. Local contractor Jacob J. Hotz was responsible for its construction. The factory relocated to another facility in 1915, and went out of business the following year. This building was used for a variety of businesses until 1922 when it was converted into the Washington Hotel. George W. Davis renamed the hotel after himself in 1952, and he continued to operate it until 1972. It was then converted into office and retail space. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Smulekoffs Furniture Store, also known as the Sinclair Building, New Sinclair Building, Warfield–Pratt–Howell Co. building and the Churchill Drug Co. building, is a historic building located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. In 1901 Thomas Sinclair had the original section of this five-story brick structure built. It housed the wholesale grocer Warfield–Pratt–Howell Co. and another wholesaler, the Churchill Drug Co. It was the second of several large-scale warehouse buildings that were constructed in this section of the city along the Cedar River. A spur line of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad was located at the rear of the building. Rosenbaum Furniture Store bought the building in 1925, and it was converted from warehouse use to retail. In 1941 Smulekoffs Furniture Store took over the building and renovated the main floor. They remained here until 2014. The building is slated for apartments on the upper floors and retail on the main floor. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
The Grocers Wholesale Company Building, also known as the Sears and Roebuck Farm Store, is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Completed in 1916, this was the first of four warehouses built and owned by Iowa's only and most successful statewide cooperative grocery warehouse. It is possible that it was the first statewide organization of this kind in the country. The cooperative allowed independent grocers to compete against chain stores and survive wholesale grocers' surcharges. They leased their first warehouse after they organized in 1912. Each successive time the cooperative built a new warehouse it was larger and technologically more advanced than the previous one. This particular cooperative grew to include parts of four states: Iowa, southern Minnesota, northern Missouri and eastern Nebraska. They built their second warehouse in 1930 and moved out of this facility. They continued to own this building until 1968, and they leased it out to other firms. The Sears Farm Equipment Store began to occupy the building in 1937 and continued here until 1959. The cooperative became the Associated Grocers of Iowa in the late 1950s, and it continued in existence until 1985. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
The Taft–West Warehouse, also known as the C.C. Taft Company Building, Plumb Supply Company, Ben's Furniture Warehouse, and Nacho Mamma's, is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Completed in 1923, this three-story brick structure was built during a transitional period between the dominance of railroads the emergence of trucks servicing warehouses. It was designed by local architectural firm of Vorse, Kraetsch, & Kraetsch. It features cleans lines of the Commercial style as opposed to the fussiness of late Victorian styling that was dominant in a great deal of the city's commercial architecture. The building was also located in the Court Avenue wholesale district, and now it is only one of only five or six that remain extant. The building was constructed for the C.C. Taft Company. This firm and the O.B. West Company that succeeded it in this building, dealt in wholesale fruits, vegetables, candy and tobacco. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.
Elliott Furniture Company is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was built in 1891 in the Italianate style for Gustav Newlen, who was an undertaker and cabinet maker. Eight years later the Elliott family acquired the building and combined the two storefronts into a unified façade for the Elliott Anderson Furniture Company. The building was extensively renovated in 1936 with the installation of large display windows on both floors, undoing the 1899 renovations. Four years later saw another renovation with the addition of glazed brick and fluted Terra Cotta pilasters. This gave the building an Art Moderne appearance. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
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 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 Seth Richards Commercial Block, also known as the Lederer-Strauss Building, is an historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Its construction represents the transition of Court Avenue from a retail center to the city's wholesale district. Seth Richards had acquired the property that had been the location of several business houses. One of the lots had been owned by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The four-story, brick, Romanesque Revival building was constructed in two parts. The commercial blocks at 300-302 and 304-306 were completed and occupied in 1890, and 308-310 was completed and occupied by 1897. Various wholesale clothing firms occupied the various blocks, but by 1920 Lederer, Strauss & Co., Inc., a millinery fabricator and wholesaler, occupied the entire building. The family run business was sold in 1944 to the Hiersteiners, who incorporated the business as the Landsco Millinery Co. The business was scaled back, and they occupied less of the block, which was filled with other wholesalers by the mid-1950s. In 1957 the Landsco Millinery Co. was liquidated. The building has been converted for other retail uses in the Court Avenue Entertainment District after this area ceased being a wholesale center. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
The Walnut Tire and Battery Co.-Globe Publishing Company Building is a historic building located on the west side of downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The two-story brick commercial building features two mirror-image sections that were completed four years apart. The western section of the Late Gothic Revival structure was completed in 1924 and the eastern section in 1928. Between the two sections is an interior staircase and a lightwell. The building is located on Des Moines' historic Auto Row, and it housed automobile-related businesses. Walnut Tire and Battery Co. built the original section for their own use and to rent space to tenants. They built the second section to increase the tenant space. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.
