West Ninth Streetcar Line Historic District

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West Ninth Streetcar Line Historic District
West Ninth Streetcar Line Historic District Des Moines, Iowa.jpg
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Location W. 9th St. from University Ave. to Hickman Rd.
Des Moines, Iowa
Coordinates 41°36′23″N93°37′47″W / 41.60639°N 93.62972°W / 41.60639; -93.62972 Coordinates: 41°36′23″N93°37′47″W / 41.60639°N 93.62972°W / 41.60639; -93.62972
Area 11 acres (4.5 ha)
Architect Hallett & Rawson, et al.
Architectural style Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals
Late 19th and Early 20th century American movements
Late Victorian
MPS Towards a Greater Des Moines MPS
NRHP reference # 98000377 [1]
Added to NRHP April 23, 1998

The West Ninth Streetcar Line Historic District is located in the north-central section of Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The focus of the district is West Ninth Street from University Avenue on the south to Hickman Road on the north, which had a street car line that ran on it. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1998. It is part of the Towards a Greater Des Moines MPS. [1]

Des Moines, Iowa Capital of Iowa

Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857. It is on and named after the Des Moines River, which likely was adapted from the early French name, Rivière des Moines, meaning "River of the Monks". The city's population was 217,521 as of the 2017 population estimate. The five-county metropolitan area is ranked 89th in terms of population in the United States with 634,725 residents according to the 2016 estimate by the United States Census Bureau, and is the second largest metropolitan area in the state after that of Omaha, Nebraska, which includes three counties in southwest Iowa.

United States Federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

National Register of Historic Places federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.

Contents

History

The period of significance for the West Ninth Streetcar Line Historic District is 1883 to 1936, which was the timeframe that the street served as a streetcar route. It was Des Moines’ most fully developed streetcar corridor in the Victorian era and it remains largely intact. [2] It was in competition with the West Sixth Streetcar Line. It was also developed earlier and ran on narrow gauge tracks. It was unique in Des Moines that more than one line would serve a single neighborhood. In addition, another line served Eleventh and Twelfth Streets. By being served by multiple lines shows the importance of North Des Moines as a Victorian-era suburb. In large part it was responsible for the housing boom in the area in the 1880s and 1890s. [2]

Victorian era period of British history encompassing Queen Victorias reign (1837–1901)

In the history of the United Kingdom, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian period, and its later half overlaps with the first part of the Belle Époque era of Continental Europe. In terms of moral sensibilities and political reforms, this period began with the passage of the Reform Act 1832. There was a strong religious drive for higher moral standards led by the nonconformist churches, such as the Methodist, and the Evangelical wing of the established Church of England. Britain's relations with the other Great Powers were driven by the colonial antagonism of the Great Game with Russia, climaxing during the Crimean War; a Pax Britannica of international free trade was maintained by the country's naval and industrial supremacy. Britain embarked on global imperial expansion, particularly in Asia and Africa, which made the British Empire the largest empire in history. National self-confidence peaked.

The streetcar line was developed by the Des Moines Street Railroad Company as an extension of their downtown loop and was called the “Red Line.” Originally it was a horse-drawn line that was electrified under the direction of Jefferson S. Polk. Eventually, the Red Line was extended to Crocker Woods along the Des Moines River. It also served the east side of Des Moines and extended to the suburb of Capitol Park. The Ninth Street streetcar line ended service when it was replaced by gas-powered buses.

Des Moines River river in Iowa, United States

The Des Moines River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the upper Midwestern United States that is approximately 525 miles (845 km) long from its farther headwaters. The largest river flowing across the state of Iowa, it rises in southern Minnesota and flows across Iowa from northwest to southeast, passing from the glaciated plains into the unglaciated hills near the capital city of Des Moines, named after the river, in the center of the state. The river continues to flow at a southeastern direction away from Des Moines, later flowing directly into the Mississippi River.

Architecture

For the most part the buildings in the West Ninth Streetcar line Historic District are houses and their ancillary buildings, namely garages and stables. There are a total of 145 buildings. Of these 97 buildings are contributing properties. [2] Most of the buildings are single-family houses. Nine of the buildings are multi-family dwellings, which include both double houses and apartment buildings, and 20 are ancillary buildings. The architectural styles employed in the district include the Stick style, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, American Foursquare and American Craftsman. Two of the houses follow either the Shingle or the Prairie School styles. Most of the houses are built of wood; however, there are six that are masonry buildings.

Stick style late-19th-century American architectural style

The Stick style was a late-19th-century American architectural style, transitional between the Carpenter Gothic style of the mid-19th century, and the Queen Anne style that it had evolved into by the 1890s. It is named after its use of linear "stickwork" on the outside walls to mimic an exposed half-timbered frame.

Colonial Revival architecture

Colonial Revival architecture was and is a nationalistic design movement in the United States and Canada. Part of a broader Colonial Revival Movement embracing Georgian and Neoclassical styles, it seeks to revive elements of architectural style, garden design, and interior design of American colonial architecture.

American Foursquare

The American Foursquare or American Four Square is an American house style popular from the mid-1890s to the late 1930s. A reaction to the ornate and mass-produced elements of the Victorian and other Revival styles popular throughout the last half of the 19th century, the American Foursquare was plain, often incorporating handcrafted "honest" woodwork. This style incorporates elements of the Prairie School and the Craftsman styles. It is also sometimes called Transitional Period.

There are also six institutional buildings, which are all non-contributing properties. The district also contains the former campus of Des Moines University, which merged with Highland Park College on the latter's campus. The property then became the campus of Dowling Catholic High School an institution of the Diocese of Des Moines. After it moved in the 1970s the main building was torn down and the property has been used for a variety of public and semi-public purposes.

Des Moines University is an osteopathic medical school in Des Moines, Iowa. Des Moines University is the second oldest osteopathic medical school and the fifteenth largest medical school in the United States. There are 14,124 total alumni.

Dowling Catholic High School

Dowling Catholic High School is a Catholic secondary school in the central United States, in West Des Moines, Iowa, within the Diocese of Des Moines.

Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines diocese of the Catholic Church

The Diocese of Des Moines is the Roman Catholic diocese for the southwestern quarter of the U.S. state of Iowa. It is a suffragan see of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. The See city for the diocese is Des Moines. The cathedral parish for the diocese is St. Ambrose. Currently Bishop Richard E. Pates is the bishop of the diocese, though he submitted his letter of resignation to Pope Francis in February 2018, as it is required for bishops to do so upon turning 75. Pates will continue to serve as bishop, until a successor is named.

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Lowry W. and Hattie N. Goode First North Des Moines House

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Polk County Homestead and Trust Company Addition Historic District

The Polk County Homestead and Trust Company Addition Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. At the time of its nomination the district consisted of 86 resources, including 48 contributing buildings, 11 contributing structures, 18 non-contributing buildings, and nine non-contributing structures. The end of the 19th-century saw the rise of the Victorian suburbs around Des Moines. This was a period of economic growth for the metropolitan area. The largest of these suburbs was North Des Moines. It was connected to Des Moines by way of three streetcar lines, whiched added to its attractiveness. Local real estate investors established the Polk County Homestead & Trust Co. to develop the northern portion of North Des Moines in partnership with the Prospect Park Improvement Company.

Des Moines Fire Department Headquarters

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.

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 3 William C. Page; Joanne R. Walroth. "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form—West Ninth Streetcar Line Historic District". National Park Service . Retrieved 2012-02-14. with photo(s)
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