Free Walking Sightseeing Tour #8 in Des Moines, United States
Legend
Tour Facts
9.7 km
301 m
Explore Des Moines in United States with this free self-guided walking tour. The map shows the route of the tour. Below is a list of attractions, including their details.
Individual Sights in Des MoinesSight 1: Ola Babcock Miller Building
The Ola Babcock Miller Building, also known as the State Library of Iowa, is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 as the Iowa State Historical Building.
Wikipedia: Ola Babcock Miller Building (EN), Heritage Website
Sight 2: Iowa State Capitol
The Iowa State Capitol, commonly called the Iowa Statehouse, is in Iowa's capital city, Des Moines. As the seat of the Iowa General Assembly, the building houses the Iowa Senate, Iowa House of Representatives, the Office of the Governor, and the Offices of the Attorney General, Auditor, Treasurer, and Secretary of State. The building also includes a chamber for the Iowa Supreme Court, although court activities usually take place in the neighboring Iowa Supreme Court building. The building was constructed between 1871 and 1886, and is the only five-domed capitol in the country.
Wikipedia: Iowa State Capitol (EN), Website, Heritage Website
Sight 3: Hohberger Building
The Hohberger Building is a 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.
Sight 4: Northwestern Hotel
The Northwestern Hotel is a historic building located in the East Village of Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. In 2017 it was included as a contributing property in the East Des Moines Industrial Historic District.
Wikipedia: Northwestern Hotel (Des Moines, Iowa) (EN), Heritage Website
Sight 5: Homestead Building
The Homestead Building, also known as the Martin Hotel, is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Designed by the Des Moines architectural firm of Smith & Gage, it was built in two stages. The eastern one-third was completed in 1893 and the western two-thirds was completed in 1905. It is one of a few late nineteenth-century commercial/industrial buildings that remain in the downtown area. The building was built for James M. Pierce for his publishing operation, which included the Iowa Homestead, a pioneer publication of modern agricultural journalism. Prior to Pierce, the Iowa Homestead publisher was Henry Wallace, the father of Agriculture Secretary Henry C. Wallace, and grandfather of U.S. Vice President Henry A. Wallace. "Through the efforts of Pierce and Wallace the Iowa Homestead became known for its promotion of the rotation of crops, the use of better seed, the value of more and better livestock, the importance of an attractive home and a good home life, the value of farmers banding together to protect common interests, and the care of the soil and conservation of its resources."
Sight 6: Iowa Department of the Blind
The Iowa Commission for the Blind Building is a historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. The building is a steel-framed structure covered in brick. It is a nine-story state government office building that rises 95 feet (29 m) above the ground.
Wikipedia: Iowa Commission for the Blind Building (EN), Heritage Website
Sight 7: Hawkeye Insurance Company Building
The Hawkeye Insurance Company Building is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Completed in 1869, the building housed the first successful casualty insurance company in the city, which grew to be the largest center for insurance companies outside of the east coast. Prominent local architect William Foster designed the building, and it may be the oldest surviving example of his work. It is also the oldest commercial building in the downtown area that maintains its original integrity.
Wikipedia: Hawkeye Insurance Company Building (EN), Heritage Website
Sight 8: Midland Financial Building
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.
Sight 9: U.S. Bank
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.
Wikipedia: Iowa-Des Moines National Bank Building (EN), Heritage Website
Sight 10: Liberty Building
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).
Wikipedia: Liberty Building (Des Moines, Iowa) (EN), Heritage Website
Sight 11: Catholic Pastoral Center
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.
Wikipedia: Home Federal Savings and Loan Association of Des Moines Building (EN)
Sight 12: The Kirkwood
The Hotel Kirkwood, also known as the Kirkwood Civic Center Hotel, is a historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The building was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of H.L. Stevens & Company and built in 1930. With its completion it became the largest hotel along Fourth Street between Walnut Street and Court Avenue, along Des Moines' "Hotel Row." It also marked the emergence of the skyscraper hotel in the downtown area. The new hotel replaced a previous Hotel Kirkwood that had been built on the same location in 1862. It was located near Union Station and the Rock Island Depot. Developers and owners of the 1930 Hotel Kirkwood were E.F. Tagney and S.F. McGinn. Art Deco details are found in the building's massing, the sleek exterior geometrical detailing, and treatment of the cornice. The 12-story brick structure rises to a height of 133 feet (41 m). It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. The building has subsequently been converted into an apartment building called "The Kirkwood."
Sight 13: Hubbell Tower Condominiums
The Hubbell Building is a 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.
Wikipedia: Hubbell Building (Des Moines, Iowa) (EN), Heritage Website
Sight 14: Hotel Fort Des Moines
The Hotel Fort Des Moines is a historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
Wikipedia: Hotel Fort Des Moines (EN), Website, Heritage Website
Sight 15: Temple Theater
The Masonic Temple of Des Moines is a historic Beaux Arts style building located in Des Moines, Iowa. Constructed in 1913, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1997.
Wikipedia: Masonic Temple of Des Moines (EN), Heritage Website
Sight 16: Hawthorn Hill Apartments
The Methodist Deaconess Institute—Esther Hall, also known as Hawthorn Hill Apartments, is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. This building has been known by a variety of titles. They include the Bible Training School, Women's Foreign Missionary Society; Women's Home Missionary Society-Bible Training School; Iowa National Esther Hall & Bidwell Deaconess Home; Hawthorn Hill; and Chestnut Hill. The Women's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church established a Des Moines affiliate in 1896. Part of their responsibilities was to oversee the work of deaconesses of the church. At about the same time a Bible training school was established at Iowa Methodist Hospital's School of Nursing.
Wikipedia: Methodist Deaconess Institute—Esther Hall (EN), Heritage Website
Sight 17: Naylor House
The Naylor House is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Thomas Naylor was born in England and became a prominent grocer in Des Moines. He had this two-story brick Victorian house built in 1869. It is believed to have been designed by Des Moines architect William Foster. The house features an irregular plan, a combination gable-hip roof, two Carpenter Gothic wood porches, a bay window, pre-cast cement window hoods in an Eastlake design, paired roof brackets, and cornice returns on the gable ends. It remained in the Naylor family for almost 100 years. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Sight 18: Hoyt Sherman Place
Hoyt Sherman Place, the home of Hoyt Sherman, was built in 1877 and is located in Des Moines, Iowa.
Sight 19: Henshie-Briggs Row House
The Henshie-Briggs Row House is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. While the row house was a popular building form in the 19th century in the city, there are very few examples that remain. The two-story, brick, Italianate structure was completed in 1883. The single-family dwelling features brick load-bearing walls, a flat roof, and a wooden cornice. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. It was moved to its current location on Woodland Avenue in 2008.
Sight 20: Murillo Flats
Murillo Flats is a three story, formerly seven unit brick apartment building in Des Moines, Iowa. Built in 1903, it was originally located at 531-533 14th at the intersection with High Street in the downtown area of the city. On March 1, 2008, in the largest relocation project scheduled for that year and an event covered by both local & national media, the 705-ton building was moved to a new location so that it could be preserved. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.
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Disclaimer Please be aware of your surroundings and do not enter private property. We are not liable for any damages that occur during the tours.
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