2020 Preservation at its Best: Sustainability Architectural Record christened 711 High Street the Building of the Decade the year it was built. By 1939-standards, the beautiful art deco building incorporated many unique and innovative systems. Principal understood the building’s significance as well as the impact it would have on current and future employees. The 473,000… Read more »
2019 Preservation at its Best: Large Commercial The 1909 Wilkins Department Store building was the first reinforced concrete building in Des Moines. In 1924 it was annexed to the newly constructed Younkers Building. Following Younkers’ closure in the early 2000s, the building sat vacant for 10 years before a developer began rehabilitation. In 2014, a… Read more »
2019 Preservation at its Best: Small/Medium Commercial The Daniels Brothers Super Service Station opened in 1929 as the third outlet for the Des Moines-based auto supply and service chain founded in 1919. This brick-and-stone-accented service station with Tudor Revival touches is an auto-row property described as “a department store for vehicles.” Owner/developer RE3, architect Goche… Read more »
2019 Preservation at its Best: Multifamily Residential The L. Harbach and Sons factory complex, consisting of two functionally related 5-story brick buildings separated by a paved courtyard, is a rare surviving warehouse-factory complex from early 20th century Des Moines. Kent Mauck Encore Properties, the current owner of the 1906 complex, rehabilitated the two buildings as… Read more »
2019 Preservation at its Best: Sustainability in Preservation Fort Des Moines is a symbol of Iowa’s civil right leadership. As the home of the first African American officer training program, in 1917, and the nation’s first Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, during World War II, the fort’s buildings are visible reminders of Iowa’s progressive past. Blackbird… Read more »
2019 Preservation at its Best: Public Structure The iconic gold dome of the Iowa State Capitol has been one of the state’s most recognizable landmarks for more than 130 years. Over the course of its history, significant deterioration threatened the dome’s integrity. With funding from the Iowa Legislature, OPN Architects guided a project that involved… Read more »
Preservation at its Best 2018, Single-Family Residential: Moffett Cottage (Des Moines) The Moffett Cottage was built c. 1894 by an un-determined builder or owner, however it is associated with F. G. Moffett. Moffett was a civil war veteran and was appointed Chief Clerk of the U.S. Pension office in 1890 serving until 1894. The cottage is a contributing… Read more »
Preservation at its Best 2018, Small/Medium Commercial: Pitt Carriage Building (Des Moines) Built in 1909, the Pitt Carriage Co. Building, 212 E. Third Street, Des Moines, is located in the heart of the East Side Industrial, Warehousing, and Railroad Historic District. The Pitt Carriage Co. Building made a locally significant contribution to Des Moines history as a… Read more »
Preservation at its Best 2018, Adaptive Reuse: Mack-International Motor Truck Corp. Building (Des Moines) The Mack-International Motor Truck Corp. Building was constructed in 1924 by master builder and general contractor J.E. Lovejoy as a Mack branch sales and service center, with second-floor offices for use by Lovejoy and other tenants. Annexes where built in about 1931 and 1940. The building… Read more »
Join us in Des Moines for FORUM 2018! The National Alliance of Preservation Commissions (NAPC) is bringing the biennial FORUM to Des Moines, from July 18 to 22, 2018. FORUM 2018 will feature dozens of educational sessions and discussion panels on topics ranging from the preservation of historic streetscapes, archaeology in historic districts, preservation zoning and… Read more »
