Browse Items (19 total)

The Iliad Hotel was located in the Exposition Building, which formed in 1872. The building was meant to highlight Iowa goods. In 1892 two floors were added to the building and became the Iliad. The building later became Grand Department Store. The…

View looking west from Fourth and Walnut Streets. On the left side of the picture is Nicoll the Tailor. On the right side is Willner Brothers & Company, a clothing store for men and boys. Also visible are the Lyric Theatre and Mandelbaum's, a dry…

Automobiles, trolley cars, and horse drawn carriages all shared the road on Walnut Street in downtown Des Moines. On the left is the original Kirkwood Hotel, replaced in 1930 by the current building. On the right is a variety of clothing, and dry…

This is a view from the Fleming Building facing southeast. The intersection pictured is 5th and Court. To the right is the Polk County Courthouse. The building with the Standard Life Insurance Co. sign is the Youhe building. Visible buildings listed…

This view from the Fleming Building faces northeast toward Locust Street. The Fleming Building was built in 1909 and still stands on 6th Avenue. The building with the tower is the Observatory Building, which was one of the tallest buildings in the…

This view looks south down Sixth Avenue from Locust Street. Automobiles, trolley cars and horse drawn carriages all crowd the road. On the right are housed Higgin’s Pharmacy, the State Insurance Company and Boston Market. Beyond that is Utica…

Built in 1908, the Government Building – later known as the Polk County Building, is an administrative building that originally served as the Post Office. Current home to the Polk County Heritage Gallery. The architecture is Beaux-Arts Classical…

Looking east down Locust street we see the Clapp Block (with the Iowa Mutual Tornado sign) and the Observatory Building both on the right side of the street. Capital Center is what currently occupies that side of the street. The left side of street,…

The Chamberlain Hotel was located on the current site of the Ruan Two Building.

This view of Locust Street was taken from just beyond the 5th Avenue intersection. On the right is the Marquardt Block, home of the Commercial Savings Bank and Franklin Hotel. Across the street is the Crocker Building, home to a variety of offices…