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 looking east was taken from the top the Polk County Courthouse. On the right is the Des Moines Register building. To the left is the Des Moines Saddlery Company Building. The Capitol is in the distance. The Court Avenue Bridge is in the…
This view looks north up 4th street, from just above Court Avenue. The Kirkwood Hotel is on the left. It was replaced with the current building in 1930, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Observatory Building was built…
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,…
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…
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…
Originally planned at four stories, the Chamberlain Hotel grew to six stories before its completion in 1903. D.S. Chamberlain hired W.L. Brown, former manager of the Savery hotel, to oversee construction of the building. Current site of the Ruan Two…