Benjamin Franklin Allen and his wife Arathusa celebrated the completion of Terrace Hill on their fifteenth wedding anniversary, January 29, 1869. The home was designed by W.W. Boyington from Chicago,…

The Dart D-Line downtown shuttle is just the latest chapter in the history of public transportation in Des Moines. Here's a timeline of past events:1867 - The Des Moines Street Railway is established…

Des Moines used to host one of the most exciting festivals in the Midwest, a carnival of Marde Gras-esque proportions.

Sawyer and Watrous was a Des Moines architectural firm formed by a partnership in 1905 and incorporated in 1929 by Ralph E. Sawyer and Charles A. Watrous (son of Charles L. Watrous, for whom Watrous…

Sevastopol began as a settlement south of Des Moines around 1855.  It was laid out by James Sherman, was recorded on July 21, 1862,  and  incorporated in 1877 or 1878 (varies with source).  Its…

The S.S. Brinsmaid house was the earliest known Prairie Style house in Iowa. It was designed by architect Arthur A. Heun and built in 1901 on the northeast corner of 36th and Grand. Heun is known for…

Ronald (Dutch) Reagan, movie star, governor of California, and president of the United States from 1981-1988, lived in Des Moines for a time in the 1930s, when he worked as a sports announcer for WHO…

According to a Des Moines Register article, Egidio Romano came to Des Moines from Italy by way of Omaha, Kansas City, and then St. Paul.  Romano started his fruit stand in Des Moines in 1891 and…

People passing by the large brick building at Southeast Seventh and Scott Avenue in Des Moines may not realize the significance of this structure.  For more than 50 years it was the home of the…

Riverview Amusement Park opened on Saturday, June 5, 1915, with an admission of five cents. The June 6th, 1915, Register and Leader reported live music by T. Fred Henry and his band, as well as The…