Old Downtown Des Moines
Explore the history of downtown Des Moines, an area considered today's city center as much as it was in pioneering days.
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Stories 15
Baker Barb Wire vs. Knights of Labor
George C. Baker of Polk City, Iowa, invented Baker Barbed Wire, manufactured it in Des Moines, and before too long it was the world’s largest manufacturer of barbed wire. Barbed wire was a significant…
Demoine House
A fashionable hotel known as the Demoine House once stood at First and Walnut Streets, which is now where the Polk County Office building resides. John Yost and Martin Tucker opened the Demoine House…
George Conradi's Saloon
In the late 1800s, a notorious establishment stood at 212 Walnut Street: George Conradi’s Saloon. A saloon in a frontier town was not a novelty, but an establishment trying to sell liquor in a dry…
Tone Bros
In April of 1873, two men from New York, along with their families, stepped off the Keokuk & Des Moines rail line (Rock Island Line) to start a business based on innovation that would change the…
Jewett Typewriter Company
Many people in the Des Moines area associate the Jewett name with Gilcrest Jewett Lumber, but George Jewett, a founding partner, had many other interests. In 1872, he helped found the Iowa Loan &…
Des Moines Saddlery Building
The Court Avenue Restaurant and Brewing Co. building has housed many businesses over the years and managed to stay standing through times when many older buildings were razed. It is the last remaining…
Romano Fruit Stand
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…
Iowa Bystander
“Fear God, Tell the Truth, and Make Money.”
Hierb's Saloon
On the northwest corner of Second and Walnut was the site of Joseph Hierb’s Saloon. Hierb and his brother started the first brewery in Des Moines in 1855, which later became known as City Brewery,…
Younkers Department Store: An Iowa Icon Timeline
1854 - Teenagers Marcus, Lipman, and Samuel Younker move to the United States from Lipno, Poland.1856 – Lipman, Samuel, and Marcus Younker establish the first Younker & Brothers Dry Goods Store in…
Harbach Lofts
The history of Harbach Lofts began more than 100 years ago with the beginning of Harbach Furniture. As shown in the National Register of Historic Places documentation, the Harbach family made…
Aulmann's Brewery: Also Known as Union Brewery
One of the earliest breweries was established by Frank Spitz near River, Second and Elm, on the Raccoon River. He ran a successful business until when while crossing the ice on the Raccoon River,…
White Star Laundry
At the turn of the 20th Century, many Des Moines residents sent their laundry out be laundered by others. White Star Laundry was one such company. It was owned by J.O. Anderson and operated out of the…
Amend's Meats
Amend’s high quality meat has been a culinary treat for the city of Des Moines since founder Conrad Amend opened his first meat market four years after the Civil War. Amend was 11 years old when,…
History of the Rowat Cut Stone Co.
A history of the Rowat Cut Stone Company should begin many years back. In fact, in 1850 a boy was born into a large family in Kilmarnock, Scotland. This boy started to learn to be a stonecutter at the…Tour curated by: DMPL Team