Look Up, Des Moines! A Walking Tour of Des Moines, Iowa
By Doug Gelbert
()
About this ebook
There is no better way to see America than on foot. And there is no better way to appreciate what you are looking at than with a walking tour. Whether you are preparing for a road trip or just out to look at your own town in a new way, a downloadable walking tour is ready to explore when you are.
Each walking tour describes historical and architectural landmarks and provides pictures to help out when those pesky street addresses are missing. Every tour also includes a quick primer on identifying architectural styles seen on American streets.
The land around where the Raccoon River flows into the Des Moines River has lured human settlement to its banks for some 7,000 years. There is archeological evidence of at least three American Indian villages having existed where downtown Des Moines stands today. it was the removal of those Indians by the United States government that spurred the development of the town in the 1840s. After the Sauk and Meskwaki Indians had been displaced to this area from their ancestral lands in eastern Iowa the U.S. Army was dispatched to the confluence of the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers to construct a fort from which it could control the Indian tribes.
The fort was completed in 1843 and named after the Des Moines River which translates from the French to "from the monks," for the Trappist monks who once spent time here. Or maybe not. Whatever the derivation of the name, Fort Des Moines was short-lived. By 1846 the Indians had officially been removed and the area was thrown open to American settlement. The town was chosen as the seat of Polk County, the word "Fort" was dropped after the city charter was drawn up in the 1850s and Des Moines assumed its role as state capital in 1858. So within about a decade of its founding the course for Des Moines was pretty well set for the next 150 years and on.
Unlike towns that boomed with mineral wealth or the coming of the railroads, Des Moines expanded at a fairly normal rate with a little bit of this and a little bit of that to move the economy forward. There was the rivers for distribution of goods, there was the government, there was mining in ancient bituminous coal beds outside of town, there was processing of crops from the surrounding farmland, there was industry in the manufacture of fur and leather goods and clay and cement and there were professional jobs in insurance and publishing. A balance that befits its location near the center of the country.
Similarly the streetscape of Des Moines has evolved with no earthshaking upheavals. Buildings have been lost but there have been no mass demolitions through a swath of downtown like an Omaha initiated, for instance. We will still encounter souvenirs from the 19th century as we explore the town, as well as historic skyscrapers from the early age of high-rises. The city adopted the Des Moines Plan in 1907 as part of a countrywide push to beautify American cities and re-invented the waterfront with parks, ornamental fountains, a river wall topped with a balustrade and classically flavored government buildings. And that is where we will start our walking tour, on the oldest bridge in the city spanning the Des Moines River...
Read more from Doug Gelbert
Look Up, Savannah! A Walking Tour of Savannah, Georgia Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Walking Tour of The New Orleans French Quarter Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Walking Tour of Williamsburg, Virginia Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Look Up, San Diego! A Walking Tour of Balboa Park Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5A Walking Tour of Aiken, South Carolina Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Tucson, Arizona! A Walking Tour of Tucson, Arizona Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Boise! A Walking Tour of Boise, Idaho Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Walking Tour of Georgetown, South Carolina Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5A Walking Tour of Miami Beach, Florida Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Oakland! A Walking Tour of Oakland, California Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Nashville! A Walking Tour of Nashville, Tennessee Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Walking Tour of Greensboro, North Carolina Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Walking Tour of Staunton, Virginia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Long Beach! A Walking Tour of Long Beach, California Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Walking Tour of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Walking Tour of Jacksonville, Florida Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Walking Tour of New York City's Upper East Side Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Salem! A Walking Tour of Salem, Oregon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Walking Tour of Tampa, Florida Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Walking Tour of Beaufort, South Carolina Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Phoenix, Arizona! A Walking Tour of Phoenix, Arizona Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Madison! A Walking Tour of Madison, Wisconsin Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Walking Tour of Salisbury, North Carolina Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Walking Tour of St. Augustine, Florida Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Walking Tour of Bordentown, New Jersey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Toledo! A Walking Tour of Toledo, Ohio Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Walking Tour of New York City's Upper West Side Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Look Up, Gettysburg! A Walking Tour of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Chicago! A Walking Tour of The Loop (North End) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Walking Tour of Wilmington, North Carolina Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Look Up, Des Moines! A Walking Tour of Des Moines, Iowa
Related ebooks
A Walking Tour of Wilson, North Carolina Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, St. Louis! A Walking Tour of Downtown Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Cheyenne! A Walking Tour of Cheyenne, Wyoming Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Walking Tour of Poughkeepsie, New York Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Jackson! A Walking Tour of Jackson, Mississippi Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Kansas City! A Walking Tour of The Central Business District: West of Main Street Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Carson City! A Walking Tour of Carson City, Nevada Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Kansas City! A Walking Tour of The Central Business District: East of Main Street Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Boise! A Walking Tour of Boise, Idaho Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Youngstown! A Walking Tour of Youngstown, Ohio Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Houston! A Walking Tour of Houston, Texas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Madison! A Walking Tour of Madison, Wisconsin Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Walking Tour of Troy, New York Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Little Rock! A Walking Tour of Little Rock, Arkansas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Jefferson City! A Walking Tour of Jefferson City, Missouri Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Walking Tour of Westerly, Rhode Island Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLincoln's Early Architecture Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Look Up, El Paso! A Walking Tour of El Paso, Texas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Topeka! A Walking Tour of Topeka, Kansas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, St. Louis! A Walking Tour of Downtown West Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Walking Tour of Elmira, New York Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Walking Tour of Fall River, Massachusetts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsQuincy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Columbus! A Walking Tour of Columbus, Ohio Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Lincoln! A Walking Tour of Lincoln, Nebraska Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Walking Tour of Syracuse, New York Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Walking Tour of Brooklyn's Bedford/Stuyvesant Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Indianapolis! A Walking Tour of Indianapolis, Indiana Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, San Jose! A Walking Tour of San Jose, California Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Denver! A Walking Tour of the Central Business District Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Special Interest Travel For You
A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 12-Hour Walk: Invest One Day, Conquer Your Mind, and Unlock Your Best Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mediocre Monk: A Stumbling Search for Answers in a Forest Monastery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Unofficial Disney Parks Drink Recipe Book: From LeFou's Brew to the Jedi Mind Trick, 100+ Magical Disney-Inspired Drinks Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKon-Tiki Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Trails: An Exploration Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/550 Great American Places: Essential Historic Sites Across the U.S. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Arthur: The Dog who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Escape the Wolf: A SEAL Operative’s Guide to Situational Awareness, Threat Identification, a Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dispatches from Pluto: Lost and Found in the Mississippi Delta Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Disney Declassified Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Microadventures: Local Discoveries for Great Escapes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Buying Disney's World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Destination Truth: Memoirs of a Monster Hunter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Haunted October: 31 Seriously Scary Ghost Stories Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Dishoom: The first ever cookbook from the much-loved Indian restaurant Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lonely Planet An Innocent Abroad: Life-Changing Trips from 35 Great Writers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Longest Way Home: One Man's Quest for the Courage to Settle Down Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lonely Planet Mexico Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Lost Art of Running: A Journey to Rediscover the Forgotten Essence of Human Movement Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5She Explores: Stories of Life-Changing Adventures on the Road and in the Wild Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge: Traveler's Guide to Batuu Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nashville Eats: Hot Chicken, Buttermilk Biscuits, and 100 More Southern Recipes from Music City Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Living the RV Life: Your Ultimate Guide to Life on the Road Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFifty Places to Hike Before You Die: Outdoor Experts Share the World's Greatest Destinations Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Reviews for Look Up, Des Moines! A Walking Tour of Des Moines, Iowa
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Look Up, Des Moines! A Walking Tour of Des Moines, Iowa - Doug Gelbert
Look Up, Des Moines! A Walking Tour of Des Moines, Iowa
by Doug Gelbert
published by Cruden Bay Books at Smashwords
Copyright 2012 by Cruden Bay Books
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the Publisher.
The land around where the Raccoon River flows into the Des Moines River has lured human settlement to its banks for some 7,000 years. There is archeological evidence of at least three American Indian villages having existed where downtown Des Moines stands today. it was the removal of those Indians by the United States government that spurred the development of the town in the 1840s. After the Sauk and Meskwaki Indians had been displaced to this area from their ancestral lands in eastern Iowa the U.S. Army was dispatched to the confluence of the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers to construct a fort from which it could control the Indian tribes.
The fort was completed in 1843 and named after the Des Moines River which translates from the French to from the monks,
for the Trappist monks who once spent time here. Or maybe not. Whatever the derivation of the name, Fort Des Moines was short-lived. By 1846 the Indians had officially been removed and the area was thrown open to American settlement. The town was chosen as the seat of Polk County, the word Fort
was dropped after the city charter was drawn up in the 1850s and Des Moines assumed its role as state