River Bend Neighborhood

A sad old hotel in Sausalito, California

The Des Moines Rehabbers Club is looking for nominations of the community’s “most endangered buildings.” Individuals, neighborhood groups, or businesses may submit their suggestions.

Eligible for nomination are buildings in danger of demolition, or which are suffering from neglect, but are not so far gone that they are beyond repair or rehabilitation. Endangered buildings could be residential or commercial (or public) buildings, and may be of any size.

Nominating forms are available on the Rebabbers’ website and are due by September 22.

The seven most endangered buildings will be announced by the group in mid-October.  The organization holds monthly meetings and aspires to “promote neighborhood revitalization and restoration of Des Moines’ unique building stock by informing, educating, inspiring, and supporting each other in all phases of home renovation and maintenance.”

Businesses and nonprofit concerns, all with a vested interest in the vitality of the neighborhood, have stepped forward to sponsor the River Bend Neighborhood Home Tour.  Prudential Realty is the 2008 Tour Leader.  Jake Stanton of Prudential Realty says, “we invested in this tour because we believe in community and this is good business”.

Partner sponsors of the 2008 tour are the Neighborhood Development Corporation (NDC), Community Housing Development Corporation (CHDC) and Neighborhood Finance Corporation (NFC).

Supporting sponsors are Rob Langloss of Burnett Realty, Mic Hayes and Brian Byrnes of Central Iowa Lending, along with Anne Bickell of Iowa Realty.  “River Bend is the last great find in Des Moines for unique historic homes that are still affordable” says Anne Bickell of Iowa Realty.  “You get a lot of house for the money and the opportunity to join a large group of committed individuals changing the face of this neighborhood”.

“The Neighborhood Development Corporation (NDC) is excited to showcase its Wherry Block development at the corner of 6th and College Avenue as a part of the tour,” said Brian Douglas, Project Manager for NDC, “there is great potential for further redevelopment along 6th Avenue by building off of the strength and diversity of the River Bend Neighborhood.

The 2008 River Bend Neighborhood Home Tour is coming up next weekend, September 6 and 7. More information about the homes on display and details about times and tickets can be found at:
http://www.riverbendneighborhood.com/category/hometours/ .

A trolley car heads down the old West Ninth streetcar line, around the Des Moines River’s bend and back up the old Sixth Avenue streetcar line, taking tour-goers to some of the neighborhood’s historic homes during the 12th Annual River Bend Historic Homes Tour, September 6 and 7, 2008.

This year’s house tour theme showcases the work of three prominent local architects: Hallett & Rawson, Liebbe Norse Rasmussen and C.C. Cross and Company.  There will be two residential examples of each of the architects’ work on the tour.

River Bend’s Home Tour offers attendees a unique experience in that the tour provides visitors with two host homes that welcome them to sit down, enjoy refreshments and observe demonstration sessions.  This year’s workshops will feature two different wood restoration methods, calligraphy, and quilting.

This year, attendees will also see the genesis of a partnership among the River Bend Neighborhood Association, the City of Des Moines and the Iowa State Historical Society, as they work in concert to restore the Rachel Ruan House – John Ruan III’s boyhood home and the first location for Ruan Transportation.

Tickets are on sale at the day of the tour at 1602 Sixth or at Dahls’ 3th and Ingersoll Avenue location.  Group discounts are available by calling 515.491.0226.

Ticket Prices:
$10 / Adult for both days
$5 / Children 17 and under
Free for children aged 5 and under

Tour Times are:
Saturday, September 6, 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 7, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Browse through these home tour entries, or contact cjenison [at] mchsi [dot] com for more information.

lillies from our backyard in the River Bend Neighborhood

From the Des Moines Parks and Recreation Department:

9th Annual Fall Perennial Divide

Help renew and beautify Des Moines by donating plant divisions to community garden groups such as schools, neighborhood associations and shelters who plan, plant, and maintain community vegetable and ornamental gardens.

Saturday, September 6th, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Bring donations to the City’s Greenhouses
2501 Maury

Donate healthy, non-diseased plants.  If known, please label your plant and identify its sun requirements, height, and color.  No donation is too small!

Perennials that are best to divide in the fall include daylily, yarrow, coreopsis, artemesia, astilbe, ajuga, blanket flower, veronica, salvia, peonies, bellflower, spring bulbs, and herbs.

Volunteers needed, call 323-8907

Des Moines’ Parks and Recreation Department coordinate perennial divide days twice each year in May and September.

The 2008 River Bend Neighborhood Home Tour features six turn of the (twentieth) century homes by three notable architects.

The house at 1330 – 9th Street and its nearby neighbor at 1530 – 9th were both designed and built by George E. Hallett.

Born in Des Moines, George E. Hallett moved to Denver and worked his way up from carpenter to architect. Hallett moved back to Iowa to open his own architectural practice in Des Moines around 1890.  Over the years Hallett sometimes worked independently, and sometimes in partnership with other architects, including Clinton C. Nourse (from 1892 to 1893), and, after 1898, Harry D. Rawson.

The prestige of Rawson’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his social connections in Iowa brought the partnership of Hallett & Rawson a variety of commissions. The two made a successful living in the growing “northern portion” of Des Moines, including the River Bend Neighborhood. Some of the partners’ bigger commissions are Union Station in Des Moines, Lodge halls and 4 Carnegie Libraries.

With its distinctive roofline, and extensive landscaping and outdoor decorations that change with each season, the home at 1330 – 9th Street is immediately recognizable .

This house, designed and built by George E. Hallett, has been on the River Bend Neighborhood Home Tour several times over the past decade. It will be featured again on the 2008 tour (September 6 and 7). The house is a shingle style Victorian with romantic revival elements.

1330 – 9th Street was built in 1900 for Edward E. Temple, who lived there until his death in 1909. The house was in disrepair until Carolyn Jenison and Angela Thorne purchased the house in 1999 and the restoration has been ongoing since.

Eight candidates are vying for three open Des Moines School Board seats in the upcoming September 9 election. A change in state law about how school board members are elected has resulted in the shortening of two of the board members’ current terms, and sparking a firestorm of debate and criticism about current board members and district administration.

Incumbents Dick Murphy (current Board chairman), Jeanette Woods and Ginny Strong are being challenged by Kittie Weston-Knauer (retired Scavo alternative high school principal), Larry Barrett, child care provider Kristine Crisman, Steve Flood, and small business owner Mike Pike (whose child attends private parochial school, not a Des Moines public school).

Local civic groups are hosting these upcoming Candidate Forums:

(more…)

The house at 410 Franklin Avenue was built in 1905 by George H. France and his wife Nannie. According to a 2002 Des Moines Register article by Renda Lutz, George Henry France and his wife, Nannie, were prominent members of Des Moines society in the late 1800’s.

The home, which is one of the stops along the River Bend Neighborhood Home Tour, was built in the Prairie Style, which is reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs, which were a successor to and influenced by the English Arts and Crafts movement. The two-and-a-half story house itself is approximately 4500 sq. ft. and once sat on almost an acre of land facing Oakland Ave., with the address of 1820 Oakland Ave.

The property stayed in the family until it was sold by the son, George A. France. The property was divided and the house was then converted into 8 apartments in 1938 by the Open Bible Church and an apartment building was then built in 1956 on the front lot. The house remained primarily unchanged until April of 2007 when it was purchased by Mike Hildebrand and Maurice Adair. Since April the homeowners have been able to convert it back to a single family home.

The 2008 River Bend Neighborhood Home Tour is September 6 and 7.

The charming green and yellow shingle style Victorian house at 1530 – 9th Street was built in 1897. The home was part of a 9th Street development of three houses by George E. Hallett, including the “mushroom house” at 1330 – 9th Street.

Hallett himself filled the roles of both the architect and the developer for this house, and even lived in the home for a time.

Both Hallett-designed houses are featured on the 2008 River Bend Neighborhood Home Tour, which will be held September 6 and 7.

The home at 1961 Arlington, near the intersection of 6th and Hickman Avenues, was built in 1898 by Herber Wyman.  One of the featured homes on the 2008 River Bend Neighborhood house tour (September 6 and 7), the house is a fine example of the neo-classical style, but visitors also note a strong Prairie School influence.

The house was sold to Charles and Flora May Colby in 1914, when many of the retaining walls along the river where erected, and the adjacent carriage house was converted into an apartment.

After World War Two, as with many other houses in the neighborhood, it was converted into 8 apartments. Many of the home’s owners since its conversion have lived on the premises, helping to preserve the important architectural features of the home.

The restoration of the house began in 1999, and continues today. Curt Sytsma and his wife Ellen King Huntoon are the current owners, and are working on extensive restoration projects.