River Bend Neighborhood

McHenry Park Trail Connection Public Meeting

August 26, 2009

WHAT: The City of Des Moines Park and Recreation and Engineering Departments will hold a public meeting regarding a possible new trail connection extending from the Neal Smith Recreational Trail north into McHenry Park. This option is brought about due to the Army Corps of Engineers’ recently-proposed layout of the Birdland levee.

Des Moines residents and recreational trail users, particularly those in the McHenry Park, Highland Park, Oak Park, Birdland Park and Union Park neighborhoods are encouraged to attend to hear options and share their opinions, as well as any concerns, about this possible new trail route and the associated benefits and impacts to the park.

McHenry Park is located at 1012 Oak Park Avenue.

WHEN:    Wednesday, August 26, 2009
6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

WHO:   Des Moines Park and Recreation Department
Des Moines Engineering Department

WHERE:   Polk County North Senior Center
Park Fair Mall, Second and Euclid Avenues
Des Moines, Iowa 50309

From Diana Rezac:

River Bend Social

Tuesday, August 25 at 6:00 PM

Sambetti’s
1430 2nd Avenue
245 9780

Please RSVP to dkrezac [at sign] msn [dot] com.

This year’s River Bend Neighborhood Home Tour will be Saturday, September 12, 10 am – 4 pm, and Sunday, September 13, 11 am – 4 pm. The houses on display run from one end of the neighborhood to the other, along the historic Ninth Street streetcar route.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 6 – 17. Children aged 5 and under are free.  Tickets can be purchased in advance at Dahl’s at 35th and Ingersoll Avenue, or on the day of the tour at the United Way building, 1111 9th St.

1224 9th Street

The home at 1224 9th Street was constructed in 1876, and served as the boyhood home of John Ruan, founder of Ruan Transportation Corporation.

The home was also the original headquarters location of Ruan Transportation, which is now one of the top ten privately-owned transportation service companies in the country with 162 locations, 5,600 employees and 4,500 professional drivers.

By the mid 1990’s, the house had been abandoned and had fallen into great disrepair.

In 2004, retired city planner and historic preservation activist Bob Mickel approached the River Bend Neighborhood Association with an offer to give the home to the Neighborhood Association. The one wish attached to the gift was to use the site to pay homage to John Ruan’s mother Rachel.

The original concept was to have a museum on the first floor of the home, honoring Mr. Ruan’s mother and showcasing her love for gardens, along with Ruan Transportation history.  The second floor would serve as the Neighborhood Association’s offices and a place for the neighborhood to house historic materials.

In January 2008, three homeless individuals entered the property and took out portions of the front staircase to burn in the fireplace (which was inoperable).  A fire started in the walls of the structure and destroyed nearly 60% of the roof.  At that time, the Neighborhood Association had a painful decision to make – tear down the badly damaged structure, or find the money to repair the roof before further damage occurred.  Individuals from the association submitted an emergency grant request to the state to preserve the structure until additional funding could be arranged.

Realizing the dream of a museum and Association offices had disappeared in the fire, the Association partnered with the city of Des Moines and Neighborhood Finance Corporation to fund restoration of the property.  Through this partnership we now have a beautiful single family home, a historic structure saved, and a great cornerstone at the entrance to the historic West Ninth Streetcar District.

This home will be open for touring during the 2009 River Bend Home Tour, Saturday September 12th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday September 13th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  This year’s theme is “West 9th streetcar line Historic District.”

Monday, August 10
7:00 pm
Salvation Army on 6th Avenue
North Door
From Diana Rezac: “This is the time to hear about the positive steps are neighborhood is taking.”

1156 9th Street

Bearing bright blue paint, the Victorian at 1156 9th Street stands out as one of the most distinct homes in Cheatom Park.

Built in 1888, the home was restored in 2009 by Don L. Curry and Justin W. Hancock. The two renovated the house from top to bottom, including opening up the two lower porches and rebuilding the home’s upper balcony.

Some of the home’s most notable features include the original stained-glass windows, carved main staircase, bathrooms with heated-tile floors, and extensive gardens surrounding it on the quarter-acre lot.

This home will be open for touring during the 2009 River Bend Home Tour, Saturday September 12th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday September 13th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  This year’s theme is “West 9th streetcar line Historic District.”

1429 9th Street

Built in 1896 by John A. Lawless, an Irish immigrant who came to Iowa via Buffalo, New York with his wife Mary and their two daughters.

Mr. Lawless worked in real estate and was also a partner with the Hawkeye Insurance Company. He ran on the Democratic party ticket for Polk County Treasurer in 1916.

The house has 5 bedrooms, 2 parlors, library, dining room, kitchen and two bathrooms. It has 5 stained glass windows, all original, except for 2 that were stolen and replaced with windows from a former church on Forest Ave.

There are 3 fireplaces in the house.  Two are original, but the more ornate fireplace front in the entryway was stolen along with the stained glass windows.

The house is currently in the process of being restored and redecorated.  The most recent project was finishing the wide-plank yellow pine floors in the front parlors.  Overall, progress on the first floor has moved along well in the first year and included wallpaper removal and paint and the second floor’s progress will likely come this winter.

Future projects include removal of exterior staircase, landscaping, rebuilding a carriage house, demolishing the 3rd floor 3-bedroom apartment and restoring it to its original ballroom and restoring the house’s original 36 wood windows.

In the Summer of 2008, the house’s HVAC was upgraded to use a heat pump and converted to all electric.  This added high efficiency heating and cooling to the home.  While the initial investment was high the ongoing energy bills are less than one-third of what they were when the home was purchased (without air conditioning).

This home will be open for touring during the 2009 River Bend Home Tour, Saturday September 12th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday September 13th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  This year’s theme is “West 9th streetcar line Historic District.”

1328 – 9th Street

Annie Laurie’s House was built in 1890 as a wedding gift for Anna B. Call and her husband William.  The Call family lived in the home from 1890 until 1902 when the house was purchased by Thomas and Laura Farquharson.  Thomas was an engineer for the City of Des Moines specializing in streetcars and probably found it quite convenient to be on the 9th Street Line.

During the bitterly cold winter of 1909-1910 it is presumed that Thomas and Laura went south to his native Kentucky.  There is evidence that during this time the house had extensive exterior and interior remodeling.  The original architectural style was Queen Anne with several exterior porches on all floors; these were removed or reconfigured during this remodeling.  The resulting exterior appearance more closely resembeled a Shingle style house, which was more in vogue at that time.

Thomas passed away in 1936 at the age of 75.  Laura, or Annie Laurie as her friends called her, continued to live in her home until shortly before her death in 1968 at the age of 95.  Their son Robert preceded her in death, but she was well looked after by her nephew and her many friends at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, where she had been a charter member when the church was originally located on 8th Street.

This home will be open for touring during the 2009 River Bend Home Tour, Saturday September 12th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday September 13th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  This year’s theme is “West 9th streetcar line Historic District.”