River Bend Neighborhood

Due to technical difficulties, tickets for this week’s River Bend Holiday Home Tour will *not* be available via IowaTix.com. Instead, attendees can purchase tickets for the festive three-home event at 1429 – 9th Street, one of the houses on this year’s tour.

The tour organizers apologize for any confusion this change may have caused.

The Holiday Tour will be this Thursday, December 3, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm, and features three lavishly decorated homes on Ninth Street in the River Bend Neighborhood. Gourmet hors d’oeuvres and holiday desserts will be served, and live musical entertainment wil accompany tour-goers.

Hope to see you there!

Mark your calendars and plan to attend the upcoming River Bend Holiday Home Tour, Thursday, December 3 and Friday, December 4, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Houses include 1330, 1334, and 1429 9th Street; parking will be available at 9th and Forest.

Come enjoy the sights and sounds of the holidays in these warm and inviting houses, which were once home to some of Des Moines’ most prominent families in Des Moines around the turn of the last century.

Hors d’oeuvres provided at each house, along with live entertainment by local talent.

Tickets are available at $25.00 per person, or $40.00 per couple.

Tickets can be purchased at Dahl’s at 35th and Ingersoll, or at iowatix.com, or by sending a check or money order to RiverBend Neighborhood Association, P. O. Box 408, Des Moines, IA 50302.  Tickets ordered via mail will be available at Will Call at any of the homes on the evening of the tour.

The 2009 River Bend Home Tour is this weekend -  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 the Dahl’s grocery store at 35th and Ingersoll Avenue, or on the days of the tour at the United Way building, 1111 9th St.

The six-house tour route is an easy walk up and down a tree-lined segment of 9th Street. In addition, DART will be honoring our tour tickets for complementary rides along the tour route. Buses run every hour on Saturday and Sunday.

1631 9th Street

This Queen Anne bungalow was constructed circa 1910.  The home is listed as a “contributing structure” in the West 9th Streetcar Line Historic District, a National Register historic district.

Soon after construction was completed on the 1631 9th Street home, the lot was subdivided and a similar house was built in its “back yard,” facing Washington Avenue.

The house has undergone several additions and alterations, including a tiny enclosed garage (where the current back porch is located) and a small bedroom addition on the back.

Both homes have undergone periods of vacancy and deterioration in recent years.

When Neighborhood Finance Corporation acquired the property at 1631 9th Street, the back building was in very poor condition.  The basement stairway had fallen in, and the foundation walls were bowing.  It was determined that something needed to be done with that house in order to “complete” the renovation of the home at 1631 9th Street.  Accordingly, the back property was acquired, and the house moved across the alley to a lot directly facing 8th Street.

The home has several unique features including a curved porch column, a large central fireplace in the living room, along with much of the original hardwood flooring, baseboards, and architectural trim.

The substantial renovation scope included correcting all functional obsolescence issues in the kitchen, bathroom, back bedroom, basement access, and bedrooms. The fully renovated home includes: (more…)

1510 9th Street

The home at 1510 9th st is known to many in the area as “the farm house”. Believed to of been built sometime around 1870, the house sat in the midst of what was a large farm and orchard.

At some point, an addition was built, almost doubling the size of the home, and adding a nice curved staircase and landing.

After WW II, like many homes in the area, the house was turned into a boarding house. It had 4 small apartments with kitchens, and apartments on each floor shared a bathroom. The house stayed like this until 2004, when Ralph Henderson bought the home. Henderson had the brick exterior tucked and started on demolition inside.

Later in 2004, Dorothy Hecht and Chad VandeLune bought the house and continued with demolition and started renovation of the property. Doing most of the work themselves, progress has been slow but very rewarding. Some of the home’s features include large windows, high ceilings, a curved staircase and pine floors.

This house is one of the homes featured on the 2009 River Bend Home Tour which 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.

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.”

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.”