River Bend Neighborhood

The upcoming River Bend Neighborhood Home Tour is featured in a short video on the Welcome Home Magazine website. Carolyn Jenison, whose home is one of the six on this year’s tour, is interviewed about the history of the area, and shares the details of the tour.

The Welcome Home television show airs at 11 am Sundays on KCWI (channel 23, or channel 9 on Mediacom cable).

Watch the video at the Welcome Home website.

The River Bend Neighborhood Home Tour is this weekend, September 6 and 7, 2008. Hours are Saturday 10am - 4pm, Sunday 11 am - 4 pm. TIckets are $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 5 - 17, and can be purchased at the Wherry II building, 1612 - 6th Avenue (next door to Something Good restaurant). The tour ticket price also includes trolley transportation from the ticket office to all six homes on the tour.

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.

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.

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.

The home at 509 Franklin Avenue was built in 1891.  The architect for this building and its neighbor at 409 Franklin, was C.C. Cross & Company, who designed the home in the style of a Queen Anne Victorian, with “stick and ball” woodwork in the entry room.

The longest tenure of any occupants of the home were E. Merill Fegtley and his wife, Lulu.  They purchased the home in 1918, at which time they secured a mortgage in the amount of $3,000, and maintained ownership of the home until 1982.  Since 1982, there have been three owners of the home, all of whom have worked at the still-ongoing process of restoration.

The Franklin Avenue home is one of the stops on this year’s River Bend Neighborhood Home Tour, September 6 and 7, 2008.

The River Bend Neighborhood boasts a wide range of architectural styles. From the Victorian houses with their ornate gingerbread trim, to the Prairie Style homes with their organic symmetry, there is a little something for everyone.

This year’s River Bend Neighborhood Homes Tour focuses attention on Des Moines architects at the turn of the 20th century. There will be six houses on the tour this year, showcasing the work of three different architects.

Date & Time: Saturday, September 6th, 10 am to 4 pm
Sunday, September 7th, 11 am to 4 pm.

Tickets: $10 for adults & $5 for individuals under 17
Tickets available for purchase at the Wherry 2 Building, 1612 6th Avenue
(at the corner of 6th and College, right next to Something Good Restaurant).

Parking: available same location as ticket sales, behind the Wherry 2 Building, 1612 6th Avenue
(at the corner of 6th and College, right next to Something Good Restaurant)

Transportation to featured homes will be provided.

*Host Homes: 1330 9th St., home of Carolyn Jenison & Angela Thorne
410 Franklin Ave., home of Mike Hildebrand & Maurice Adair.

Lunch: There will be snacks at both Host Homes available for purchase. Also, the restaurants on 6th Ave. will be open for lunch both days.