Self-guided Sightseeing Tour #9 in Des Moines, United States

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Tour Facts

Number of sights 13 sights
Distance 4.8 km
Ascend 0 m
Descend 0 m

Experience Des Moines in United States in a whole new way with our self-guided sightseeing tour. This site not only offers you practical information and insider tips, but also a rich variety of activities and sights you shouldn't miss. Whether you love art and culture, want to explore historical sites or simply want to experience the vibrant atmosphere of a lively city - you'll find everything you need for your personal adventure here.

Individual Sights in Des Moines

Sight 1: Hoyt Sherman Place

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Hoyt Sherman Place, the home of Hoyt Sherman, was built in 1877 and is located in Des Moines, Iowa.

Wikipedia: Hoyt Sherman Place (EN), Heritage Website

375 meters / 4 minutes

Sight 2: The Lexington

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Lexington or The Lexington may refer to:

Wikipedia: The Lexington (EN), Heritage Website

185 meters / 2 minutes

Sight 3: F.A. Benham House

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The F.A. Benham House, also known as the Stoner House and the Barquist House, is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Built in 1884, the two-story structure features wood-frame construction, a brick foundation, and decorative details that were influenced by the Stick Style of architecture. Its significance is found in its late Victorian design that is exemplified in the Eastlake style. It can be seen in the building's massing, roof's steep pitch, and front porch's spindlework. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. The house shares the historic designation with the frame barn and the Victorian cast iron fence and gate that runs in front of the house.

Wikipedia: F.A. Benham House (EN), Heritage Website

385 meters / 5 minutes

Sight 4: Maish House

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The Maish House is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. George H. Maish was involved with a coal company and bank in his native Pennsylvania before he and his family relocated to Des Moines in 1869. While here he was a partner with his brother-in-law in a drug firm, in banking, and insurance. He had this house built in 1882. It calls attention to Maish as a prosperous 19th-century businessman, and its high-quality Victorian craftsmanship. The two-story frame structure was built in the Italianate style with Eastlake details, especially on the inside. It includes a burglar alarm/servants' call box which is still operative. The exterior features a wrap around porch, a hip roof, metal cresting on the ridge, various gables that are filled in with glass, bracketed eaves, and three corbelled chimneys. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

Wikipedia: Maish House (EN), Heritage Website

105 meters / 1 minutes

Sight 5: Henry Wallace House

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The Henry Wallace House is an historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was the home of Henry Wallace who was an advocate for agricultural improvement and reform. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing property in the Sherman Hill Historic District in 1979 and it has been individually listed since 1993.

Wikipedia: Henry Wallace House (EN), Website, Heritage Website

1160 meters / 14 minutes

Sight 6: Naylor House

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The Naylor House is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Thomas Naylor was born in England and became a prominent grocer in Des Moines. He had this two-story brick Victorian house built in 1869. It is believed to have been designed by Des Moines architect William Foster. The house features an irregular plan, a combination gable-hip roof, two Carpenter Gothic wood porches, a bay window, pre-cast cement window hoods in an Eastlake design, paired roof brackets, and cornice returns on the gable ends. It remained in the Naylor family for almost 100 years. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Wikipedia: Naylor House (EN), Heritage Website

1032 meters / 12 minutes

Sight 7: William W. and Elizabeth J. Ainsworth House

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The William W. and Elizabeth J. Ainsworth House, also known as the Catholic Worker House and the Dingman House, is an historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Ainsworth was a Des Moines businessman who was engaged in various professional occupations. His wife Elizabeth took title to this property in 1886, and they built this 21⁄2-story, frame, Queen Anne house in what was then the suburban community of North Des Moines. It features a hip roof, intersecting gables, a front porch, an enclosed porch in the back, and 2-story bay windows on the south and east elevations. Built as a single-family dwelling, it is now a half-way house for social services operated by the Catholic Worker Movement. The house calls attention to the increased importance of North Des Moines as a residential neighborhood for business and professional people in the late 19th-century Des Moines area. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

Wikipedia: William W. and Elizabeth J. Ainsworth House (EN), Heritage Website

97 meters / 1 minutes

Sight 8: F.E. Haley Double House

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The F.E. Haley Double House, also known as the Gordon Apartments, is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. This double house is significant as being one of the first of this kind of building type built in the Des Moines area. The double house was developed in this area starting in the Victorian era. This 2½-story, brick Colonial Revival was built in 1897 by Felix E. Haley. He managed the building, but never lived here, suggesting he had it built for rental/investment purposes. The building features a symmetrical facade, brick in several colors and textures, and a sloping flat roof. While it originally had a full-length front porch, this one is not the original. The four lunette-shaped windows in the frieze feature shield-shaped panes. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

Wikipedia: F.E. Haley Double House (EN), Heritage Website

168 meters / 2 minutes

Sight 9: The Newlawn

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The New Lawn is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. This three-story, brick structure was completed in 1915. It features seven units, an U-shaped plan, a symmetrical facade with projecting wings, polychrome brick veneer, a series of quadruple ribbon windows, and a flat roof. The building is located on Sixth Avenue, which by the turn of the 20th century had become a major route utilized by vehicular traffic and streetcar lines. Its proximity to this transportation corridor illustrates the emergence of higher and denser residential use in this area of Des Moines. The apartment building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

Wikipedia: The New Lawn (Des Moines, Iowa) (EN), Heritage Website

331 meters / 4 minutes

Sight 10: Charles H. and Lena May Weitz House

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The Charles H. and Lena May Weitz House is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. This 1½-story frame dwelling features a gable-front-and-wing configuration, a front porch located in the el of the facade, a single-story bay window on the south elevation, a dormer window on the facade, and steeply pitched roofs. Behind the house is a two-story, brick outbuilding. It is one of the few brick out buildings in the neighborhood. Both were constructed about 1891 by Charles H. Weitz for his home and his workshop. He was a partner and elder son of the founder of Charles Weitz & Sons, which was a prominent Des Moines construction firm in the late 19th and early 20th-century. During his time with the company, Charles H. Weitz "introduced modern methods of construction to this family business, thereby assuring its potential for growth." The Weitz Company grew to become a nationally recognized full-service general contractor. The house and outbuilding were listed together on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

Wikipedia: Charles H. and Lena May Weitz House (EN), Heritage Website

208 meters / 2 minutes

Sight 11: Byron A. Beeson House

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The Byron A. Beeson House, also known as Mission Temple Academy, is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Built c. 1890, the 2½-story structure features balloon frame construction, a complex roof system, and wrap-around front porch. Its flared cornice is considered unusual. It was originally a single-family dwelling that later became and education facility associated with the Church of God in Christ. It is also associated with Byron A. Beeson who served as Treasurer of Iowa from 1891 to 1895, and as Adjutant General of the Iowa National Guard around the same time. The house's significance is derived from its location in suburban North Des Moines and its complex roof system. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. A stable along the alley behind the house shares the historic designation.

Wikipedia: Byron A. Beeson House (EN), Heritage Website

432 meters / 5 minutes

Sight 12: Susie P. Turner Double House

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The Susie P. Turner Double House is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. This two-story duplex features a symmetrical facade, brick in various colors, decorative cast stone, and a fullwidth front porch that is supported by three brick columns. Built in 1914, its significance is its combination of Prairie School architecture and American Craftsman styling. At the time it was constructed the double house was still a somewhat uncommon building type in Des Moines. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

Wikipedia: Susie P. Turner Double House (EN), Heritage Website

367 meters / 4 minutes

Sight 13: Rev. R.W. and Fannie E. Keeler House

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The Rev. R.W. and Fannie E. Keeler House, also known as the Henry C. Borzo House, is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The house is significant for its being one of the best examples in Des Moines of the attic balcony gable subtype of the Stick Style. It was built by local contractor-builder Detwiler and Bedford in 1889 as speculative housing. Most residential construction in Des Moines was in small developments between about 1880 and 1941, and this house was a part of one such development. This 2½-story frame structure shows its Stick Style influence with a hip and gabled roof, decorative trussed attic balconies that are supported by large decorative brackets, wide bracketed overhanging eaves, and wood clapboard walls with decorative patterns of horizontal boards. The property also contains a barn from the same time period, but it has been significantly altered over the years and now serves as a garage. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

Wikipedia: Rev. R.W. and Fannie E. Keeler House (EN), Heritage Website

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