Which of these would you rather see?

A creative use of walls in the skywalk, like this picture of the skywalk through the Financial Center from Wells Fargo? or	Another bland white wall as recently done for the Des Moines Building skywalk?

As the cold weather season approaches more and more of us will be spending more time in the skywalks getting to and from work, shopping, dinging and running errands. For most of the three miles we have nothing interesting to engage us except for the few lighted billboards that are scattered here and there. So here’s my idea to the powers that be:

• Use the blank white walls as a showcase to display Des Moines centered art or art from local Des Moines area artists

Ideas of what could be put on the walls:

• Murals on the walls, that show case Des Moines History, Des Moines Skyline, or scenes from Iowa or local attractions.
• Display photography groupings, similar to what’s done for the Iowa State Fair photography exhibit.
• Display canvas or mixed media art done by local artist and make the skywalks like an art gallery.
• Local galleries could also sponsor a wall or an empty store front window to display art. There’s a lot of empty store fronts, especially in the Kaleidoscope, why not allow local galleries to hang items in those windows along with the “For Lease” signs, again more foot traffic equals greater opportunity for leasing space. A good example of this is the bottom floor of the Liberty Building, an artist from the Art Dive showcases work in an empty retail front.
• Learning walls, for example, allow local non-profits, like Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Iowa to display items promoting their organization, telling their story in words and pictures.

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With air traffic results in the news lately, I thought it would be a good time to look at what kind of delays there are at the Des Moines International Airport or DSM as well do some simple comparisons between DSM and OMA (Omaha’s airport) in both delay times and airfare costs.

Forbes Magazine recently took a look at the 100 largest airports in the United States in regards to the most time-draining spent in our airports and then ranked each airport in eight categories, plus an overall ranking with a ranking of one being the best and a ranking of 100 being the worst in time drain. I’ve pulled the results for both Des Moines International, but also Omaha’s airport, since we are always being compared to that airport and its airfare costs. Here’s where Des Moines International ranked in each category:

• Security Related Delays - 3rd (Omaha 34th)
• Late Aircraft Related Delays - 25th (Omaha 43rd)
• National Aviation System Related Delays - 33rd (Omaha 46th)
• Cancellation Related Delays - 48th (Omaha 46th)
• Carrier Related Delays - 36th (Omaha 51st)
• Weather Related Delays - 46th (Omaha 54th)
• Percentage of Flights Arrive on Time - 77th (Omaha 67th)
• Percentage of Flights Depart on Time - 75th (Omaha 65th)
• Overall Ranking - 41st (Omaha 55th)

I took four trip examples to see what results I could get. I also figured the following in for gas costs to get from Des Moines to Omaha: Miles 138; Gas Cost $3.38 per gallon, regular, today’s price in Des Moines; MPG: 30 average = $15.55 each way, $31.10 roundtrip. Price does not include parking costs, if any.

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In doing research for the blog, I was amazed at the amount of statistical data that City-Data.com has on the city of Des Moines. You can find almost any statistic related to demographics, income, home sales, etc. on this site. I’ve pulled a few of these stats to highlight some of the information that I found interesting. My focus of course for this piece is on downtown, the 50309 zip code, also keep in mind some of these stats are really dated and may not reflect the recent boom we’ve had in people moving to downtown in the last couple of years.

Demographics

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Downtown Des Moines is currently made up of to six diverse and distinctive urban neighborhoods. Each of the neighborhood’s rough boundaries appear on this map below. Beginning with this post, there will be a series of posts that will include some in-depth information about each of the neighborhoods. Posts will include: a short description of the neighborhood, some links to local restaurants, bars, shops and attractions, as well as a slideshow of pictures from the neighborhood. Today we will begin with the East Village Neighborhood.

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If you didn’t already know it, Google Book Search now includes some titles about Des Moines and Iowa in its online library. Google Book Search, formerly known for a short while as Google Print, is an online tool that searches the full text of books that Google scans, OCRs, and stores in its digital database. Google has an ongoing project where it is scanning approximately 3,000 books a day to add to its library database.

Some books can only be previewed online, others can be read in full. Here’s an excerpt of one book that I found, Beginnings, by a gentleman named Tacitus Hussey.

SOCIAL LIFE OF EARLY DES MOINES - THE NOTABLE HOUSE WARMING
Nearly a quarter of a century after the Redman had taken an unwilling departure from the territory of Iowa, the mansion known as “Terrace Hill,” now occupied by F. M. Hubbell, was built by B. F. Allen at a cost of nearly $250,000.00. ‘While the holiday joys of 1868 were in progress, or earlier, there were rumors that on the fifteenth, an anniversary of the marriage of B. F. Allen and Miss Arethusa West, January 29, 1854, the “Crystal Wedding” would be celebrated at this new and beautiful home, then completed. This information was confided to a few friends; but the news was so good and was such a fruitful topic of conversation that it was not long before the entire village of 7,000 souls was well informed of -the coming event, the date of which was fixed for January 29, 1869; and the female portion of the population were soon busy in overhauling their wardrobes.

You can read this full book at: http://books.google.com/books?id=Z4IUAAAAYAAJ 

I’ve embedded a couple of books here in this post that I also found online that you may like.

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During my daily digg, I came across some outstanding architecture for a new church building in Oakland, California. The building is known as the Cathedral of Christ the Light and was just recently completed. The stunning structure makes beautiful use of glass, fly ash concrete, and wood, but what is the most impressing thing is the incredible use of natural light. This building reminds me just a little of the new Davis Brown Tower. I love awesome architecture, and while we don’t have a church or building that is of this magnitude we do have a very interesting architectural designed church that has recently been restored and that I saw as part of the Sherman Hill’s Doors of the Past Walking Tour last weekend.

The restoration of the First United Methodist Church building was part of the church celebrating its 100th year as home to Des Moines’ oldest congregation. The church, located at 1001 Pleasant Street, was built in Classic Revival style and first dedicated in 1908. The church is known for its dome with the revolving cross overlooks downtown from a hilltop perch just east of Iowa Methodist Medical Center.

The church has a 40-foot wheel of stained glass, known as the Kingman Memorial Window. The interior of the church was repainted with 19 different colors as part of the restoration efforts. Also restored were the eight columns, which represent the congregation’s eight founding families.

Here are some pictures of the church from both the outside and inside as well as a video about the restoration.

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I thought most of you would get a kick out of the photos that activediner.com is using for Des Moines. I hope out of towners don’t get too confused. Here’s shots from two of their articles on Des Moines.

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Who will fill up the 1.5 million square feet of office space that will soon be available in downtown? That’s a question a lot of people are asking. Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield’s headquarters development is moving right along and so is Aviva’s new headquarters out in West Des Moines. We just got the huge new Davis Brown Tower and along with it, their previously vacated office space in the Financial Center.

According to some, this huge space vacancy may affect not only income to downtown property owners but also could raise taxes for homeowners and cut revenue for city services as well as Des Moines Public Schools because more vacancy means decreased commercial property values as well as local condo residents’ home values.

Right now Des Moines receives about $140 million in taxes coming from commercial property owners. If the vacated space is not re-leased soon, that’s a huge impact to our local economy. Right now before these big moves, there’s already an awful lot of empty retail space through out the skywalk, the whole bottom floor of the Bank of America Building, most of buildings along Locust Street between 7th and 6th and in particularly along where I live, the Liberty Building has floors 4, 5, 6, and 7 empty and the Des Moines Building across the street is mostly empty. Didn’t the city or county need new office space or courthouse space? I just don’t get why they don’t lease up some of this space.

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Previously there was a post on Million Dollar Listings talking about what you can buy downtown for a million plus dollars. Now I wanted to tackle the other end of the spectrum to show that there is affordable downtown housing available been at just above $100,000. I think some people would be shocked that you could buy a downtown condo so cheaply, but with the downtown in the economy there are some bargains out there. So don’t buy into to that old theory that only yuppies and retired folks can afford to live downtown.

I did some quick research and found some listings in 50309 that are just right above the $100,000 mark.  

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Lately there has been lots of talk about parking in the news as studies have cities rethinking the downtown parking dilema. What issue? Does more parking available make more people want to be downtown or does less parking make downtown more livable? It is said that parking is about more than drivers’ convenience; it can profoundly affect the look and feel of a city.

Nearly all U.S. cities have requirements for off-street parking. Whenever anything a new office building or condo building is built, a minimum number of parking spaces must be included. Some cities are now considering scrapping those requirements as part of a growing national trend. So, you ask why the change of mind? There is new thinking that offering the freedom to forgo parking will lead to a denser, more walkable, downtown area. Others say that making parking more scarce will only make a city less hospitable, especially for commuters.

Parking requirements — known to planners as “parking minimums” — have been around since the 1950s. The theory is that if buildings don’t provide their own parking, too many drivers will try to park on neighborhood streets. In practice, critics say, the requirements create an excess supply of parking, making it artificially cheap. That, the argument goes, encourages unnecessary driving and makes congestion worse. Those standards also encourage developers to pave unsightly surface lots or build new parking structures instead of inviting storefronts.

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Today is the first day of Fall, so I thought it would be appropriate to take a snapshop look of where we are currently and what is predicted for us as we head into this fall season.

This summer has seen everything from flooding to tornadoes, and only five days above 90, which is very unusual for Des Moines.

The Farmer’s Almanac predicts a tough winter for us. Supposedly we are in for some bone-chilling, colder than average winter with our usual levels of snows, 32-33 inches compared to last year’s 45 inches.

Over the next few weeks I hope to get some pictures posted with the fall leaves. Here’s hoping that fall lasts us well into December and we don’t get snow in October like we did last year.

Gym F/X 418 6th Avenue - Suite 110, Des Moines, Iowa 50309 Phone: 515-288-1111 Website: www.gymfxandtannging.com  Current Gym Hours: Monday - Friday 5am - 9pm Saturday 8am - 5pm Sunday 9am - 1pm Current Tanning Hours: Monday - Thursday 10am - 7pm Saturday - Sunday Closed

Gym F/X Fitness and Tanning is located in the historic Liberty Building on the corner of 6th and Grand in downtown Des Moines. The gym is located on the 1st floor, tanning salon and juice bar is located on the 2nd floor or skywalk level.

Gym Equipment:

40 Pieces Cardio Equipment Cardio Theatre w/Flat Screen Monitors Selectorized Circuit Training (FAST and effective) Strength Equipment - Complete line of Precor strength equipment, 35,000 lbs Olympic Free Weights

Tanning Salon:
6 Bed Tanning Salon Including 3 Stand- Up Units High Pressure Facial Tanning All GYM F/X Members save 15% on tanning session packages. 5 Levels of Tanning Available

Juice Bar/Nutrition Center:
GymF/X offers food to go at there Juice Bar which features APEX meal Replacement Products along with an exclusive line of nutritional APEX supplements that are recommended with your goals and lifestyle in mind.

This gym is perfect for both those that work downtown or live downtown. The gym has a full staff of professional trainers, full-size locker rooms and showers. For more information on the gym contact Doug Van Wyk at 515-288-1111.

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Not sure if you any of watch Bravo TV’s hit real estate show, Million Dollar Listings, the show follows real estate agents based in Hollywood and Malibu who sell condos and homes that have an asking price of more than one million dollars. This show got me thinking, what will a million plus dollars get you in downtown Des Moines? I did some quick research and found five listings in 50309, two in the Whiteline Lofts and three listings in the Equitable Building. Check out what’s currently being offered downtown at over a million dollars.

I was also interested to see what has sold for over $1 million since January 1, 2007, so here you go:

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Yesterday as part of the Doors of the Past - Sherman Hill Walking Tour, I was able to tour the historic Murillo building. The building is currently located at the corner of 16th Street & High Street in the Sherman Hill’s neighborhood. The building had been originally located at 531 14th Street, just three blocks from it’s current location.

The Murillo building was built in 1905 and is a three story, brick and masonry apartment building with six rental units, two per floor. The building was moved to the new site to help make room for Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shields new headquarters. The building’s move took place on March 1st and 2nd of this year and was even filmed for the History Channel and should debut later this year as part of their National Geographic Monster Moves series. I’ve included a couple of short YouTube videos from local videographers below. The move cost over $1 million and took 17 days to prepare for and took about eight hours to go the three and half blocks to its destination. 

The Murillo buildings is currently on the list for nominations to the National Register of Historic Places. According to it’s nomination details, the building is considered an outstanding example of the “flat building”, a new architectural form that was emerging in Des Moines at the turn of the century. The Murillo Flats was orginally dubbed the “McNamara Flats,” but its owners James McNamara changed the building’s name to Murillo Flats to recognize a favorite Spanish painters, Bartolome Esteban Murillo (c. 1617-1682) who was being featured in a Des Moines art exhibition at the time. The word “flats,” which was used in Britain at the time (and today) to describe an apartment building, enjoyed certain popularity in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century, so the building was called the Murillo Flats.

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This morning, me and couple of my friends took the 2008 Doors of the Past Walking Tour in Sherman Hill, Des Moines’ oldest neighborhood. From its beginnings in the 1870s until today, this neighborhood has maintained a prominent place in the city’s heritage and its architecture has earned distinction as Des Moines’ first local historical district in 1982.

Sherman Hill is a neighborhood that has seen a renaissance in the last ten years, but there is still more to do. The pictures I took along the way show some really nice homes and others that are in of desperate attention. According to the neighborhood’s website: There are numerous factors that draw people to Sherman Hill and have helped fuel the renaissance of the neighborhood. Sherman Hill is an “urban” neighborhood that offers a rare concentration of rich architecture and history that can be found few places in the Des Moines metropolitan area. The proximity of Sherman Hill to downtown, the Ingersoll and Cottage Grove Business Districts, and Iowa Methodist Medical Center all contribute to Sherman Hill’s desirability.

Sherman Hill became one of the City’s first recognized neighborhood associations in 1993. In recent years the Sherman Hill Association has succeeded in its efforts to enhance more aspects of quality of life in the neighborhood. That dedication has resulted in many improvements to the area. Among their more notable accomplishments are the addition of historic street lighting, the success of the annual Walking Tour, the preservation of homes slated for demolition in other parts of the city, and reduction in crime, increased property values and numerous rehabilitation projects spearheaded by the residents and the association.

Sherman Hill offers a unique mix of Victorian, Queen Anne, Italianate, Turn-of-the-Century Four Squares, Double Houses, Stick Style and Flemish architecture.

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