So let me tell you right upfront, I’m addicted to Fong’s Pizza and I think you’re going to be too! Just Say’n…

Pizza, according to Donald Trump, is a $32 billion business. Gwen Schlepphorst & her partners are successfully getting their share of that right here in our downtown neighborhood.

Located in the trendy Court Ave. District at 223 4th Street, Fong’s Pizza has taken over the old King Ying Low property (the oldest DSM Chinese restaurant, having served neighbors since the 1940’s.) and put a fabulous contemporary, fun, funky Asian inspiration flare to the historic space keeping much of the “personality” we had all come to know so well over the years.

The décor screams out a mix of Chinese,Oriental, Polynesian & Italian with a 40’s & 50’s feel. Think of a ‘frozen in time’ dive bar with delicious food, great service & tasty tiki drinks that pack a real punch.

Just as people are talking about the delicious food, super service, and easy going environment, they are talking just as much about the great hours which have been needed so badly in the Court District.

• Bar is open 11 -2 seven days a week!
• Kitchen is open 11-2 Sunday through Wednesday
  11-3 Thursday through Saturday
• By The Slice
  They have a rotating pizza schedule! Try their slice, salad, soda lunch special for $5
  11-2 Monday through Friday & 10-close seven days a week.

Once the Downtown Farmers Market begins they will be open with smiles on at 7 a.m. serving you tasty breakfast pizza and breakfast egg rolls. You’re gonna want to make it one of your Saturday. early morning regular stops, guaranteed! Gwen also notes that she looks forward to utilizing fresh ingredients from our local farmers market throughout the summer and of course they always use our local Graziano sausage.

Let’s not forget about those of you who love your happy hour!

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Continuing with our series, Des Moines Picture of the Week, this week’s picture comes from Flickr user Bahama Mama2007 and is titled Rainbow Sculpture.

Darlene takes a lot of great photographs and she says “I like to photograph anything that moves me.”

Check out previous pictures in of our series, Des Moines Picture of the Week.

A couple of weeks ago, the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) advised that Des Moines-area residents increased their use of transit at a rate four times the national growth rate in 2008.

Ridership growth was up 18 percent over ridership levels in 2007. Compare this to the national increase of only 4 percent and you will understand how huge this is. This 4 percent increase resulted in a 52-year ridership record nationwide, according to a report recently released by the American Public Transportation Association.

Now if we can just get our downtown tram built!

We’re ones to explore, get out, find out what’s in our neighborhood, around us, meet who we come across, etc. We, like everyone else wanted to enjoy this fabulous sunny weather, so we set off to hike the woods just north of Grays Lake.

I’d seen a tent or two from Fleur Dr. but nothing like what we came across today. Yes, I know it’s all around us, but these people whether they chose to be in this situation or not are doing their best to make a tragic situation somewhat “normal”. They’re living in our “backyard” per say and don’t necessarily need to be moved, but rather better understood. God forbid, any of us lose our facebook address and land in a situation such as this.

It DOES happen and is not so very far off for many people…yes, some of them our friends, family, etc. I don’t think we realize just how many people (single men, women, and yes families with children) are literally on the verge of this. If you think I’m wrong, well think again….seriously, it could be your neighbor or the person sitting next to you at work or in the unemployment line.

If you have a job, be grateful, be very grateful. If you have a roof over your head be grateful. It may not be there in the blink of an eye. Before you throw that .05 can away this time..THINK! Be compassionate, do your best to truly understand others situations…..more than anything….know YOU are the difference…YOU can be the difference! YOUR actions, YOUR comments make the difference everyday!

Last Saturday I was on an afternoon photo-walk exploring areas of downtown that I haven’t traversed before. I decided to take a walk down Mulberry Street heading west. I passed quite a few humongous parking garages, there’s EMC’s, City of Des Moines, Wells Fargo Financial’s, and the newest member Nationwide/Allied’s huge garage. Maybe this street should be renamed Mulberry Park instead of Mulberry Street.

Right after you pass the new Nationwide/Allied garage, there’s a stop sign at the corner of 13th Street and Mulberry and from there to the river looks like a dumping ground that someone forgot about. Take a good look at the few pictures I took. I don’t understand, if we are only one block from the river, why wouldn’t this block be turned into a small park or something. Just clear the rubbage away and maybe add some picnic tables or benches and those working on the west side of downtown could walk down to the river bank for lunch.

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Business: AllPlay (formerly InPlay)
Phone: 515.333.5050
Website: www.allplaydm.com

Hours of Operation:
Sunday-Thursday 11am-11pm
Friday-Saturday 11am-2am
(First Floor Kids Game Area and Rock Wall Closes at 12am)

AllPlay Entertainment complex offers 100 virtual reality, arcade and classic games, along with a three-story rock-climbing wall. Full sports bar called the Stadium Grill and Bar, and conference facility. There modern entertainment and gaming center includes over 100 of the most popular virtual reality, interactive, sports, action and classic games all spread across two floors. As well as the tallest Rock Climbing Wall in Des Moines!

Every Tuesday and Wednesday guests can enjoy half price games all day long and can check out games such as: Mad Wave Motion Theatres, Big Buck Hunter, Time Crisis 4, Highway 66 Mini Bowling, Nothin’ But Net Basketball, Quarterback Challenge as well as timeless classics like billiards, air hockey, skeeball and pinball. There’s even exciting prize redemption games for kids.

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Continuing with our series, Des Moines Picture of the Week, this week’s picture comes from Flickr user Channing Womack and is titled Alien Terrarium.

“I made my first visit to Des Moines this year, and was only in town for an evening. I really enjoyed the city: it seems
to have a very outgoing and friendly atmosphere. There were far too many things to see in one visit (never even had a
chance to look *inside* the State Historical Building). I’m sure to return, and look forward to spending more time
exploring..” Channing Womack.

Check out previous pictures in of our series, Des Moines Picture of the Week.

The Twitter community continues to grow at a very rapid pace. In this post I wanted to take a look at some of the local downtown businesses and organizations that are using Twitter to get their message out. Here’s a sample of those.

Join your downtown neighbors at the DNA Social, Thursday, March 26th, 5 to 8 p.m.

Meet us at Django (210 10th Street) or Catch the trolley to Django!

We will begin there at 5 p.m. to enjoy their happy hour, then see the sights of Downtown on the Trolley before making another stop at The Grand Piano Bistro! (506 East Grand Ave.)

Can I sign up for membership at this time? Yes, you can also sign up via paypal on our website at www.desmoinesdna.com

Should you need a current copy of all the perks offered by our fabulous business members please email me at geturban411@gmail.com and I’ll get you a copy. If you’d like to become a business member and have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me anytime at 515-314-5701.

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This weekend is all about Hair Spray, as the award winning musical returns to the Civic Center for three nights. The people of Des Moines will be swept away to 1960s Baltimore in this smash hit musical, piled bouffant-high with laughter and romance – and enough deliriously tuneful songs to fill a nonstop platter party.

If you missed it the last time it was here, make sure you check it out this time! It has a great story line, set in 1962—the ’50s are out and change is in the air. Baltimore’s Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, has only one passion—to dance. She wins a spot on the local TV dance program, “The Corny Collins Show” and, overnight, is transformed from outsider to irrepressible teen celebrity. But can a plus-size trendsetter in dance and fashion vanquish the program’s reigning princess, win the heart of heartthrob Link Larkin, and integrate a television show without denting her ‘do? Only in HAIRSPRAY! Welcome to the ’60s!

This got me wondering what life was like in Des Moines in the 1960’s. So doing a simple Google search, here’s what I found:

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Today, MSNBC.com had an article about downsizing your life from a major metro metropolitan city to a mid-size city for a better quality of life.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29723949/

They contain only 20 percent of the U.S. population, but midsize metropolitan areas can be an appealing alternative to life in the big city….The study compared the 124 midsize metros in 20 statistical categories, using the latest U.S. Census Bureau data. The highest scores went to well-rounded places with healthy economies, light traffic, moderate costs of living, impressive housing stocks and strong educational systems.

These are the top 10 midsize metros in terms of quality of life:

1. Provo, Utah
2. Boulder, Colo.
3. Madison, Wis.
4. Bridgeport-Stamford, Conn.
5. Ann Arbor, Mich.
6. Ogden, Utah
7. Fort Collins, Colo.
8. Boise, Idaho
9. Colorado Springs, Colo.
10. Des Moines, Iowa

….Des Moines is a joy for commuters fed up with the hassles of big-city traffic. The typical Des Moines adult takes 19.7 minutes to get from home to his or her workplace, compared to more than half an hour in major metros such as New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Continuing with our series, Des Moines Picture of the Week, this week’s picture comes from Flickr user pictureIOWA and is a view from inside the EMC Building.

“Between downtown Des Moines and Adel, I’ve been getting a lot of use out of my camera. They’re awesome places, full of life. As for why I take photographs of Des Moines; it’s a beautiful city! Every time I go downtown, I always notice
something new; something different. I think it’s important for anyone with a camera to help others notice the beauty
of the buildings/places/things they may walk by every day and never really notice.”

Check out previous pictures in of our series, Des Moines Picture of the Week.

Would you like to submit a post or article for publication here on Living Downtown Des Moines.com? If you have a passion for living in downtown Des Moines or just experiencing the many things to do when visiting downtown, we’d love to hear from you. Sharing your own experiences with others can be very rewarding. William Shakespeare said it best, “What is the city but the people.”

So, the rules to be a guest blogger are really simple, a few article guidelines are listed below as well as the five-step process to getting your post published.

Article Guidelines

• Your post may be anywhere between 150 and 1500 words in length.
• Author bio should be no more than 50 words or 250 characters in length.
• Affiliate links to your own blog are encouraged.

Submission Process

1. Register for an account, if you don’t already have one or log in.
2. Write your post, you can write it in multiple sessions, saved as a draft.
3. Edit your post to your liking.
4. Submit your post for review when ready.
5. Your post is queued for review and for publishing.

We look forward to hearing from you and to sharing your experiences about Downtown Des Moines with our readers.

A couple of weeks ago we did a post on Downtown Graffiti, and we talk about graffiti, people tend to only think of graffiti as being necessarily illegal. While that may be the case much of the time, not all graffiti or sometimes referred to as guerilla art breaks the law.

Many urban artists manage to be creatively but legally subversive. Here are some engaging types and works of visual art that may prompt some thought or controversy, all without getting the artist in trouble.

I personally, would love to see more of this type of art downtown. I think it adds to the beauty and interest of downtown.

Yesterday, while reading some new forum posts at AbsoluteDSM.com, I came across a post where someone had found a link to an old video about the study of social life in small urban spaces. This got me thinking about some of the re-design work that is currently in the planning stages for Nollen Plaza.

What you will see below is a 10-minute clip of an hour-long video called The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces. The clip shows an analysis of the plaza of the Seagram Building in New York City and what makes it so effective as a small urban space.

The video was adapted from a book The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces by William H. Whyte.