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Here’s a video tour of the Robert D Ray Asian Gardens that I took yesterday evening using the new iPhone 3GS. I hope you enjoy.
The last Saturday of every month through September, shoppers now have a new venue, at least from 9am to 2pm that day. Market Day, a new a monthly market for people who want to sell or buy recycled and reclaimed objects and original art, takes place in a 120-year-old East Village warehouse at 118 S.E. Fourth St., south of Court Avenue.
Vendors who have refinished, repurposed or antique items or original art may request a spot in the market. Vendors will pay $20 per event. No commissions are charged, but vendors must be approved in advance.
Shoppers should expect to bring their own bags for small purchases.Two additional days are planned for October and a Black Friday sale will be Nov. 27. More information is available at www.marketstreetmediafoundry.com.
Let me begin with saying that I always try to be as positive as a person as possible, but I think in order for us to grow as a community, sometimes criticism is necessary. I will try to keep this story to just the facts as best as I can.
I had been looking forward to the advertised Historic East Village Holiday Home Tour for a couple of weeks. I convinced my friend Brian to come along since neither of us had really toured the housing opportunities in the East Village. The flyer for the event promised “Experience contemporary urban living as residents decorate their lofts for the Holidays.” I printed the map from their website, and at 2pm, the starting time indicated on the flyer, Brian and I set out to tour the six locations indicated on the map.
We parked our car at the corner of East Locust and East 4th, bundled up to brave the low 20s temperatures and started our tour at the SOHO Lofts. When walking down Locust Street we were looking for some Open House signs for the SOHO Lofts, but didn’t see any, but we found the entrance to the SOHO right down the block from the Village Bean. We were greeted at the elevator by a nice gentleman that explained we would be looking at 3 lofts today, two from residents and one unoccupied. So far so good. The first loft we looked at was one of the smaller ones with a nice resident, but I don’t really recall the unit being decorated for the Holidays. Then we went up a floor to a larger unit, this one was nice and included a Christmas tree. Then the tour continued to an unfinished unit out in the courtyard. Honestly, neither of us were that impressed with the SOHO project, but that’s why there is variety downtown, something for everyone.
This weekend, ST Howard Development and the Historic East Village Association is hosting a a holiday home tour on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday’s event runs from 4pm to 6pm and Sunday’s event runs from 2pm to 4pm.
By visiting participating lofts you can not only experience contemporary urban living all decorated up for the holidays, up also register to win gifts and specials from East Village shops and restaurants.
Participating in the Home Tour are:
I grew up in the suburbs of Des Moines, and after too many long drives back to Waukee from a night out, I decided to move downtown. I’ve lived downtown since the fall of 2005, and haven’t regretted it.
While I work clear out on the western side of West Des Moines, I really don’t mind the commute. It’s a reverse commute that takes about 20 minutes.
Living downtown is awesome because there always seems to be things available to do that aren’t too far away from where I live. There are shops, dining, entertainment, and fitness opportunities available within the downtown area. Having these cultural amenities near me was a big selling point when I chose to live here. While living in the suburbs, everything was really spread out, and the houses were practically the same. I never really met the neighbors, and my car was a necessity to do anything outside of the home. Downtown offers interesting architectural elements and plenty of things to look at while going on a walk, jog, bike ride, or even just looking out the window.
Since moving downtown, I have lived in three neighborhoods: Downtown Core, East Village, and Western Gateway. Downtown Core offered me protection from the elements when I used the Skywalk system to travel around to my destinations. Living in the East Village was a blast, and I felt really connected to the city when I lived above locally owned shops and hung out with the shop owners. So far, living in Western Gateway has offered me quick access to Gray’s Lake, the public library, and Western Gateway Park. While each neighborhood has its own unique features and charm, they unite as downtown. Kinda weird but at times, I feel that downtown is a city within a city. Within this city I can find most of what I need on a day-to-day basis, and that’s why I live downtown.
The list for Des Moines’ most endangered buildings is in and three of the seven are located in downtown Des Moines. The Des Moines Rehabbers Club sought public nominations this past summer and selected seven buildings that represent a variety of styles and ages. Rehabbers Club organizer Steve Wilke-Shapiro, who coordinated the nominations, said the seven buildings “have individually compelling tales.”
Below are three that are located in downtown, two are in the Sherman Hill neighborhood and one is in the East Village.
• The 1893 Sherman Hill mansion at 692 17th St. burned in 1988 and has been under reconstruction since.
Historic East Village is exploring the opportunities to begin a community urban garden, but before starting they are trying to gauge interest. They are currently conducting a survey over the next month that will help them determine what type of garden is desired, space needs, fees, location, commitment to maintenance and volunteer needs.
The group is currently working with Des Moines Parks & Recreation Department and the “built-in” community gardening program. The first task is to get some survey results from both downtown residents and downtown workers.
Based on the level of interst from the survey results, the first first hurdle will be land acquisition. This is where DM Parks & Rec comes in. There are a few city-owned parks in the area in which a portion of the space could be used for a garden. The two most promising are Cohen Park (which is somewhere on Hartford, but I haven’t yet scoped it out) and Witmer Park off E. 6th just south of the exit ramp. Security, lighting and water availability are the next hurdles. Again, the survey will help determine how many people are interested in participating in the garden, which will then determine how much land will bel needed; and the availability of utilities will help pinpoint the spot.
This idea stemmed from providing East Village residents with the opportunity to garden since one of the things you give up when you move downtown is your yard. But the ideas since have proved endless possibilities. Anyone will be welcome to use the garden – downtown workers, employees, visitors… it doesn’t matter. The groups hope is to hold gardening workshops/classes; planting and harvest parties; and other events to build community spirit.
Timeline: Now that the survey is out, they will gather responses through mid-November, then meet with the City again. If all goes well, they will have land identified by February 2009, rental contracts out by March, and land preparation underway in April before planting in May/June. They will also be working with genus landscape architects on soil testing (since this garden may be located in a warehouse district, who knows what chemicals have seeped into the ground in the last 100 years) as well as layout/design.
You can compelte the survey at:
http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e2dk87s1fm0xqk17/start
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.
If you are not aware, there is now a horse and carriage service on Saturday nights downtown in Court Avenue area of the East Village. A couple from Winterset recently started this service as their possible retirement project, but quickly found out it would be a great business venture. Judy and Jim Ellis offer carriage rides for up to six passengers in their white vis-a-vis carriage pulled by their Belgin horse named Lucy. Even though cold weather will be beginning soon they plan to offer rides all year long, weather permitting, of course. Also there should be a holiday ride schedule coming up.
They also offer ride on Sundays and Tuesday evenings on the square in Winterset or our available for hire for special occasions. You can contact them at 515-462-4622 or visit their website.
In the future can you imagine a light rail system running down Walnut Street from the Western Gateway Park area into the East Village? The City of Des Moines is trying to determine its feasibility. Reports show that a Nebraska firm, HDR or Omaha, has been hired to study the idea. The study will look at cost, type of light rail, routes, infrastructure needs, and time line. There report is due back by spring 2009.
This proposal is the first step of many to make improvements downtown based on a plan to improve Des Moines even more. The heart of the plan is to connect the major pieces of downtown, from the Iowa Events Center to Principal Park, and from the Meredith Corp. to the Capitol.
ArtStop is a two-day celebration of the performing and visual arts in the Des Moines area. This will be the first-ever annual event connecting the Des Moines metro’s many cultural centers’ galleries, museums, performing arts centers and artists’ studios. This year’s event will take place on Friday, September 5th from 5pm to 9pm and again on Saturday, September 6th, from 11am to 7pm.
Participating galleries, businesses, restaurants, non-profit arts and performing centers and artists studios plan and host coordinating performances, exhibits, demonstrations or entertainment during the 2-day event. All you have to do is grab your friends and hop on the free ArtStop bus. The bus will take you around downtown to the events. Be sure to check out the bus schedule to find your best route. There are stops n the East Village, Valley Junction, Roosevelt Cultural District, Gateway West, Ingersoll Avenue and the Heritage Art Gallery.
Check out the ArtStop website for more details.
I happened to find another cool video on YouTube about some residents of downtown who share their story and gives us a peek inside their loft or condo.
