By Mary Jo Hoag, Class of 2007
Last month I shared my magical trip through Iowa, Looking for Louis. Little did I know that as I searched Iowa for LHS, I’d also encounter some modernists, Prairie School practitioners, and other great architects as a bonus!
Des Moines is home to some great architecture. The Art Center houses a very nice collection of art, and the buildings that display that art are at least as famous. Designed in phases by three of the most important architects of the 20th century, the Art Center invites one to simply wander inside and outside, admiring their work.
The original section of the Art Center was designed by Eliel Saarinen and completed in 1948. I.M. Pei designed an addition in 1968, and the most recent addition, designed by Richard Meier, was completed in 1985. It was amazing to spend the afternoon in this complex that is set in a large and beautiful wooded park.
In the downtown area, I discovered two extraordinary buildings: the very new, very impressive Kum & Go Building designed by Renzo Piano and the Fleming Building by Daniel Burnham from 1907. Kum & Go’s headquarters has a two-story atrium that faces a Pappajohn sculpture. The towering structure in Des Moines’ Western Gateway mall can only be described as one thing: unique. And quite a contrast to Burnham’s 11-story office building, now adapted as apartments. It’s an excellent example of the technical innovations in tall building construction during the early 1900’s.
After enjoying Sullivan’s bank in Algona, I headed due east to Mason City. My research told me I’d encounter several buildings designed by renowned Prairie architects like Frank Lloyd Wright, Walter Burley Griffin, Marion Mahony Griffin, William Drummond, and Barry Byrne. The Wright-designed historic Park Inn Hotel is where I spent the night. After an early check-in and quick walk around the hotel, I set off on a walk to see many Prairie-design houses. What a great way to spend the afternoon, finding and photographing these homes. I then spent a great evening enjoying the beautifully restored Wright-designed hotel, the last of his hotels still left in the world.
While searching Grinnell for Louis, I found yet another bonus, the Ricker House, a Prairie Style home designed by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin in 1911. And while traveling to Cedar Rapids, I made a stop in Cedar Rock to view the Walter House and the Boat House, both designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
What a trip it was—time with friends, the hospitality of the folks in Iowa, the marvels of Louis Sullivan, and all those bonus buildings. I’m willing to bet there are even more. Maybe some of you will search Iowa yourselves!
Just a hop skip and a jump from my home town – Ames, IA – just 35 Miles north of Des Moines. Home to the country’s first land grant university – Iowa State University which has one of the most beautiful campuses in the country, large park like central campus framed by the imposing 1906 Bearshear Hall to the West, 1909 Curtiss halls – wonderfully symmetrical (Neo)classical buildings that would look at home on Museum Campus. The South framed by the tower of the Campanile (I’ll let you google what “campaniling” is). The campus and buildings are full of wonderful public art – most prolific Christian Petersen! Check it out next time you’re in the neighborhood.