Saturday in the Park
Gray's Lake Park in Des Moines
Saturday in Des Moines was a sightseeing day. A family friend who is a native Iowan was in town for the weekend, and we took an opportunity to enjoy some of Des Moines' delightful historical and cultural institutions.
I met Mike, an old friend of my family's, at the
Terrace Hill mansion in the morning for a tour. The property has been the Iowa
governor's residence for more than 30 years. The house was built in the 1860s on
the highest plot of land for miles around by a land speculator and pioneer
banker named Frank Allen. At the time it was built, the house was
state-of-the-art, featuring gas lighting, hot and cold running water, and the
world-class architectural styling of William Boyington (best known as the
designer of the Water Tower in Chicago). Hard times eventually forced Allen to
sell the property to Fred Hubbell, who rose to prominence in Des Moines through
his work in real estate, railroads, and helping establish the city's insurance
business. The Hubbells, to this day, are one of the city's most prominent and
wealthy families. They donated the house to the state of Iowa in the 1960s, and
the state eventually decided to use it as the governor's
house.
Rear view of the Terrace Hill mansion
Photography is forbidden inside the house, which is unfortunate. Our gracious tour guide, John, showed us the first two floors of the mansion, which have been impeccably restored to their 19th-century grandeur. The doorways and shutters, we learned, are original, as is much of the floorwork. The elaborate stencils lining the walls of the house are faithful recreations of the original decor. The second floor is less museum-like than the first floor, as it includes the offices for the governor and the state's First Lady. From the above photo, you can see the size and number of windows in the mansion. Since the house sits high on a hill, you can imagine the breathtaking amount of natural light that makes its way indoors. Walking around in the backyard during the tour, I came within a step of finding out the hard way that the current governor, Tom Vilsack, lets his black labrador retriever conduct his business at will on the property.
Our second stop of the afternoon was the Des Moines Art Center. I knew nothing about it going in, and I walked away extremely impressed with the museum. I was lucky to have Mike as my guide, because he's an architect. I learned that the museum was built in three phases. The first section of the museum was designed by Saarinen; the second section was designed by I.M. Pei; and the most recent addition to the structure was by Richard Meier. The permanent collection of the museum includes works by Warhol, Rodin, Lichtenstein, Moore, Chagall, Hopper, Wood (an Iowa native), Rothko, and many more very famous artists of various movements and eras. Current displays included one of sketches by Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera, and a challenging, sizeable exhibit of the late Cuban artist Ana Mendieta.
Before we knew it, the afternoon hours were slipping by, and the museum closed at 4PM. We had just about seen everything in the museum, but I'll probably want to return there at some point in the future for another go-around. One of the greatest things about the facility is that they don't charge admission. The Art Center is a wonderful cultural bastion that's easily on par with similar institutions in cities of far greater size. To anybody who asserts that Iowa is some kind of cultural wasteland (and there are even Iowans I've met who fall into this category), I suggest that she pay a visit to the Des Moines Art Center. It's really worth a trip. The cafe serves pretty good food, too.
Mike and I capped off the afternoon with a trip to the beautiful Gray's Lake Park (see above photo), which is located north of the airport on Fleur Drive. The park is quite large, and features an observation deck, a pedestrian bridge, picnic areas, and paths for people to jog and walk their dogs. The weather on Saturday was unseasonably warm and sunny, so we were just two of many people out to enjoy time in the park. I look forward to visiting the park again when summer arrives in its full splendor.
This a fine city in a fine state inhabited by fine folks. When the sun shines, it's nice to go around and see what the city has to offer. There's still much to be seen, I'm sure, but Saturday was a good start.
Rear view of the Terrace Hill mansion
Photography is forbidden inside the house, which is unfortunate. Our gracious tour guide, John, showed us the first two floors of the mansion, which have been impeccably restored to their 19th-century grandeur. The doorways and shutters, we learned, are original, as is much of the floorwork. The elaborate stencils lining the walls of the house are faithful recreations of the original decor. The second floor is less museum-like than the first floor, as it includes the offices for the governor and the state's First Lady. From the above photo, you can see the size and number of windows in the mansion. Since the house sits high on a hill, you can imagine the breathtaking amount of natural light that makes its way indoors. Walking around in the backyard during the tour, I came within a step of finding out the hard way that the current governor, Tom Vilsack, lets his black labrador retriever conduct his business at will on the property.
Our second stop of the afternoon was the Des Moines Art Center. I knew nothing about it going in, and I walked away extremely impressed with the museum. I was lucky to have Mike as my guide, because he's an architect. I learned that the museum was built in three phases. The first section of the museum was designed by Saarinen; the second section was designed by I.M. Pei; and the most recent addition to the structure was by Richard Meier. The permanent collection of the museum includes works by Warhol, Rodin, Lichtenstein, Moore, Chagall, Hopper, Wood (an Iowa native), Rothko, and many more very famous artists of various movements and eras. Current displays included one of sketches by Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera, and a challenging, sizeable exhibit of the late Cuban artist Ana Mendieta.
Before we knew it, the afternoon hours were slipping by, and the museum closed at 4PM. We had just about seen everything in the museum, but I'll probably want to return there at some point in the future for another go-around. One of the greatest things about the facility is that they don't charge admission. The Art Center is a wonderful cultural bastion that's easily on par with similar institutions in cities of far greater size. To anybody who asserts that Iowa is some kind of cultural wasteland (and there are even Iowans I've met who fall into this category), I suggest that she pay a visit to the Des Moines Art Center. It's really worth a trip. The cafe serves pretty good food, too.
Mike and I capped off the afternoon with a trip to the beautiful Gray's Lake Park (see above photo), which is located north of the airport on Fleur Drive. The park is quite large, and features an observation deck, a pedestrian bridge, picnic areas, and paths for people to jog and walk their dogs. The weather on Saturday was unseasonably warm and sunny, so we were just two of many people out to enjoy time in the park. I look forward to visiting the park again when summer arrives in its full splendor.
This a fine city in a fine state inhabited by fine folks. When the sun shines, it's nice to go around and see what the city has to offer. There's still much to be seen, I'm sure, but Saturday was a good start.
Posted: Sun - March 6, 2005 at 11:01 PM
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Published On: Mar 23, 2005 10:43 PM
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Published On: Mar 23, 2005 10:43 PM