Directly east of Downtown Des Moines, in the East Village, you have entered the East Des Moines Industrial Historic District. At the time of its nomination the district included 45 resources: 31 contributing buildings, four contributing sites, three contributing structures, six non-contributing buildings, and two non-contributing structures. Among these is the Northwestern Hotel, which is also individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The district itself was listed on the National Register in 2017 and its boundaries were increased in 2023 to include another building. The period of significance here runs from about 1874, when the oldest building was built, to 1956. What you see is a rare-surviving group of manufacturing, warehousing, and railroad-related properties.
In 1957 plans for what is now Interstate 235 were announced, and Urban Renewal districts added to this area in subsequent decades brought an end to investment in the neighborhood. The contributing buildings here are the last remaining warehouse and manufacturing buildings left on the near east side of Des Moines. Picture these surviving warehouse and manufacturing buildings, the last of their kind on the near east side.