Liberty Building has marked downtown Des Moines since 1923, and you are at its base. Anchoring the southwest corner of 6th Avenue and Grand Avenue, this 12-story tower rises 174 feet (53 m), its profile once drawn by the prominent Des Moines firm Proudfoot, Bird & Rawson. Originally home to Bankers Life Insurance and WHO (AM) Radio, the building today blends retail, office and residential life under one roof.
In 2008 Nelson Construction and K.C. Holdings completely rehabilitated the structure, with Shiffler Associates Architects steering the remodel. You can still sense layers of use: storefronts on the first floor, office space on floors four, five and six, a bank occupying the second and third floors, and a gym and fitness center on the first and second. Condos share upper levels with the Hyatt Place Hotel, a recent tenant designed by Slingshot Architecture.
Ownership now sits with First Hospitality Group and Baker Group, and the building’s history is recognized on the National Register of Historic Places. Notice the southwest corner of 6th and Grand beneath you, threaded into downtown by the Des Moines Skywalk system.