Youngerman Block, the three-story commercial building in downtown Des Moines you have come to, wears Italianate architecture with later alterations that introduced Art Deco detailing. Built in 1876, this block was designed by architect William Foster (1842–1909) for Conrad Youngerman. Youngerman was born in Wichdorf, Germany, in 1833, apprenticed as a stonecutter there, and after military service emigrated to the United States in 1854.
He moved to Iowa with his new wife Meine in 1856 and became a prominent local stonemason, helping construct the original Polk County Courthouse in 1861 and establishing a brickmaking business. His materials business later expanded into the production of "asbestine," an artificial building stone used in lieu of natural stone, which was expensive and scarce in central Iowa. He also served three terms as a city alderman and was a trustee of two banks.
Two blocks from this spot he later built another Youngerman Block, an eight-story building completed in 1891 that is now demolished. Picture Conrad Youngerman the stonemason who built it, and the layered Italianate lines and Art Deco touches marking his work today.