Walking tours of Des Moines
The name that recurs most in the Des Moines records is Proudfoot & Bird, on 24 listings. The 1880s account for more of that work than any other decade.
4 themed routes run through those listings. Of the routes below, two follow a single style, one follows one kind of building and one follows a single architect. A subject becomes a route only where the register holds enough of it close enough together to walk.
Every listing in Des Moines → · 195 in all
The routes
- ArchitectThe work of Proudfoot & Bird in Des Moines13 stops · 2.2 miles · stops last changed Oct 16, 2026The record behind every stop attributes it to Proudfoot & Bird. The dated ones went up between 1869 and 1921, and Neoclassical is the label that recurs most across them.
- StyleVictorian houses in Des Moines13 stops · 1.4 miles · stops last changed Sep 18, 2026Victorian is a broad label for the ornamented styles built during Queen Victoria's reign, from 1837 to 1901. The Des Moines examples on this route went up between 1888 and 1896.
- StyleNeoclassical architecture in Des Moines10 stops · 1.7 miles · stops last changed Sep 18, 2026Neoclassical buildings borrow the columns, pediments and symmetry of Greek and Roman temples. The Des Moines examples on this route went up between 1912 and 1916.
- Building typeHouses and mansions in Des Moines15 stops · 1.4 miles · stops last changed Sep 18, 2026The route links houses built between 1884 and 1886. Many are private homes and the stops are meant to be seen from the sidewalk.
Every route holds at least ten stops and stays under two and a half miles. Routes are computed from the coordinates in the National Park Service National Register spatial data or, where it has no point, Wikidata, and the distances are straight lines between stops. Listings with a restricted address in the Register are never mapped and never become stops. Data refreshed November 02, 2026.
Local history books for Des Moines
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Guidebooks to historic places and travel in Iowa
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.