- PCHTF
- Oct 9, 2023
- 5 min read
Updated: May 6, 2024
To become oriented to the historic Center Street neighborhood, the “lost” hub of Black culture and life in Des Moines, it’s important to remember that the street itself is still there, gently climbing the same hill from Keosauqua Way toward 15th Street. But everything else has changed.
In fact, the neighborhood was not “lost” at all—it was intentionally demolished amid the tide of government Urban Renewal programs and the arrival of the freeway in the 1960s. Choices made then have had consequences that echo through the generations of the former neighborhood’s predominantly Black residents. And the neighborhood’s story reminds us of our community’s responsibility to ensure housing justice, stability, and opportunity are for all people.
Despite the transformation of the neighborhood, on October 5, for a time, the old lively scene returned to Center Street, and the stories of the familiar businesses, friends and families were in the air again on a breezy afternoon. Over 100 community members were gathered for the dedication of a State of Iowa historical marker, the 53rd in Iowa, honoring the Center Street neighborhood and community.
Speakers shared stories of kids roller skating, puppy love, and teenagers putting on make-up and sneaking into a jazz club. They recalled memories of a community alive with the sounds of live music Saturday evening and in its finest clothes for church Sunday morning. Though the neighborhood is no longer standing, speakers spoke of the urgency of not letting its memory fade away.
A COMMUNITY’S TREASURED MEMORIES
“You know, some cannot even begin to imagine what this place was,” said local historian and former Center Street resident Richard Duncan, the keynote speaker. “You know, some people look and now they can see the Oakridge community. They can hear the traffic on the freeway, I-235. But when I stand here, and I look around, what I see is a displaced community, a displaced business district. I see it as it was. I see it as it used to be.”
Duncan used his remarks to conduct an oral walking tour of the neighborhood, sharing memories to take the crowd past the beauty school, the funeral home, past the house of a prominent local power couple who broke career barriers for the African American community, and more.
He recalled the construction of Willkie House, a settlement house today known for its youth programs, in 1951. And Duncan spoke of the intersection of 12th and Center Street as a hub of nightlife where people from across the city came to be and be seen. He recalled community social organizations, and the Black churches that were a foundation for the community.
“I thank the people of Methodist Hospital for allowing this spot of ground [for the marker]. This is a spot of ground that means so much to me,” Duncan said.
A PROGRAM OF ‘URBAN REMOVAL’
By the end of the 1950s, the national conversation about urban renewal came to Des Moines, backed by government funding to remove “blighted” areas of communities and to develop new housing and other facilities. Local families decried a lack of communication about the fate of their homes and inadequate compensation when their displacement finally occurred.
State Representative Ako Abdul-Samad told the crowd, “This was the area that—we were so proud. And you saw ‘proud’ in self-esteem, especially in the African American community. And I don't want to offend anyone, but I don't call it ‘urban renewal,’ I call it ‘urban removal,’ because this community was removed. It was painful for us.”
At the same time, segments of the new freeway, I-235, opened throughout the 1960s, including just north of Center Street, cutting the broader neighborhood in half. By 1970, the Center Street neighborhood was largely a memory, with members of the community scattered.
State Representative Ruth Anne Gaines described her experience during the time the neighborhood was demolished. “I went away to school in 1965, and when I came back in 1970, Center Street was gone. And it broke my heart. And I always say when someone says to me, ‘Do you know anything about Center Street?’ I say, ‘Yes. It was a place where Black people could feel free, could feel loved, could feel fellowship, and feel that they were in their own element.’”
A RESPONSIBILITY TO REMEMBER
Numerous efforts have been and are being made to tell the Center Street story and ask the community to remember its responsibility for inclusive decision-making in the future. The dedication ceremony included numerous calls to action for the community to continue to share Center Street’s story and promote a more inclusive community today.
Richard Duncan, the event’s keynote speaker, and his wife Madison DeShay Duncan are working to document and share the history of Center Street. They are producing a documentary called The Center Street Story: An Urban Renewal Perspective.
The Polk County Housing Trust Fund (PCHTF) has released an online exhibit called Redlining in Des Moines, with information and resources about housing discrimination and its consequences locally. Jay Singleton, who serves on the Trust Fund’s board of directors and grew up in Center Street, said the marker dedication continues the effort to help the broader community learn this part of the city’s history.
“There’s a lot of people that don’t understand what happened to Center Street,” he told the crowd. “There’s a lot of African Americans who don’t understand it; there’s a lot of native Iowans who don’t understand that – so I challenge you to tell the story. Don’t let this be one moment.”
A similar historical marker was unveiled in September at Willkie House, one of the oldest African American community-based organizations in Iowa—and an important resource for local youth, located nearby at 900 17th Street, Des Moines. A capital campaign is underway there to seek funds to renovate the facility’s gymnasium.
Des Moines Mayor Pro Tem Connie Boesen also reflected on the broader community’s responsibility to learn from the lessons of Center Street.
“Everyone gathered here today is part of helping to ensure our community reaches its full potential, realizing important goals we have set for equity and inclusion we have set out together, and for holding all of us accountable for the decisions that we make going forward,” Boesen said.
The Polk County Housing Trust Fund gratefully acknowledges the partnership of UnityPoint Health, the Community Jazz Center of Greater Des Moines, the State Historical Society of Iowa, the William G. Pomeroy Foundation, and the numerous neighbors and volunteers who supported the marker project.
Here is the text of the historical marker:
People lived and worked here. They shopped and prayed here. They gathered here to celebrate life. Welcome to what was Iowa’s most vibrant Black community — the historic Center Street neighborhood, stretching from 15th Street to Keosauqua Way. Between the early 1900s and late 1960s, this neighborhood was one of the few areas that Blacks could proudly call their own. Black-owned businesses lined Center Street — grocery stores, hotels, jazz clubs, restaurants, doctors’ and dentists’ offices, and more. The Crocker YMCA and Willkie House served the needs of youth. One of the first pharmacies in Iowa and the first school of cosmetology — both Black owned — were here. There were affordable homes and apartments where Black residents raised their families. In the 1960s, the city’s urban renewal plan displaced homeowners and businesses to accommodate the MacVicar Freeway (I-235) and public services. Iowa Methodist Medical Center celebrates this historic neighborhood and its people with this marker in Center Street Park.
- PCHTF
- Apr 18, 2022
- 1 min read
Updated: Sep 1, 2022
The Polk County Housing Trust Fund is excited to release the audio from our Affordable Housing Week Symposium on our new podcast, Safe, Stable, and Affordable. We'll be releasing audio over the next several days.
Find it here:
We have submitted the podcast to more distributors and will be updating this list when it becomes available in new places.
- PCHTF
- Apr 14, 2022
- 5 min read
We had a conversation with 18-year-old Can I Be Your Neighbor Student Design Challenge winner Griffin Gade (shown at left with Dan Knoup of the Homebuilders Association of Greater Des Moines).
What follows are his insights on the experience of designing an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) for a fictional Des Moines homeowner, what he would say to those who determine zoning and building codes, his plans following graduation, and why he loves Des Moines.
Q. Any indications from childhood that you might have a future in architectural design?
A. Well, like most kids I loved Legos, which is common, but in middle school I was always looking out the windows as buildings were being constructed around our school. I liked to watch the process of how they were built. Growing up I loved art, but I didn’t make it a priority during school. After realizing how important it is to have that mindset that art gives you when designing, I wish I’d taken fewer math and science classes and more art classes. Thankfully I have YouTube to help me in college.
Q. This year’s Design Challenge was to design an Accessory Dwelling Unit for a homeowner who wanted a place for her mother to live. Had you ever heard of an ADU and what compelled you to compete?
A. I hadn’t heard of the term ADU, but I knew what they were and have actually stayed in many on vacations that were set up as short-term rentals (like an Airbnb).
As far as competing, I actually got a late start on my project. When the architects from ASK Studio came to do the desk reviews, everyone else had their plans well underway and I had like four walls, a roof and a lot of windows. Now thinking back on the process, it might have been a good thing because I got more insight and reassurance on my idea, as well as a better idea of the constraints I had to develop my project around. (What was your idea?) To create an affordable 500 square foot space that didn’t look or feel like a downgrade.
Affordability doesn’t equal cheap. My vision was to include lots of windows and open space to make the house feel larger than it is. I was challenged on this part of the design, but I was pretty stubborn and I’m glad I stayed committed to it.
Q. Your grandparents were at the final presentation. Would you want one of them to live in this unit?
A. 100% yes — I’d love to live there! I like the idea of being minimalist and living with a smaller space. That being said, there's still plenty of room in the house.
Q. Through this experience, what have you learned about housing affordability and community planning?
A. That there’s a huge need and an obvious solution in my eyes is to allow for more density. The problem as I understand it from listening to architects and engineers is zoning. It comes down to mixing housing options like townhomes, single family homes, ADUs, and small apartment complexes together. Many say that this would be harmful to neighborhoods, but with this example of an ADU, it adds density and affordable housing and it’s hardly noticeable.
One thing I don’t understand is this feeling that providing housing that is affordable is something that has to be forced. That if it’s not forced, it won’t happen. Why not start with the idea that every community needs people, not just to live there but to work there, too. It seems the zoning and building codes would have to follow that idea and allow for a variety of housing options to match the variety of incomes.
Q. I can’t help but wish city leaders and planners could hear what you just shared. Anything else you’d add if talking with them?
A. I’m not an expert by any means, but I’d simply ask them, why not? There’s clearly a need. They wouldn’t be taking much risk. I imagine developers and architects know what is in demand and will create if they are allowed or encouraged to. Same for people who have money to invest like we learned about in the AARP video that included ADUs. Fewer restrictions and medium density seem to be the way to go.
Q. Back to the Design Challenge for Affordable Housing. Since it began in 2013, Ankeny High School has landed students in every final. Why do you think that is and are there any competitive advantages?
A. I think that just like in sports, if you build a winning program and set the expectation of success, great things seem to happen. My teacher, Mr. Schmidt is very passionate about the competition and designing an affordable house fit into the class’s syllabus, so we have plenty of class time to focus on it. I’d also have to say technology. In addition to the usual design software, I used ENSCAPE for the first time. The renderings are amazing, and you have this virtual reality capability so I could be inside the space, look out the windows and walk around the living areas. I got sucked in and ended up working on my design even more hours outside of class.
Q. You’ll be graduating shortly. Plans for college, preliminary thoughts on careers and your future?
A. In short, ISU, Architecture and Des Moines. We are an Iowa State University family. My mom has a Chemistry degree from ISU and my dad’s degree is in Civil Engineering. I’ve grown up visiting campus, going to games and I am looking forward to going there this fall. While I understand that financially it may be more lucrative to go the aerospace engineering or business routes, I already know my passion is architecture. I’ve watched my parents enough to know that if you find something you are passionate about, fulfillment and financial success will be more likely to follow.
I really love Des Moines. (You live in Ankeny, correct?) Yes, Ankeny is great, too, but in my mind the suburbs are part of Des Moines and wouldn’t be what they are without Des Moines. For me the Metro is one continuous city and I try to pay attention to all the developments, amenities and decisions being made. These past 20 years have been especially amazing. So much that was planned years ago is now here.
I also have a lot of connections in Des Moines, and this is where I believe I could make a difference. I can always travel to Colorado, and I’ve learned that I’m not one to rest on a beach. I can imagine traveling to study architecture and explore city centers, but then return home to make a difference.
Q. Final thought, perhaps people you wish to recognize or thank?
A. Yes, I have a list. Thank you to Dan Knoup and the Home Builders Association for the scholarship prize. It will go straight to tuition at ISU. Thank you to my teacher Mr. Schmidt, the architects of ASK Studio, the Polk County Housing Trust Fund for starting this competition and the judges for their time and feedback. I also appreciated the ideas and designs of the other finalists. It was evident everyone worked really hard. And finally, a thank you to my parents who provided feedback as I practiced my presentation and who helped me discover my passion for architecture through the privilege of traveling to amazing cities both here in the Midwest and other parts of the world.