Des Moines

A short stop in Des Moines to stretch our legs. We walked around the Pappajohn Sculpture Park and then meandered downtown. While we saw the capital building, we weren’t close enough to take pictures.

Des Moines has an interesting “Skywalk” that connects most of the buildings downtown together so you don’t need to go outside. 4.2 miles of walkway connect 55 buildings and 12 parking garage. The system was conceived in the 1960’s and inspired by a similar connected system in Minneapolis.

A little history about Des Moines… It was founded in 1843 as Fort Des Moines. The city was established at the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers to protect the Sauk and Fox peoples. The area opened to settlers in 1845, and by 1857, the “Fort” was dropped from its name as Des Moines became the official capital of Iowa, replacing Iowa City.

Des Moines also played a role in civil rights history: in 1920, Iowa women voted for the first time, and in 1925, the National Bar Association was founded here by African-American lawyers advocating for justice.Read more