Program

State Historical Society of Iowa

Subject

Arts & Culture, Industry & Commerce, People, Site

Location

1200 Pleasant St Ste 301, Des Moines, IA 50309, USA

Lat/Long

41.591211, -93.634274

Grant Recipient

State Historical Society of Iowa

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.

Erected by the Polk County Housing Trust and the State Historical Society of Iowa with funding support from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. 2022.