Owl's Head Historic District facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Owl's Head Historic District
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Former Iowa Governor's Mansion
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 Location in Iowa
Location in the United States
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| Location | Ridge Rd., Forest Dr. and 28th and 29th Sts. Des Moines, Iowa |
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| Area | 26 acres (11 ha) |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival Late Victorian |
| NRHP reference No. | 78001253 |
| Added to NRHP | October 11, 1978 |
The Owl's Head Historic District is a special neighborhood in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It's known for its beautiful old homes. This area has about 50 buildings, including the house where Iowa's governor used to live. The Owl's Head Historic District has been recognized as an important historical place since 1978. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
A Look Back: History of Owl's Head
Owl's Head was first planned out in 1888. At that time, it was part of a small town called Greenwood Park. In 1890, the city of Des Moines grew bigger and took over Greenwood Park. This included Owl's Head.
When Owl's Head was being built, Des Moines was changing its train system. Electric streetcars were becoming popular. One streetcar line ran very close to Owl's Head. This made the neighborhood a "streetcar suburb." People could live there and easily ride the streetcar to work or school in the city.
The houses in Owl's Head were similar in style and size. Many people who lived there had similar jobs and incomes. The neighborhood also had many trees. These things made Owl's Head a nice place to live. It felt a bit like escaping the busy city, even though it was close by.
Building Styles: Architecture in Owl's Head
Many important architectural companies from Des Moines helped design the houses in Owl's Head. These included Liebbe, Nourse & Rasmussen, Proudfoot, Bird and Rawson, Sawyer and Watrous, Kraetsch and Kraetsch, and C.C. Cross. They created many different styles of homes.
Most houses in the district are quite large. They are usually two or two-and-a-half stories tall. Even though the lots are not huge, the houses look big on them. This was common for homes built near streetcar lines. The main roof line often runs parallel to the front of the house.
You will also notice many gables (the triangular part of a wall under a sloping roof) and dormers (windows that stick out from a sloping roof). The houses often use a mix of outside materials. For example, you might see brick combined with stucco. Or, you might see wood siding called clapboard mixed with shingling (wooden shingles).
Most of the houses in Owl's Head were built between 1905 and 1915. They often mix older, historical details with newer, modern shapes and sizes.
The Governor's Old Home: Iowa Governor’s Mansion
One famous house in the district is at 2900 Grand Avenue. This house was the official home for Iowa's governor from 1944 to 1976. It was built in 1905 for a person named W.W. Witmer.
The house was designed in a style called Georgian Revival, which is inspired by older European architecture. It is made of brick. The front of the house has five sections, with a special window on the second floor. This window is called a Palladian window.
The house also has a part that sticks out from the center. This part is decorated with pilasters. These are flat columns that look like they are part of the wall. Pilasters also decorate the corners of the house. Above these pilasters is a decorative band called an entablature.
Each side of the house has a gabled dormer window. The windows on the first floor have decorative tops called Swan's-neck pediments. Inside, the house has a main hallway down the middle. After it was no longer the governor's home, the house became offices for the Iowa Girls' High School Athletic Union.
