2015 Woodland Avenue (Cottage), Des Moines, Polk County, IA

Significance: Constructed in 1885 or 1886 and located near Sherman Hill Historic District, the architecture of this cottage is significant because it calls attention to a vernacular design of rectangular shape covered with a simple front-gable roof. This design is calculated to make the most of a narrow town lot. As such, the building illustrates one type of affordable housing being constructed in Des Moines during the boom years of the late 1880s and early 1890s. The expectations of middle-class homeowners had risen in Des Moines by this times, as is attested by the presence of a walk-in closet and bathroom on the second floor. Later interior improvements, such as a new staircase, call further attention to the desire for home amenities. Facing south, this cottage breaks with other town lot configurations as platted by the original proprietors of this and other nearby city additions. As such, the property calls attention to laissez faire town building and irregular real estate development as practiced in Des Moines during the Victorian era. Finally, this cottage shows how land use in this case the depressing influence of nearby cemeteries affected the improvement of town lots located on their fringes. Although it features several amenities, this cottage lacks the size and architectural richness of other houses in the Sherman Hill Historic District.
Survey number: HABS IA-195