Department of Cultural Affairs announces 9 Cultural Districts

For Immediate Release November 8, 2005

DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs announced today it has certified nine Cultural and Entertainment Districts across the state in the second year of an initiative that boosts economic development through arts, history and culture.

The newly certified districts are in Ames, Des Moines, Fairfield, Keokuk, Marion, Mason City and Waterloo. Lt. Governor Sally Pederson and Department of Cultural Affairs Director Anita Walker will present the certification and signage to districts Monday and Tuesday.

A CED is a well-recognized, mixed-use area of a city anchored by a high concentration of cultural attractions. The initiative encourages city and county governments to partner with local nonprofit or for-profit organizations, businesses and individuals to enhance the quality of life for the people of Iowa.

Benefits available to each CED could include tax credits for rehabilitation of historic structures and other incentives that create living and work space for cultural workers, cultural and entertainment enterprises, and access to financial assistance programs from state agencies and other funding partners.

“Cultural districts are where you find people living, working and playing, where performance venues, museums, galleries, artist studios, art galleries, book stores, dance studios, libraries, learning centers, schools, arboretums and gardens are located,” Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs Director Anita Walker said. “They are places where you find services such as graphic design studios and architectural firms, and it’s where you find retail businesses like wine stores, bakeries, gourmet food stores and more.

“These are the areas that can revitalize a community and strengthen its connection with the arts and other cultures and ethnicities. They broaden our understanding of the world around us and they grow our economy by helping small businesses create jobs that appeal to highly-educated cultural workers.”

In making its recommendations to Walker, who made the final certification decisions, an advisory board examined the criteria each applicant was asked to address:

Each cultural district is unique and should reflect the specific cultural, social, and economic needs of its area.
Planning for a cultural district should be part of wider cultural planning for the community at large.
Activities in cultural districts should be comfortably accessible to all people.
Cultural district management requires careful coordination among diverse groups.
Cultural districts must be part of a package of many strategies to revitalize a community.
Cultural districts must be welcoming to all people.
Cultural districts must have appropriate signage and marketing.
Cultural districts must have dedicated management resources (staff, board and budget).

Iowa is the second state in the country to implement a plan to certify cultural districts. Last year, DCA certified 10 districts in eight communities: Cedar Falls, Charles City, Cherokee, Davenport, Dubuque, Iowa City, Muscatine and Spencer.

Following is the schedule for Cultural District certification and signage presentations:

November 14, 2005

9 a.m. Waterloo
Evan Kaiulani Fine Art and Framing, 224 E. 4th Street
The Downtown Waterloo Cultural District
The core of the Downtown Waterloo Cultural and Entertainment District has been in existence since 1998. Known as Waterloo’s Cultural Crossroads, it celebrates, promotes and enhances the cultural heritage of the community in the heart of Waterloo. Businesses and events within the district represent multi-ethnicities, and adaptive reuse projects are underway in historical buildings. Local leaders plan to strengthen development projects; invest in more cultural, educational and recreational projects; create beautification programs; increase employment opportunities; attract tourists and residents; enhance property values, expand the tax base; and develop a more creative and innovative environment. The district offers a number of cultural venues including the Grout Museum, Waterloo Center for the Arts, the Waterloo Community Playhouse, the Waterloo Public Library, Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center and Black Hawk Children’s Theater in addition to a number of outdoor attractions including Washington, Lincoln and Sullivan parks.

11 a.m. Mason City
Decker House, 119 2nd Street SE
Mason City Downtown Cultural District
The certification of the Mason City Downtown Cultural and Entertainment District will enhance ongoing downtown revitalization efforts implemented through the state’s Main Street Program. The area offers a number of cultural programs (fairs, farmer’s markets, wine tasting and art/puppetry camps for kids) and venues (Charles H. MacNider Art Museum, Music Man Square/Meredith Willson Museum, Meredith Willson Boyhood Home, State Street Gallery). Historic preservation efforts have included the rehabilitation of the Park Inn Hotel, and the Downtown Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places.

1:45 p.m. Ames
City Hall Council Chambers, 515 Clark
Main Street Cultural District
The Main Street Cultural and Entertainment District is home to a variety of cultural anchors including the Octagon Center for the Arts, City Auditorium, Central Iowa Symphony and the Ames Public Library. Historic architecture in the district includes a 1900 train depot and the former city hall, a 1916 building on the National Register of Historic Places. Retail art galleries, streetscape/public art and a band shell dot the area, and a historic residential district is nearby. Housing within the Main Street CED provides space for about 150 residents above existing retail businesses, in former homes converted to apartments and in several newer apartment units. Becoming a certified CED will help the area market its cultural activities and provide additional incentives to artists and creative people to live and work in the district, expand employment opportunities and grow its tax base.

3 p.m. Des Moines
The Village Bean, 400 E. Locust St.
Historic East Village Cultural District
Located on the east side of the Des Moines River, the Historic East Village is one of Des Moines’ original commerce areas, and it encompasses some of Des Moines’ most significant buildings including the State Capitol, the State Historical Building and numerous structures on the National Register of Historic Places. The CED certification will reinforce efforts civic and business leaders already have taken to preserve and rehabilitate historical buildings that house eclectic restaurants, boutiques and a wide variety of other retail establishments with an artistic twist unique to Iowa. The district will leverage existing local financial incentives to encourage high quality, compact, development that enhances the downtown riverfront, attracts visitors and residents, and assures redevelopment adjacent to the river is compatible with the plan for mixed-use neighborhoods, and to establish the district as an interconnected, pedestrian-oriented cultural and recreational destination.

3:45 p.m. Des Moines
Court Avenue Brewing Company, 309 Court Avenue
Court Avenue Cultural District
Dating back to 1846, the Court Avenue area has been home to Des Moines’ first 2-story house, the first public school, the first post office, the first bank and the first bridge across the Des Moines River at Court Avenue. Today, the district is full of historic buildings and shops that house popular restaurants, clubs and an assortment of rapidly growing residential spaces. The area includes cultural events (Farmer’s Market, Court Avenue Blues Fest, Des Moines Art Festival), venues (Civic Center of Greater Des Moines, Science Center of Iowa, Principal Park) and historic buildings (Polk County Court House, Hotel Kirkwood, Fleming Building) that attract residents and tourists who support restaurants and other hospitality offerings. Local business, civic and government leaders have been working to beautify the area with green spaces and streetscapes. Other projects include a $26 million Principal Riverwalk and other enhancements in 12 additional acres of land downtown. New housing units are under construction, of which 25 percent are income-qualifying units that provide an affordable housing option for downtown workers.

4:30 p.m. Des Moines
Des Moines Playhouse, 831 42nd Street
Roosevelt Cultural District
Located at the hub of five neighborhood associations, the Roosevelt CED is a compact community of small businesses, schools and cultural attractions. The district plans to have Roosevelt High School students create a web site – for class credit – that will be an interactive link to the neighborhood associations, businesses, schools and the Des Moines Playhouse. Housing in the district features a variety of opportunities for live/work space for artists and cultural workers. Ultimately, the district’s primary goal is to unify the area as the hub of activity among the surrounding neighborhoods. Highlights include the installation of landscape/streetscape art, benches, planters and banners. The area also features cultural opportunities offered through the Des Moines Playhouse, four art galleries, restaurants and other businesses.

November 15, 2005

9 a.m. Marion
City Hall Council Chambers, 1100 8th Avenue
Marion Cultural District
This district lies in the heart of Marion and has been the site of an eclectic range of cultural activities and opportunities for many years. CED certification will serve as the focal point for ongoing preservation and development of the area’s cultural attractions, including the Liars Holographic Radio Theater, the Marion Arts Festival and the Pucker Street Historic District. Encompassing City Square Park, galleries and boutique retail outlets, the district will link downtown Marion with other entertainment and cultural areas in Eastern Iowa, including the Cultural Corridor between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City.

11:30 a.m. Fairfield
Regina’s, 607 W. Broadway
Fairfield Cultural District
With more than 300 artists and 20 art galleries, Fairfield offers residents and visitors a large variety of cultural opportunities. Local leaders will use the CED certification to create greater collaboration among local cultural organizations and increase recognition of its robust art, music and theater scene. At present time, the district is home to 15 structures on the National Register of Historic Places, and another 15 structures have been nominated. Current plans also call for restoration of neighborhoods surrounding a historic depot that served two railroads – the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. The district is supported by other areas in the community, including the Town-University Cultural Corridor, the Entrepreneurial Corridor, Maharishi University and the North Side Architectural and Historical sites, including Bonnifield Cabin (the oldest standing structure in Iowa) and the DuBois-Ball Home.

4 p.m. Keokuk
Keokuk Art Center, River City Mall, 300 Main Street
Keokuk Cultural District
Keokuk’s predominantly Victorian-era architecture includes houses once called “home” by Howard Hughes, Roger Maris and Samuel Clemens. Cultural features found within the district include Hubinger Landing, campgrounds, and “Rollin’ on the River” blues festival in Victory Park, which is also home to the George M. Verity riverboat museum. Local leaders hope to restore Union Station for art studios and small retail/restaurant businesses. In addition, the “top of the bluff” portion of the district contains a majority of Keokuk’s cultural venues including the elegantly restored Grand Theater, which is home to plays, concert performances, dance recitals, band and vocal performances. Other attractions in the district include six National Register properties and the home of Samuel Clemens’ mother.

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