Principal Riverwalk

[Streetwalker]

The new Riverwalk Bridge is stunning. Thank you Principal for your leadership and contribution. I'm happy that at least a few more blocks of the Riverwalk in downtown will be built this year. It is very expensive and time consuming so the whole thing should be expected to take years. If the Principal and the City can just keep adding a couple of new features or blocks each year they will be doing a good job. We're at no risk of having too much stuff on the riverfront. Judging from the use of the Simon Estes stage, the ice rink and the new bridges, Des Moines area residents will keep coming. The better question is what will be the new developments just a block or more off the riverfront? There is plenty of bare and underutilized ground available for mixed use, residential/commercial and (dare I say it) new office development. This recession will be over within a couple of years and gas and energy will no doubt be more expensive. Downtown Des Moines is ready for the increased density in our future.

[SharpHawkeye]

The new Riverwalk Bridge is stunning. Thank you Principal for your leadership and contribution. I'm happy that at least a few more blocks of the Riverwalk in downtown will be built this year. It is very expensive and time consuming so the whole thing should be expected to take years. If the Principal and the City can just keep adding a couple of new features or blocks each year they will be doing a good job. We're at no risk of having too much stuff on the riverfront. Judging from the use of the Simon Estes stage, the ice rink and the new bridges, Des Moines area residents will keep coming. The better question is what will be the new developments just a block or more off the riverfront? There is plenty of bare and underutilized ground available for mixed use, residential/commercial and (dare I say it) new office development. This recession will be over within a couple of years and gas and energy will no doubt be more expensive. Downtown Des Moines is ready for the increased density in our future.

Good points, all! Welcome to the forum!

[DMRyan]

A few recent shots of the progress on the west bank of the riverwalk.

New floodwall and sitting perch in front of the downtown YMCA. Of all the blocks on the riverwalk, this may be the one with the least amount of activity programmed into it. Most other blocks have a pretty intensive "feature" or plaza worked in. Maybe there's room to cram more here in the future.




A shot looking down towards the new kiosk and pump station.


The new ped bridge in use

[hawk61401]

Ryan, thanks for photos of the progress on the west bank.

What's wrong with this picture? http://images.principalriverwalkcam.com/pics/s6/jul2610d/l300448r.jpg I know that I am peeing into the wind. It may never happen in my lifetime but here goes ..

Visualize the photo a year from now. The east side of the World Food Prize Building will be a grand and majestic addition to the riverwalk and riverfront. It will be bookended by 50's era ugly and light polluting cobra street lights on the Walnut and Locust Street Bridges. Those cheap, industrial, no ornamentation lights are well suited for the freeway. The grand old ladies crossing the Des Moines River deserve better.

These bridges aren't only a critical component to Des Moines' transportation network, they are also historic, aesthetic, and integral to the character of the riverfront. I shake my head when I hear that the riverwalk is almost complete. We have the Southeast Connector Bridge on the south, the Center Street Bridge on the North, and cobras smack dab in the middle of the riverwalk.

The towns of Deerfield and Sonderland in Massachusetts got mad and did something when the state highway department put cobra lights on the bridge that connects their two towns. The cobra lights that had been installed were removed and replaced with more historic-looking, pedestrian-scale fixtures. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cmaran613/1682956747/

We have distinctive lights for the EV, Court Ave, and Western Gateway. Surely, we could do the same for the riverfront. But too often, we do things half a** in Des Moines.

[DMRyan]

The Grand Avenue bridge is the first to be significantly overhauled in the next year or two. I'm wondering if this will simply be repairing the pavement or if some more appropriate design treatments will be addressed with widened sidewalks, landscaping and new street lights. Much like the Western Gateway Park, I would imagine the riverwalk will be a continious work in progress adding new features and amentities even after this initial phase I is finally complete.

[hawk61401]

fun on the bridge (best viewed in full screen and HD)

http://www.vimeo.com/13930186

[DMRyan]

Nice to see they're installing interim traffic signals where the ped bridge meets 2nd Avenue. Second Avenue is a wide one-way race track to the freeway, which makes slow moving targets out of people crossing the bridge to head to Events Center. Hopefully they can follow up in the future with traffic calming and pedestrian activated signals. Allowing street parking ON 2nd Avenue during events may do a lot to slow down speeding traffic.

[MrMafia]

Ok so I took my brother from Cedar Rapids to see the new bridge. This thing is falling apart. The colored LED's in the middle are completely non functioning. I have kept tabs on this over the last few night to see if it was a fluke. The white LEDs that line the walk ways are about 30-40% burnt out. the SW quarters lighting is completely broken. Spots all over the rest are dead or flickering badly. The rubber flooring is bubbling up and looks like crap.

My brother had to of course make the joke "It took you how long to build this?"

This is a huge let down. I hope who ever legally owns this goes after the contractors to make things right! Its what 3 months old???

[dogbo]

I noticed they were demolishing some recently installed concrete step looking features on the construction of the riverwalk near the YMCA building. Contractors must have goofed on something.

[hawk61401]

Yesterday, I drove by the power station on 2nd Ave. You can get a feel for this building on google map http://maps.google.com/maps?f=s&utm_cam ... gle%20maps Type in "709 2nd Ave, Des Moines", drop the little man over the "A" and you will come up smack dab to the long, massive, brown, barren, brick wall.

This structure covers a huge footprint on the riverfront - riverwalk. Anyway, as I was driving by, the artiste in me told me that something could be done to transform this empty canvas into something more to complement the riverwalk. Exactly what, I don't know. Mural/murals, some kind of special lighting at night. The whole facade wouldn't need changing, just maybe enough to break up the monotony of it. Other cities have seen their buildings transformed like this power company in Cleveland did with their building http://hubpages.com/hub/Cleveland-Public-Power but don't panic, I'm not suggesting blue whales.

Three blocks or so south, we are integrating a pump house into the aesthetics of the Riverwalk and it will sit as a folded-up foil to the kiosk. If we can be that creative with the pump house, we should be able to do something creative with the power station.

[DMRyan]

While not planned right now, I honestly think that this has been contemplated and could be added to the radar of a phase II riverwalk project down the road.

Obviously the brick walls need some modern treatment, but I thought it would be cool to use the industrial looking transformers and other electrical equipment, and color them in a multiude of LED lighting colors. You're right that this takes up about 2-3 blocks of prime rivefront land and all of the uses that could go along with it.

Too bad we're not still dealing with the old power plant that was at this site instead of the turd that's there now.

[BriGuy]

The whole facade wouldn't need changing, just maybe enough to break up the monotony of it. Other cities have seen their buildings transformed like this power company in Cleveland did with their building http://hubpages.com/hub/Cleveland-Public-Power but don't panic, I'm not suggesting blue whales.

Since you mentioned it Hawk, I think it would be kind of cool to have a Wyland whaling wall in the downtown. Most cities of size have one today which have become quite popular with tourists. Ideally it would be close to the river but not sure where that could be.

I totally agree that some beautification effort is needed for the power plant. What that could be I have no idea. I would think any city development plan would have taken this into consideration when planning the riverwalk.

[hawk61401]

Since you mentioned it Hawk, I think it would be kind of cool to have a Wyland whaling wall in the downtown. Most cities of size have one today which have become quite popular with tourists. Ideally it would be close to the river but not sure where that could be.

I totally agree that some beautification effort is needed for the power plant. What that could be I have no idea. I would think any city development plan would have taken this into consideration when planning the riverwalk.

BriGuy, I think it would be cool too and I have the perfect spot. One of the best that I can think of is the 6 - 7 story parking ramp at the corner of 10th St and Grand Ave. The west side of that ramp is a massive slate of white. You could see it from the sculpture park. Something like what Wyland did with this parking ramp in San Francisco.

Ryan, yes, what a shame we don't have the old power plant on the riverwalk. It had that beautiful red brick and arched doors and windows, and lots of character. You described it to a tee. They need to turn that turd of a brickpile into something that our city, riverfront and riverwalk can be proud of.


photo attributed to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gexydaf/3852931556/

[BriGuy]

BriGuy, I think it would be cool too and I have the perfect spot. One of the best that I can think of is the 6 - 7 story parking ramp at the corner of 10th St and Grand Ave. The west side of that ramp is a massive slate of white. You could see it from the sculpture park. Something like what Wyland did with this parking ramp in San Francisco.

A side of a parking garage would be a great place! I personally think murals add not just color, but a sense of vibrancy as well as a cultural aspect to a city. If done right, they can help tell the story of the city or neighborhood. People are drawn to them. Mind you, placing one on every corner would be excessive, indeed. One of the magnitude of a whaling wall would be incredible. I've seen the one on Fisherman's Wharf many times. It is wonderfully placed. Speaking of murals, would one look good on the outside east wall of the place that used to be the short-lived grocery store? I'm not sure what is in there now. It is painted all green now I discovered on my summer visit to DSM which I thought was kind of funny looking. Maybe it could picture an early Des Moines city scene to fit in with the historic nature of the street.

[DMRyan]

^
That would be a good idea! I'd rather see a building go up on this skinny lot, but until that happens, this might be a good way to put a little public art into the district.

The riverfront is really under construction now. Every block that has already received funding is now underway, including the portion of the riverwalk connecting to the ped bridge and going by the Mid-Am substation. Once complete, this pretty much leaves a few blocks near the Federal courthouses on the east side of the river as the last portion of Phase I to complete.

[hawk61401]

^

Every block that has already received funding is now underway, including the portion of the riverwalk connecting to the ped bridge and going by the Mid-Am substation. Once complete, this pretty much leaves a few blocks near the Federal courthouses on the east side of the river as the last portion of Phase I to complete.

I hope this comes to fruition soon. As of August of this year, 75 percent of the project’s $1 million budget has been raised. It would have been nice if this was completed before the Iowa Caucuses on February 6, 2012. It will have an 80 ft plaza and a speakers platform. A great venue for political candidates and plenty of space for the crowds to applaud or boo, those candidates.

There's lots of art and sculpture in downtown Des Moines but few with this kind of symbolism. We forget how unfathomable the treatment of African Americans was only 40 years ago. J.B. Lenoir was an African American blues guitarist in the Chicago Blues scene. He was in a car accident near Champaign - Urbana, Illinois in April of 1967. He didn't die because of the car accident. He died because he was denied hospital treatment and admittance because he was black.

DWB (Driving While Black) is a phrase used today about the criminalization of black drivers. But as recently as the 1960s, DWB + accident could be fatal.

[hawk61401]

Can't wait to see this completed. They're making good progress .. the pump station to the south of Court Ave - the cafe to the north. I don't know who the creative individuals are but hats off to them. I can't imagine a better project, a better design, and use of this space on the riverwalk. This is one of those many new things in Des Moines where my pride in the city shines.

today: http://images.principalriverwalkcam.com ... 61253o.jpg

next year: http://www.substancearchitecture.com/flashhome.html

[GoVerticalDSM]

While they're at it, they should do something about flood control around Simon Estes Amphitheater. Maybe raise the stage up a bit and add a second level with grandstand seating.

It has been flooded the last 2 years in a row for most of the season.

[hawk61401]

While they're at it, they should do something about flood control around Simon Estes Amphitheater. Maybe raise the stage up a bit and add a second level with grandstand seating.

It has been flooded the last 2 years in a row for most of the season.

Des Moines could take some cues from Cedar Rapids. A flood control system which looks like a 5000 seat amphitheater. The amphitheater seats will face the river and have grass between the rows of seats and be designed as an area that can flood. http://thegazette.com/2009/11/17/cedar- ... -greenway/

Think of it as something similar to the pump station only on a larger scale. A concrete wall with a bunch of gears inside was turned into something aesthetically pleasing for the riverwalk. Flood protection masked as an amphitheater. American ingenuity knowing no limits.

[DMRyan]

Not much vertical construction to see yet on the kiosk, but the huge stone-clad retaining wall is progressing. They could uplight that retaining wall for an additional aesthetic touch.

[hawk61401]

Mazda6 has thousands of images on flickr that he has taken from all across the country. One of his favorite subjects are bridges. Here are some of his bridges ..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/85625337@N ... otostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/85625337@N ... otostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/85625337@N ... otostream/

He was driving through Des Moines and took this shot of the Center Street Bridge: http://www.flickr.com/photos/85625337@N ... otostream/

Here's one of the comments from admirers of his work:

What a spectacular bridge. I can't believe it's in a place like Des Moines!

Flickr is one of those sites that does great free PR work for Des Moines. "A place like Des Moines" Yes, it must be shocking.

[Ingersoll1978]

I finally got to see the bridge lit up last night. It looks awesome! The street lights for the roadway are the same ones as the rest of MLK project, so they match. They are definitely a huge improvement over the lights that are found on the Grand, Locust and Walnut Street bridges. The lights that are found on the Court Avenue bridge simply wouldn't look good (as they are the traditional round bulbs) on this contemporary bridge. The cobra lighting on the Grand, Locust and Walnut Street bridges should be replaced though with traditional lighting (as those were the original fixtures on them).

[hawk61401]

we've come a long way, baby ...


photo attributed to and has no endorsement of this work: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tabor-roeder/4501169545/

before the pedestrian bridge ...

[hawk61401]

Monumental Journey needs a major donor to get it over the top. Over 6 months ago, 75 percent of the project’s $1 million budget has been raised. I made a contribution recently. Every bit helps, even the spare change on your bedroom dresser ...

http://on.fb.me/hkHicP

[hawk61401]

Anybody know? ... is there going to be a riverwalk trail or something along side of and east of the electric substation? I noticed there's a dump truck and excavator working down in there.

[dogbo]

Anybody know? ... is there going to be a riverwalk trail or something along side of and east of the electric substation? I noticed there's a dump truck and excavator working down in there.

I've never heard for sure, but they tore up the riverbank last fall and continue working in that area now. My guess is "yes", which would mean you will be able to walk along the river there or take the path on the other side of the substation through the Hansen Triangle.

[hawk61401]

Anybody know? ... is there going to be a riverwalk trail or something along side of and east of the electric substation? I noticed there's a dump truck and excavator working down in there.

I've never heard for sure, but they tore up the riverbank last fall and continue working in that area now. My guess is "yes", which would mean you will be able to walk along the river there or take the path on the other side of the substation through the Hansen Triangle.

Ok, thanks dogbo. Here's what they do with substations in Chicago. This one "plug bug" is a little gaudy but they try!


photo attributed to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/atelier_te ... 674572095/

[DMRyan]

It's nice to see all of the construction erupt on the riverfront again. Work is most concentrated on Court Avenue, where there's about 3 or 4 riverwalk projects underway at once. The kiosk foundation looks complete and I would imagine we'll see steel rising the next month or two. Further north, work has started with the completion of the permenant landing for the Center Street Ped Bridge, safety improvements to 2nd Avenue where the ped bridge empties out near Wells Fargo Arena, a new recreational trail along 2nd Avenue, and a new flood wall and promenade on the river side of the Mid-Am substation. Work will also get going this year on the completion of the riverwalk from the Center Street Ped Bridge to Grand Avenue.

It sure would be nice to have this be the year to finally wrap all of this up and get a continious riverwalk trail loop finally finished.

[Mastermind]

It's nice to see all of the construction erupt on the riverfront again. Work is most concentrated on Court Avenue, where there's about 3 or 4 riverwalk projects underway at once. The kiosk foundation looks complete and I would imagine we'll see steel rising the next month or two. Further north, work has started with the completion of the permenant landing for the Center Street Ped Bridge, safety improvements to 2nd Avenue where the ped bridge empties out near Wells Fargo Arena, a new recreational trail along 2nd Avenue, and a new flood wall and promenade on the river side of the Mid-Am substation. Work will also get going this year on the completion of the riverwalk from the Center Street Ped Bridge to Grand Avenue.

It sure would be nice to have this be the year to finally wrap all of this up and get a continious riverwalk trail loop finally finished.

There needs to be some private businesses to move in, or it will be somewhat underutilized IMO

[hawk61401]

If the riverwalk is going to succeed, it needs some very simple pleasures. Promenades, plazas, sculpture, pedestrian bridges are an integral part for the simple stroll on a warm summer night. But so are places to sit down, relax, look around, observe your fellow man, while you slurp on a double dip chocolate ice cream cone.