Highland Park Historic Business District at Euclid and Sixth Avenues

The Highland Park Historic Business District is a commercial neighborhood at the intersection of Euclid and Sixth Avenues containing buildings erected between 1890 and 1945. The streets show rows of brick buildings with storefronts at street level and offices or meeting spaces above, arranged around this major crossroads.

The neighborhood developed after a bridge was built across the Des Moines River in the late 1880s, connecting North Des Moines to new areas beyond the river. This connection drew business owners who built a thriving commercial center over the following decades.

This neighborhood served as the commercial heart for North Des Moines residents who needed banking, shopping, and services without traveling downtown. The mix of storefronts, offices, and meeting halls reflects how people built their daily lives around this crossroads.

The district sits about 3 miles north of downtown and is easy to reach by car or through main roads. Walking the streets lets you see the full range of buildings and their details, which works best during daytime hours.

Three distinct architectural styles appear side by side across the district, each from a different era: heavy Victorian forms from the 1890s, bold horizontal designs from 1915 to 1925, and modern touches that appeared from the late 1920s onward. Walking the blocks, you witness how building styles evolved over just a few decades.

Location: Iowa

GPS coordinates: 41.62833,-93.62417

Latest update: December 14, 2025 09:42