Plantoir (2001) is one of my favorite publicly accessible art pieces (I have a thing for…read moreoversized/giant/larger-than-life objects). The 23 foot tall piece, by Claes Oldenburg and his wife and collaborator, Coosje van Bruggen, has been on display for many years and has been a hallmark of the West end of the Western Gateway. Until ery recently owned by Meriderh Xorporai, it has been sold to a private collector (August, 2025). It will be relocated out of state before year's end. Things to know: * The nearest parking (paid, Monday-Saturday) is adjacent to the green space it sits in. * Des Moines has at least two additional Oldenburg sculptures, the most easily seen being Crusoe Umbrella (1978) on display at the other end of downtown in Cowles Commons. The other piece is at the Des . Moines Art Center and not currently on display (August 1025).

I dig it.. If you know what I mean! I'm so glad this was added to Yelp in the local flavor. This is…read moreone of my favorite sculptures in town, I love this epic hand shovel. I'm not a gardener but if I was I would dig having this tool in my box! I love how this greats you on locust, if you are traveling from the airport to the capital! Makes you say welcome to Des Moines, lets get digging and grow something together!

The high trestle bridge trail is a beautifully appointed, concrete paved, multi use trail. Multiple…read moretrail entrances with great parking make it very convenient to gain access. The trail's name is derived from a former Union Pacific railroad bridge that spans the Des Moines River between the towns of Madrid and Woodward (just outside of Des Moines). The highlight of this trail is of course is the bridge that runs nearly 3/4 a mile more than 130 feet from the river bottom. The views are absolutely spectacular and the wildlife abundant. Hiking and biking are the only way to access this bridge. There is plenty of camping in the area, or not too far north of I80 if you're just looking for a day trip around the Des Moines area. At night, the bridge is lit, emphasizing the unique metal sculptures that have been installed the full length of the bridge. This trail is a must for bike enthusiasts.

Neat place on the 'plains' of Iowa. Beautiful views of the river, a nice breeze on a hot day, Lots…read moreof bikers, walkers and runners. There must be multiple parking lots but I considered myself lucky I could find one. Google maps was confused. Clean bathrooms, could use an outside water faucet that works.

Many places to visit with lots of awesome local entertainment. Great fun for the family or even a…read moreday-date! We spent hours on the tour and didn't even hit all locations. We ended at Carl's Place (a local bar) which is listed as a "point of interest" on the tour's map. Having a cold beer was a perfect ending to my tour of the neighborhood. This was a really well-organized event. Most (if not all) of the staff were volunteers from the neighborhood. They were all welcoming and friendly. Great community outreach.

This weekend was the 41st anniversary of the Doors to the Past walking tour of the historic homes…read more Lots of volunteers at the homes-all of them were very friendly-even with the rainy/cold weather. It was so interesting to be able to tour numerous homes in the Sherwood area. Some have been renovated back to their original charm. Some are "works in progress" and some had amazing modern touches. It was amazing to see the original plaster details still present and restored tin ceilings. These home owners take great pride in these historical homes and have graciously opened them for the public to view.

Rob & Kim's 4 room B&B made our quick Pella trilp wonderful. Exacting service. No little detail…read moreoverlooked. More like walking into one's house than being on the road traveling! The breakfast... the culinary highlight of our trip. Kim's granola in a word delicious. Homemade strawberry jam absolutely ethereal. Banket & Dutch baby(squeeze of lemon)not to be missed. het ontbijt was erg lekker! Only wish they were open for dinner! If you are anywhere near...this B&B is worth a stop....beautiful lake nearby and Pella's windmills bring back memories of The Nedtherlands. Who knew?? 4.5 Stars

More five stars are in order for this wonderful B&B in Pella, IA. Our friends made arrangements for…read morethe four of us at Rob and Kim's for a weekend get together, because it was roughly halfway between our home in Minnesota and their's in central MO. What a fortunate turn of events for the four of us. Turns out that Pella is a very nice place to spend some time and our mini vacation was made doubly enjoyable by the extraordinary hospitality offered at The Cheesemaker's Inn. Rob and Kim have mastered the art of accommodation. Every need is satisfied. The rooms are exceptionally clean, tidy and well decorated. They provided a small but pleasant sitting room off the upstairs bedrooms where we could brew coffee or tea, snack on cookies, and help ourselves to refrigerated soft drinks while chatting or reading the paper. Breakfasts are something to look forward to at this inn. We have stayed at any number of B&B's and have generally been served a good meal from the kitchen. But Kim's skill in the kitchen is above par. Homemade bread? Yes. Garden herbs? Expect it. Fresh ingredients prepared and presented in a simple but elegant way? You bet. And best of all, their guest service is unpretentious and welcoming. It's as though you were neighbors from down the road or a relative from across town. Just a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

This nice piece of public art is located in Cowles Commons. It measures 28 feet deep, 94 feet wide,…read moreand 28 feet high. It was commissioned by the Des Moines Public Arts and is the work of artist Jim Calwell. The piece costed about $100,000 and is made of stainless steel, more than 8,000 full color LEDs, treated plexiglass. More specifically, the piece consists of 9 uprights and 18 stainless steel ellipses with embedded LEDs creating a form that functions as a static sculpture during the day and an illuminated, interactive piece by night. The piece's LED lights are programed to display prerecorded images each night at dusk to 2:00 AM. I saw the piece during the day. The best time to catch it is at night. It is a very nice piece and looks amazing (at night). This is a must see public art installation. I really like it. There is metered street parking and a commercial garage within a reasonable walking distance from this piece. Anyway, as with most murals that I have visited and reviewed, this is not a long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. So, you may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other attractions in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip. There is a ton of public art in the area to see and a nice plaza area across the street.

Thank you Raygun for letting us take over your upper store space for this Yelp event…read more I was nervous as I have never done a murder mystery before and was always curious to do one. This worked out really well as it was a simple take on Office themed murder and it made it easy to understand and catch on. There was multiple people who dressed up and plaied the part and it made it more fun that way. Yelp had the mimosa bar and breakfast like treats. Those are always a hit and really enjoyed them. I know that I was hoping I would be a victim but it was not meant to be. I tried to be the best character I could but kept giggling when oreos would come talk to me. I would try it again even though I was no good. Thanks Yelp for the fun time and into to murder mysteries.

I've never been to a murder mystery event before but have always wanted to go to one. This was a…read morefun introduction to it. I really liked The Office theme. it made it really relatable and easy to understand how the characters were related to each other. I was hoping to be one of the people murdered but no such luck. It was fun seeing people really get into their roles as characters. A couple people were dressed perfectly as their characters and some others really got into character by acting the part. The clues were also clever. I guessed who the murderer was correctly but didn't guess the correct reason for the final murder. Raygun was a fun space to hold this event and it was fun looking at all their different t-shirts. Kudos to Jenni for coming up with such a creative event.

Time for an update! In the past 3 years since my last review of the city of Des Moines..... The…read morecity keeps growing in the right direction! Quality new local businesses, places to live, and things to do! There has been lots of urban movement and both out and up! Our city keeps being progressive and the arts community has blossomed! 15 years ago everyone was complaining about nothing to do and now they are complaining that there is to much going on and you can't get to everything you want! This is a good problem! LOVE DES MOINES

This was my first time in Iowa. Des Moines is the capital of the state and it is the site of the…read morefirst caucuses of the presidential primary cycle. This city is low key as you would expect. They do not have any professional sports teams of their own and have to adopt teams from other cities. The closest thing they have to a local sports team is the Drake Bulldogs. The city is also known for being the state's most populous city, and for also being a major center for the insurance industry. It is home to the Principal Financial Group, Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Wells Fargo, Cognizant, Voya Financial, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, ACE Limited, Bayer, and Corteva. The top attractions in the city include Wells Fargo Arena, Pappajohn Sculpture Park (Nothing to do with the pizza company), Blank Park Zoo, Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, Cowles Commons, Des Moines Art Center, and the Capital Building. The city has a bunch of public art to see. Outside of the sculptures in Pappajohn Sculpture Park, the city is heavy on murals. One of the most recognizable symbols of the city is the iconic Travelers umbrella sign. It is a large part of the Des Moines skyline. The people in the town are very friendly. The city experiences extreme weather with hot summers and cold winters. Being in the Midwest, the city is at high risk of experiencing hail storms and tornadoes. I found teh city to be very clean . I will say that there was not a lot to do as compared to other cities that I have visited though. The city does not have a large police presence, or at least they were not visible. However, I was never in a situation that I felt unsafe there. This is definitely a down home city. I will be honest, it may not be my first choice for a destination spot, but I am glad that I was able to check this place out.

This nice piece of public art is located in Cowles Commons. It is directly across the street from…read morethe Des Monies Civic Center and was commissioned by the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines, with a matching grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and donations from local sources. It costed $125,000 (in 1979) and is the work of Swedish born artists Claes and Coosje Oldenburg who created this piece in 1979. Contrary to popular belief at the time, the city's iconic red neon Travelers' umbrella sign did not play a part in the artists' decision to build the giant umbrella. The umbrella's concept is based off of Robinson Crusoe, the title character and famous castaway character from the novel by Daniel Defoe. Crusoe makes an umbrella from sticks and plants that he finds on the island where he is stranded. The umbrella does not function, but he still carries it with him everywhere. The piece was fabricated by Lippincott, Inc. and is constructed of weathering steel and painted with a green polyurethane enamel to help it endure the extreme Midwest climate. The sculpture weighs 20,000 pounds, and is 53-foot-long It is a nice piece that you have to view from a distance to really see what it is and get the artists' vision. The piece is in very good shape especially considering its age. There is metered street parking and a commercial garage within a reasonable walking distance from this piece. Anyway, as with most murals that I have visited and reviewed, this is not a long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. So, you may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other attractions in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip. There is a ton of public art in the area to see and a nice plaza area across the street.

This mural was made in 2019, this piece by Ben Schuh. The mural was commissioned by the Community…read moreFoundation of Greater Des Moines to celebrate their 50th birthday. They enlisted community members to assist with the mural's painting. The mursl depicts many of the unique features and facets of Des Moines. Each image illustrated inside the letters of DES MOINES represents a project the Community Foundation has been proud to support through grant making and community leadership efforts. The letter representation is as follows: D - World Food Prize Hall of Laureates E - Lauridsen Skatepark and the WOW skateable art S - Principal Riverwalk M - Robert D. Ray Asian Gardens O - 80/35 Music Festival I - B-cycle Program & Jackson Street Bridge N - Vibrant arts and cultural amenities E - Gray's Lake Park S - Central Iowa Water Trails The mural is in great shape and has some decent artwork. This mural really captures your attentions as you are walking or driving in downtown Des Moines. I find it interesting that the mural overlooks the Renaissance Des Moines Savery Hotel event center's large courtyard, that is fenced off and has limited access. Viewers cannot even get close to the mural. It is huge enough to see without any issues though. There is metered street parking available for those that are driving and want to get a closer look. I like this mural and think that is definitely worth a visit if you are in the area. However, as with most murals that I have visited and reviewed, this is not a long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. So, you may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other attractions in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip. There is a ton of public art in the area to see and a nice plaza area across the street.

This mural overlooks a small alleyway and a commercial parking lot that was packed, on the west…read moreexterior wall of the WorkSpace Inc.. It is the work of Jordan Weber who painted the piece in 2015. The piece is in fair condition and depicts a blonde woman who represents "the overall American consumer" or a "more traditional" Des Moines citizen reacting to downtown's rapid growth. At first I thought that the piece was vandalized but I believe that it is all part of Weber's design. You will find, partially hidden among the graffiti tags, Dopey from Disney's "Snow White" and a pair of Smurfs, whose woodland habitat is threatened by development." The mural has a comic book vibe, with a couple of partially obstructed "POW" word bubbles incorporated in it. It is definitely an interesting mural that you need its backstory to truly understand it. There is limited metered street parking available for those wishing to park and get a closer look. Anyway, as with most murals that I have visited and reviewed, this is not a long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. So, you may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other attractions in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip. There is a ton of public art in the area to see and a nice plaza area across the street.