Younker Brothers Department Store
- Architect
- Liebbe, Nourse & Rasmussen
- Year
- 1899
- Style
- Commercial Vernacular
- City
- Des Moines, IA
The Younker Brothers Department Store, designed by Liebbe, Nourse & Rasmussen, became Younkers' flagship location in November 1899, decades after the company was founded in Keokuk, Iowa in 1856 and moved its headquarters to Des Moines in 1879. The store installed Iowa's first escalator, the 'electric stairs,' in 1939, and operated downtown until closing on August 12, 2005.
the building
The electric stairs. In 1939 the building installed the first escalator in Iowa, known as the 'electric stairs,' a fixture of the flagship store's downtown shopping experience.
Fire and collapse. During renovation into 120 apartments and retail space, a fire broke out in the early morning of March 29, 2014, causing the upper floors to collapse; arson was ruled out by the ATF, and the eastern part of the building was later demolished.
the style
The building was constructed in the Early Commercial style typical of turn-of-the-century downtown retail architecture.
More on Commercial Vernacularthe architect
Liebbe, Nourse & Rasmussen designed the building, which became Younkers' flagship store when the company relocated here in 1899.
significance
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. Following the 2014 fire, the Alexander Company, a Wisconsin-based developer, announced plans for the site.
nearby
- Register and Tribune Building
- Hubbell Building
- Fleming Building
- Equitable Building
- Hippee Building
- Iowa-Des Moines National Bank Building