The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archeological resources.

Property Name	Greenwood Park Plats Historic District
Reference Number	13000068
State	Iowa
County	Polk
Town	Des Moines
Street Address	39th to 42nd. Approximately Grand Ave. to Center/Pleasant Sts, 4006. 4024 Grand Ave., Des Moines, IA
Multiple Property Submission Name	N/A
Status	Listed 04/24/2013
Link to full file	http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/feature/places/pdfs/13000068.pdf

This district is recommended as being locally significant and eligible for the National Register of Historic Places on the basis of its architectural significance (Criterion C), and its historical association with the westward expansion of Des Moines' residential area and as the 1879-1885 site for the Iowa State Fair (Criterion A, Community Planning and Development). The district's period of significance is 1879-1962. This period includes the state fair period and the subsequent up building of the district to the 50 year National Register cut-off date. Significant dates are 1886, the platting date; 1902, the provision of a local firehouse, and 1946, the final filling in and development of the former lake site, which also entailed the straightening of 39th Street, which previously diverted around the east side of the lake.

 

Properties are listed in the National Register of Historic Places under four criteria: A, B, C, and D. For information on what these criterion are and how they are applied, please see our Bulletin on How to Apply the National Register Criteria

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