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Northwestern Bell Telephone Company

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1928, George B. Prinz. Northwest corner 9th and High streets

The Northwest Bell building is a Des Moines example of the popular late-1920s Art Deco “Vertical style” skyscraper. Each of its bays is defined by pilasters that continue above the roof parapet; within each of the bays is a minor, much thinner pilaster, and this also reaches upward, culminating in stone crowned finials. As is appropriate for the style, the upper reaches of the building step back. Brick was used not only for the skin of the building but also as the means of patterning for the repeated spandrels.

Writing Credits

Author: 
David Gebhard and Gerald Mansheim
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Data

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Citation

David Gebhard and Gerald Mansheim, "Northwestern Bell Telephone Company", [Des Moines, Iowa], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/IA-01-CE113.

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