Successful Farming / Meredith Publishing Company

The modest-sized three-story towered building (1906) now appears to be snuggled in, somewhat like a dollhouse, next to the glass-and-metal-skinned addition of the early 1980s. Though small, the strongly quoined six-story tower (1912) of the original building continues to draw one's attention from its larger neighbor. The imagery of the 1906 structure is loosely Italian, though it would be difficult to pin it down to a single historic period. The architectural impact of the Meredith Publishing Company lies not so much in its old and recent buildings, but in its publishing ventures, especially Better Homes and Gardens, begun in 1924, and Metropolitan Home, a more recent magazine. In addition to these publications, Meredith has provided a home plan service, published plan books, and sponsored the construction of exhibition model houses, a number of which were built in Des Moines as well as elsewhere in the country.