118 Fifth Street

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Evaluation:

This is a contributing Fifth Street building within the historic district. It is an early commercial building (1894).

District Characteristic	Yes	No	Findings/Recommendations
Two-story brick with narrow mass		X
Larger, broader massing		X
Other key façade features		X
Architectural style		X
Prominent location		X
Original façade materials	X
Upper fenestration pattern		X
Sympathetic Storefront Infill		X	An early design with a central entrance survives.
Brick corbelled parapet			The parapet is unadorned.
Cornice/coping (not metal)		X

Physical Description:

This one-story painted brick single story building largely matches is south counterpart. While unelaborated, its upper front brickwork is framed by slightly projecting stack bond rowlocks along the inner sidewalls. A deeper angled wooden cornice forms the parapet base and a brick signage area is similarly framed at each end by an identical bricked feature. A second wooden cornice caps the storefront and there is no transom, that area now being covered by the signage area above. The storefront entry is centered with flanking brick columns and this storefront was present as of 1968.

Documented Alterations:

The current brick storefront is present behind a clapboard covering. An aluminum double door opening as of 1968 has been downsized to a single door. A frame gable roof rear addition extends the plan to 89 feet, the width being 16 feet. Permits include a walk-in cooler (fall 1959), the repair of unspecified fire damage in mid- 1965, the repair of the building front in April 1917, plumbing work in 1983, electrical and heating work in 1985 and a storefront alteration in April 1985.

Commercial History:

Business	Owner	Start	Stop	Notes of Interest
Roslin’s Salon & Health Spa	Roslin and Frank Reynolds	1994	current	Second location, started in 1978
The Vintage Lady		1989	1993	Saved stock before flood, to 411 Railway Place, closed 1994
A Boutique on Fifth		1989	1995	118 Fifth
Kneading Therapy			1997
Upper Cut Salon	Ann Cleland	1990	1996	Owns building
Valley Antiques		1985	1988	$10,000 theft-Register, June 15, 1988
Crigler Refrigeration		1968	1985?	Sells building July 1985
Valley [Junction] Coney Island/West Des Moines Coney Island-tavern & lunch	Chris Stamatellon	1932	1965	Fridge fire with smoke damage (Tribune, August 17, 1961)-thieves cut through roof, failed to open safe and started fire (Tribune, October 6, 1964)
Carl Glas cigar factory		1935	1937	Liquor stamp, 1937. To store at 120 Fifth 1943-44
Gordon's confectionary		1922
tailor Charles Adams		1919
Max Silverstein's Men's Furnishings		1915	1916	Fire destroys stock, badly burns interior-Tribune, January 27, 1916 (Ashworth’s own building)
Kilpatrick's Saloon		1909	1910
barber shop		1897		Sanborn Map
		1894		Paired partial-width rear wings on 116-118 Fifth hint at a near-simultaneous construction with a unified design.