Sherman Hill Historic District

The Sherman Hill Historic District is located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It is one of the oldest residential suburbs in Des Moines. Single-family houses were constructed beginning around 1880 and multi-family dwellings were built between 1900 and 1920. The district encompasses 80 acres (0.32 km2) and 210 buildings and is bounded by 15th Street, Woodland Avenue, Martin Luther King Parkway and School Street. The historic district has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979.HistorySherman Hill took its name in the early 1970s, borrowed from the name of Hoyt Sherman Place, which is located in the southeast part of the neighborhood. In the early 1870s Des Moines banker Hoyt Sherman built his brick "palazzo" on a hill overlooking the city center. He was followed by local developers such as Talmadge Brown, James Savory and W.C. Burton who laid out streets and lots in the first of seven subdivisions which now encompasses the district. The forty years of development saw the construction of late Victorian mansions, simple hipped box houses, the gable-roofed vernacular houses and small cottages. After 1900 multi-family apartment buildings were built in the district. It has the highest concentration of residential architecture from the late 19th century and the early 20th century in Des Moines. Given the range of architecture and houses sizes it has also contained a variety of income levels over the years.