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Advance registration for the free workshop is recommended
Reserve seats by contacting Steve
Wilke-Shapiro, swilkeshapiro@gmail.com, 710-3484.
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The Drake Neighborhood Association will present a free
workshop on how to research your home’s history. The public workshop
will run from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, February 13, at the historic
First Christian Church, 2500 University Avenue.

Local historian Jennifer Irsfeld James and Des Moines Rehabbers Club
founder Steve Wilke-Shapiro will cover how to search public records,
locate unconventional sources, and document your research. Every house
harbors secrets -- we'll share how to uncover them.

The workshop kicks off the Drake Neighborhood Association’s (DNA) new
Historical and Architectural Resources Survey. The Drake Neighborhood
Association (DNA) has won two grants that will underwrite a historical
and architectural resources survey, a powerful economic development
tool. City and state are signing the contracts right now.

Together with the State Historic Preservation Office and City of Des
Moines Community Development staff, DNA members have charted the
$41,000 historical and architectural survey of the entire Drake
Neighborhood funded through grants and volunteer labor.

The project will begin in March, allowing the City and Drake
Neighborhood to hire a certified consultant to survey and document the
history and architecture of the neighborhood using information culled
by volunteers. The survey will identify potential historic districts
and properties, which will give property owners the opportunity to tap
into generous state and federal historic tax credits.

“Sleuthing the past is something of a treasure hunt,” says James, who
has gleaned tidbits of history from city directories, old maps,
yearbooks, and even things found in the walls. “Discoveries can
include old photographs of house and former owners, clues to
architectural changes, and even celebrity connections.”

This event is open to the public and is sponsored by the Drake
Neighborhood Association with the Des Moines Rehabbers Club
(http://RenovateDSM.com).

GET INVOLVED:
* To volunteer for the historical survey, please contact Steve
Wilke-Shapiro, swilkeshapiro@gmail.com, 710-3484.