Prev 3 Next

Ottumwa, Iowa 52501

(Photos)

Pokeweed in autumn, in a backalley cove in downtown Ottumwa.

In Ottumwa, Iowa, late one October were these ornamental maple trees, to decorate a strip between a parking lot and a sidewalk.

In downtown Ottumwa a lineup of utility poles was an occasion for a showy spectacle of five sets of double guywires with orange plastic covers.

Ah the Des Moines River, moving its water toward the Mississippi River. Ah the Jefferson Street Viaduct, built in 1936.

Here were a 48-year-old bridge and the Des Moines River, during a time of low water.

The people of Ottumwa, Iowa, have redesigned the Des Moines River to match their quirky specifications.

The view across the Des Moines River toward downtown Ottumwa is well-known to most Iowans.

In a storefront window was a flag-waving torso with a plastic houseplant for a head, balanced upon a yellow plastic crate.

Storefront window of downhome Christmas.

In Iowa, triangular notches in concrete blocks were arranged to express a lozenge pattern.

From the year 1982 we have inherited a circle of brown bricks on a wall of brown brick veneer.

A grid of brick-shaped tiles occurred, glossy black.

Brick wall of distinction.

My memories of 1924!, tall windows.

A lobby!, a neomansard!, erected 1977.

Autumn comes to Ottumwa. "Autumnwa" portmanteau idea.

This was a downspout at a painted brick wall.

Familiar comforts of midwestern towns: Prairie grasses grow as weeds from brick walls.

For a neoclassical entryway in Iowa: An adorable roadside mailbox.

A gap in a downspout!, at a boundary between concrete blocks and brick veneer.

The Nebraska Zephyr

Stationary Show

UP 8153 - Ottumwa, IA

Experience America - Smithsonian American Art Museum - Washington, DC September 15, 2024

Prev 3 Next