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- Learning iPads and iPhones - (8 sessions)
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Fee: $45.00
Item Number: SP25COU13711
Dates: 2/3/2025 - 3/24/2025
Times: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Days: M
Sessions: 8
Building: ZOOM
Room:
Instructor: Sam Wormley
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
One of our most popular instructors, Sam Wormley, returns for another series of eight classes. The goal of this class is for you to learn more about your iPad and iPhone. Sam will include tips for making the most of your device for photographs.
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- 100 Battleships: From the Merrimack to the Missouri
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Fee: $45.00
Item Number: SP25COU13721
Dates: 2/4/2025 - 2/25/2025
Times: 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Days: Tu
Sessions: 4
Building: ZOOM
Room:
Instructor: Buck Beasom
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
The age of battleships spanned less than 80 years. During that time, they were symbols of national pride, national humiliation and an enormous drain on national treasuries. The great battle fleets became the stage for heroes and scoundrels, the fools and the wise, and were often sacrificed on the most hopeless enterprises, sending the “Officers and Men” to the bottom.
This course follows the development of metal ships with guns from the first ironclads to the giants of World War II. We trace the development of steam engines and the shift from pistons and coal to turbines and oil. We track the early triumphs and disasters of battle fleets, the vast, far-flung engagements of the Dreadnoughts and the eclipse of battleships when aircraft changed warfare.
Battleships is based on a PowerPoint presentation with thousands of embedded images, videos and animated graphics.
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- Tai Chi for Beginners - Spring 2025
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Fee: $30.00
Item Number: SP25COU13731
Dates: 2/4/2025 - 5/16/2025
Times: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Days: Tu F
Sessions: 30
Building: TBA
Room:
Instructor: Daniel Alexander
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
Classes are at noon on Tuesdays and Fridays during semester. Please refer to catalog for further details and dates. The class will be in the Knapp Center, but exact location in building not yet confirmed. Details will be emailed to participants.
This course introduces the practice of Tai Chi with a gentle, non-taxing routine that includes elements of Qigong, Yang style Tai Chi, and movement training. While it is a beginner’s course, people who have experience with Tai Chi are also welcome. The course is taught with the spirit that any movement is good movement. There are many claims about the positive benefits of Tai Chi, and it is our hope that with regular practice, you will notice a difference in overall flexibility, fitness, and ability to relax. If any parts of our routine are not comfortable, you do not need to do them. If you have any health concerns about taking the class, we recommend that you consult your physician.
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- Economic Roundtable - Spring 2025
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Fee: $45.00
Item Number: SP25COU13751
Dates: 2/5/2025 - 5/14/2025
Times: 10:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Days: M W
Sessions: 4
Building: Harkin Institute
Room: Auditorium
Instructor: Thomas Root
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
This class meets once per month:
Wed. Feb. 5 at 10 a.m., Mon. March 17 at 10 a.m., Wed. April 9 at 10 a.m.,
and Wed. May 14 at 2 p.m.
Ever since its earliest offering during the 2008 financial crisis, the Economic Roundtable has strived to better understand the tumultuous economic environment of the last 15 years. The Spring 2025 economic roundtable continues its mission with a focus on considering the potential for a future recession, the current state of the labor market, the impact of the Federal Reserve’s efforts to stop inflation, and the increased political rhetoric in the run up to the presidential election. Please join us in discussing what are often conflicting economic signals and political rhetoric in a quest to better understand the current economic environment.
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- Economic Roundtable - Spring 2025
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Fee: $45.00
Item Number: SP25COU13752
Dates: 2/5/2025 - 5/14/2025
Times: 10:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Days: M W
Sessions: 4
Building: ZOOM
Room:
Instructor: Thomas Root
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
This class meets once per month:
Wed. Feb. 5 at 10 a.m., Mon. March 17 at 10 a.m., Wed. April 9 at 10 a.m.,
and Wed. May 14 at 2 p.m.
Ever since its earliest offering during the 2008 financial crisis, the Economic Roundtable has strived to better understand the tumultuous economic environment of the last 15 years. The Spring 2025 economic roundtable continues its mission with a focus on considering the potential for a future recession, the current state of the labor market, the impact of the Federal Reserve’s efforts to stop inflation, and the increased political rhetoric in the run up to the presidential election. Please join us in discussing what are often conflicting economic signals and political rhetoric in a quest to better understand the current economic environment.
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- The World in Review - Spring 2025
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Fee: $45.00
Item Number: SP25COU13761
Dates: 2/5/2025 - 5/7/2025
Times: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Days: W
Sessions: 4
Building: Harkin Institute
Room: Auditorium
Instructor: Ellen Pirro
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
Join Ellen for a monthly update on the current happenings in international relations and European politics. This class examines the resurgence of a world organized in major poles – three at this time – who contend with each other for dominance. The unipolar world centered around the United States, from 1989 (the end of the Cold War) to roughly 2008, is gone. The United States faces major challenges from Russia and China, each of whom has global ambitions. Their goals will be examined and we will look to the future in this fast-evolving situation.
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- The World in Review - Spring 2025
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Fee: $45.00
Item Number: SP25COU13762
Dates: 2/5/2025 - 5/7/2025
Times: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Days: W
Sessions: 4
Building: ZOOM
Room:
Instructor: Ellen Pirro
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
Join Ellen for a monthly update on the current happenings in international relations and European politics. This class examines the resurgence of a world organized in major poles – three at this time – who contend with each other for dominance. The unipolar world centered around the United States, from 1989 (the end of the Cold War) to roughly 2008, is gone. The United States faces major challenges from Russia and China, each of whom has global ambitions. Their goals will be examined and we will look to the future in this fast-evolving situation.
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- From Iowa to Indochina –Reflections on the 50th Anniversary of the End of the Vietnam War
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Fee: $45.00
Item Number: SP25COU13781
Dates: 2/7/2025 - 2/21/2025
Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Days: F
Sessions: 3
Building: Harkin Institute
Room: Auditorium
Instructor: Ambassador Kenneth Quinn
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
“Five Decades After April 30, 1975, the Last Casualty of the Vietnam War has yet to take place”. Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, made that statement on December 3, 2024, at a symposium on de-mining and clearing explosives from the former DMZ in Central Vietnam. The Ambassador, who spent 24 of his 32-year diplomatic career either serving in Vietnam and Cambodia or working on post-conflict issues, will over two sessions provide a personal retrospective on the Vietnam War. From the Tet Offensive to the evacuation of Saigon to rescuing refugees and accounting for POW/MIAs to tracking down Pol Pot, the genocidal Khmer Rouge leader, Ken Quinn had an extraordinary front row seat to the tumultuous and tragic encounter with history in Indochina that defined American politics in the second half of the 20th Century. Shot at while flying helicopter missions; blown up by a North Vietnamese rocket; serving as interpreter for the President in Vietnamese; testifying in an espionage trial; suffering from Agent Orange; gaining access to a former Soviet prison to search for missing American pilots; as well as interacting with historic figures such as Senators John McCain and John Kerry; are just some of Ambassador Quinn’s personal experiences that he will share during the course.
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- From Iowa to Indochina –Reflections on the 50th Anniversary of the End of the Vietnam War
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Fee: $45.00
Item Number: SP25COU13782
Dates: 2/7/2025 - 2/21/2025
Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Days: F
Sessions: 3
Building: ZOOM
Room:
Instructor: Ambassador Kenneth Quinn
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
“Five Decades After April 30, 1975, the Last Casualty of the Vietnam War has yet to take place”. Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, made that statement on December 3, 2024, at a symposium on de-mining and clearing explosives from the former DMZ in Central Vietnam. The Ambassador, who spent 24 of his 32-year diplomatic career either serving in Vietnam and Cambodia or working on post-conflict issues, will over two sessions provide a personal retrospective on the Vietnam War. From the Tet Offensive to the evacuation of Saigon to rescuing refugees and accounting for POW/MIAs to tracking down Pol Pot, the genocidal Khmer Rouge leader, Ken Quinn had an extraordinary front row seat to the tumultuous and tragic encounter with history in Indochina that defined American politics in the second half of the 20th Century. Shot at while flying helicopter missions; blown up by a North Vietnamese rocket; serving as interpreter for the President in Vietnamese; testifying in an espionage trial; suffering from Agent Orange; gaining access to a former Soviet prison to search for missing American pilots; as well as interacting with historic figures such as Senators John McCain and John Kerry; are just some of Ambassador Quinn’s personal experiences that he will share during the course.
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- Promoting Accountability and Efficiency in Government
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Fee: $15.00
Item Number: SP25COU14081
Dates: 3/12/2025 - 3/12/2025
Times: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Days: W
Sessions: 1
Building: Harkin Institute
Room: Auditorium
Instructor:
THIS CLASS IS FULL. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
When State Auditor Rob Sand took office, he aimed to improve accountability by “waking up the watchdog” in Iowa government. Working with newly-configured leadership, Sand implemented paperless reports, eliminated some degree requirements, and created a government efficiency program that has been copied in two different states. Students will examine the strategy and thinking that set the stage for success and think critically about how to break molds in institutional settings to make things better.
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- HEALTHY EATING SERIES: “Souper” soups and interesting breads!
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Fee: $40.00
Item Number: SP25COU14101
Dates: 3/18/2025 - 3/25/2025
Times: 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Days: Tu
Sessions: 2
Building: Harkin Institute
Room: Auditorium
Instructor: Patricia Quinlisk, Lisa LaValle
THIS CLASS IS FULL. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
Dr. Patricia Quinlisk and Chef Lisa Lavalle are back to bring innovative ways to prepare nutritional but easy soups paired with breads that you may not have tried before (injera anyone?). The soups will be accompanied by a variety of flavorful add-ons that will enhance the health benefits of your meal. These soup-based light lunches will be provided each session.
Includes light lunch in both sessions.
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- VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: Food Sorting at the Food Bank of Iowa - MORNING SESSION
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Fee: $0.00
Item Number: SP25COU14191
Dates: 3/27/2025 - 3/27/2025
Times: 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Days: Th
Sessions: 1
Building: Food Bank of Iowa
Room:
Instructor:
THIS CLASS IS FULL. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
1st Session: 9 to11:30 a.m.
Join OLLI at Drake members in volunteering at the Food Bank of Iowa. Sign up to volunteer for one session only. The task will be sorting food with consideration for freshness, safety, quality, and client preference into quantities appropriate for shipping. This activity could involve sorting produce, or other products, depending on the donations received for processing that day.
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- VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: Food Sorting at the Food Bank of Iowa - AFTERNOON SESSION
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Fee: $0.00
Item Number: SP25COU14201
Dates: 3/27/2025 - 3/27/2025
Times: 1:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Days: Th
Sessions: 1
Building: Food Bank of Iowa
Room:
Instructor:
THIS CLASS IS FULL. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
Session 2: 1:30 to 4 p.m.
Join OLLI at Drake members in volunteering at the Food Bank of Iowa. Sign up to volunteer for one session only. The task will be sorting food with consideration for freshness, safety, quality, and client preference into quantities appropriate for shipping. This activity could involve sorting produce, or other products, depending on the donations received for processing that day.
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- Trees and Climate Change
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Fee: $0.00
Item Number: SP25COU14451
Dates: 4/25/2025 - 4/25/2025
Times: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Days: F
Sessions: 1
Building: Brenton Arboretum
Room:
Instructor: Melissa Burdick
THIS CLASS IS FULL. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
Once upon a time the Earth’s climate changed at, literally, a glacial pace. Now in the Holocene, aka the age of man, our climate is fluctuating widely and wildly with the undeniable, persistent, and problematic trend of getting steadily hotter. In the olden days—like, really really olden prehistoric days—it took a millennium or more for the Earth’s temperature to change by a degree in either direction, allowing plants multiple generations to evolve adaptations or “move” to more accommodating regions. But now, thanks to shifts in the atmosphere that have been sped up by human activity, temperatures are changing much faster than plants with long lifespans can adapt to. In this program we will examine how climate change is affecting tree populations around the world and what conservationists are doing to try to stay a step ahead. We’ll also learn how we can use trees to help combat climate change in our own backyards.
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- The Rebirth of Dobson Pipe Organs: Tour the Facility and Learn from the Owner
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Fee: $15.00
Item Number: SP25COU14461
Dates: 4/26/2025 - 4/26/2025
Times: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Days: Sa
Sessions: 1
Building: Dobson Organs, Lake City, IA
Room:
Instructor: John Panning
THIS CLASS IS FULL. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
Participants will have the opportunity to tour the new workshop of Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, seeing firsthand how organs are made. Particular attention will be given to organ pipes, how they’re constructed, and how changing various parameters affects the tone.
Further details for carpooling, etc. will be sent closer to the date. Participants can choose their own locations to have lunch.
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- Beginning Mah Jongg - Spring 2025
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Fee: $45.00
Item Number: SP25COU14471
Dates: 4/28/2025 - 5/19/2025
Times: 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Days: M
Sessions: 4
Building: Harkin Institute
Room: Boardroom
Instructor: Margie Davidson
THIS CLASS IS FULL. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
Want to challenge and exercise your brain by learning a new game? Mah Jongg is a fascinating rummy-like game played with tiles rather than cards. It is a game of skill, strategy and calculation and it involves a certain degree of chance. The four-player table version should not be confused with the tile matching computer game version, which is a recent invention and completely different from the table game. This class will follow National Mah Jongg League rules, which use a card (changed each year) of standard hands. Learners will work with experienced players during each class session as they learn rules, strategies, and all the challenging aspects of this game.
Class fee includes the purchase of the National Mah Jongg League 2025 Card for each participant.
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- City of Des Moines Cemetery Tours - Spring 2025
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Fee: $45.00
Item Number: SP25COU14511
Dates: 5/2/2025 - 5/16/2025
Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Days: F
Sessions: 3
Building: TBA
Room:
Instructor: Ganesh Ganpat, Jeff Kluever, Archie Cook
THIS CLASS IS FULL. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
The Des Moines Municipal Cemeteries offers three types of cemetery tours. Tour participants must be able to walk up to 1.5 miles and the tours range approximately two hours in length. The outdoor tours are both historically accurate and entertaining.
Civil War History Tour by Jeff Kluever, Woodland Cemetery – 2019 Woodland Avenue
On this Civil War-themed tour of Woodland Cemetery, guests will learn the history of Iowa in the Civil War through first-hand accounts of a few of the men who served and are now buried there. The twelve stops on the tour will highlight stories from Wilson’s Creek, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Sherman’s March, as well as other engagements, including the experiences of United States Colored Troops now interred at the cemetery. The stories from the men buried at Woodland are supplemented by historic photographs and Civil War relics, bringing their story to life more than a century after their death. Jeff Kluever, Cemetery Historian will lead the 1 ¼ mile walking tour.
Glendale Cemetery Historical Tour by Ganesh Ganpat, Glendale Cemetery – 4909 University Avenue
Glendale Cemetery is one of the largest and most active cemeteries in our state. When the cemetery first opened, it was so far west of the population center it was believed it would never be used. Your tour includes a visit to the Glendale Abbey, the GAR section, former VP Henry A. Wallace’s burial site and many other notable residents. Participants also learn about what makes the cemetery unique culturally, how the cemetery operates today, headstone designs, cremations burials, volunteer opportunities and monument cleaning. Your tour is 1 ½ miles, and tour guide is Ganesh Ganpat, Cemetery Manager.
Woodland Cemetery Historical Tour by Archie Cook, Woodland Cemetery – 2019 Woodland Avenue
Woodland Cemetery is a vast treasury of our heritage and the many pioneer leaders who are buried there transformed our country. Cemetery historian/researcher/educator Archie Cook shares his wealth of knowledge about Woodland Cemetery during about 1-mile walk. The stories told by the monuments and headstones combine to form the history of the city as it has passed through civil and world wars, epidemics, and natural disasters as well as the normal course of birth, life, and death. Passing through the narrow drives of the cemetery, you see stone etchings of the names of many citizens from our past who helped build Des Moines. The names are a part of everyday life in our city’s landscape, streets, parks, schools, and buildings, such as Savery, Kenworthy, Ingersoll, Hubbell, Kaplan, Perkins, Teachout, Fleur, Redhead, Polk, and Sherman.
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- Birdwatching in Central Iowa - Spring 2025
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Fee: $30.00
Item Number: SP25COU14521
Dates: 5/5/2025 - 5/19/2025
Times: 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Days: M
Sessions: 3
Building: TBA
Room:
Instructor: Dennis Thompson
THIS CLASS IS FULL. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
Join one of Iowa’s foremost birders, Dennis Thompson, for a morning bird walk exploring central Iowa parks. We’ll look for a wide variety of species in various habitats. Novices are very welcome. Bring binoculars and a small notebook to record your sightings. Participants will receive meeting directions via email prior to the class. Expect some uneven terrain and wear sturdy shoes.
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- VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: Planting Day at the Iowa State Fairgrounds
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Fee: $0.00
Item Number: SP25COU14581
Dates: 5/15/2025 - 5/15/2025
Times: 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Days: Th
Sessions: 1
Building: Iowa State Fairgrounds
Room:
Instructor:
THIS CLASS IS FULL. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
Ever wanted to get more involved in the beautiful gardens on the Iowa State Fairgrounds? Now is your opportunity! OLLI at Drake members will have a day of work at the Iowa State Fairgrounds gardens on May 15th. Participants will be supervised for a two-hour timeslot and should be prepared for gardening with appropriate clothing, gardening gloves, etc., and will be primarily working on new plantings under the supervision of the Iowa State Fair gardeners.
Participants will be allocated their timeslot.
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- VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: Planting Day at the Iowa State Fairgrounds
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Fee: $0.00
Item Number: SP25COU14582
Dates: 5/15/2025 - 5/15/2025
Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Days: Th
Sessions: 1
Building: Iowa State Fairgrounds
Room:
Instructor:
THIS CLASS IS FULL. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
Ever wanted to get more involved in the beautiful gardens on the Iowa State Fairgrounds? Now is your opportunity! OLLI at Drake members will have a day of work at the Iowa State Fairgrounds gardens on May 15th. Participants will be supervised for a two-hour timeslot and should be prepared for gardening with appropriate clothing, gardening gloves, etc., and will be primarily working on new plantings under the supervision of the Iowa State Fair gardeners.
Participants will be allocated their timeslot.
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- Iowa Architectural Foundation: Waveland Park Neighborhood – What Style is This House?
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Fee: $30.00
Item Number: SP25COU14621
Dates: 5/22/2025 - 5/22/2025
Times: 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Days: Th
Sessions: 1
Building: TBA
Room:
Instructor:
THIS CLASS IS FULL. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
Take a 90-minute walking tour of the Waveland Park neighborhood in Des Moines to learn about Craftsman Homes, Sears & Roebuck kit homes, and important historical homes all built in the Stylized Period from approximately 1905 to 1929. Learn to distinguish a Bungalow from a Proto-Ranch or a Tudor Revival from a Neo Classical. Wear comfortable walking shoes and bring a camera!
This tour is offered by the Iowa Architectural Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring the appreciation of architecture and design through adult enrichment and youth education programs.
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