The Seth Richards Commercial Block in Des Moines

The Seth Richards Commercial Block, also known as the Lederer-Strauss Building, is located on Court Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa. Its construction represents the transition of Court Avenue from a retail center to the city's wholesale district. The four-story brick Romanesque Revival building was constructed in two parts. The commercial blocks at 300-302 and 304-306 were completed and occupied in 1890, while 308-310 was completed and occupied by 1897.

Seth Richards acquired the property, which had been the location of several business houses. One of the lots had been owned by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Various wholesale clothing firms occupied the blocks until 1920, when Lederer, Strauss & Co, Inc, a millinery fabricator and wholesaler, occupied the entire building. The family-run business was sold in 1944 to the Hiersteiners, who incorporated the business as the Landsco Millinery Co.

By the mid-1950s, the Landsco Millinery Co. had scaled back and occupied less of the block, which was filled with other wholesalers. The Landsco Millinery Co. was liquidated in 1957. After the area ceased being a wholesale center, the building was converted for other retail uses in the Court Avenue Entertainment District. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons