Two homes — each side of Ninth Street near University Avenue — show the before and after of historic restoration in Des Moines' River Bend neighborhood.
On Sunday, Sept. 21, the public can see inside those homes and several others during the second day of the neighborhood association's annual River Bend Historic Home Tour. The tour, which started Saturday, celebrates local architectural heritage and community history.
On the tour is a goldenrod-painted and orange-trimmed Victorian at 1224 Ninth St., which was the boyhood home of John Ruan, Sr. Ruan, who brought the World Food Prize to Des Moines, was chairman and CEO of the Ruan Companies and his name is on the Ruan Center in downtown Des Moines.
The look and value of the home now is a far cry from what Polk County property records an