This is the final collection of images I took while harvesting the town signs of Des Moines & Louisa County. I really found Burlington to be photogenic and would like to go back there and spend some time photographing it. Also, and not unrelated, there is a stop on the Tenderloin Trail 2.0 that could be incorporated into any trip of the sort.

Last time we left off on Snake Alley in Burlington:

The less famous but still fascinating Cobblestone Alley.

Illinois

Middletown – The site of a giant ammunition plant that I had no clue existed.

A resident of Danville was a pen pal of Anne Frank.

Cairo

Wyman

A meal from the Dairy Mart in Ainsworth.

I want one.

Quarry

I think we need to dive into the history of a couple things. Starting with Snake Alley.

From the Wiki:

The physical limitations and steep elevation of Heritage Hill inspired the construction of Snake Alley in 1894. It was intended to link the downtown business district and the neighborhood shopping area located on North Sixth Street, of which Snake Alley is a one-block section. Three German immigrants conceived and carried out the idea of a winding hillside street, similar to vineyard paths in France and Germany: Charles Starker, an architect and landscape engineer; William Steyh, the city engineer; and George Kriechbaum, a paving contractor. The street was completed in 1898, but was not originally named Snake Alley, as it was considered part of North Sixth Street; some years later, a resident noted that it reminded him of a snake winding its way down the hill, and the name stuck.

The alley originally provided a shortcut from Heritage Hill to the business district. Bricks were laid at an angle to allow horses better footing as they descended. Unfortunately, riding horses back up the alley often resulted in a loss of control at the top; for this reason, even to this day, Snake Alley remains a one-way street, with all traffic heading downhill.

And about that connection with Anne Frank. From the Danville Library website:

Our story goes back to the fall of 1939 when a Danville teacher, Miss Birdie Mathews, initiated a pen pal exchange for her class. Ten year old Juanita Wagner picked a name from a list of pen pals. She chose a girl her own age who lived in Amsterdam. The girl’s name was Anne Frank.
Danville, Iowa is one of two places in the world to view the pen pal letters. These letters are on display at the Danville Museum.

The things you had no clue were in Iowa!!

The next set of auxiliary images will come from a rain day I spent in Dubuque County.