Jim Cownie went in search of a middle ground between development and historic preservation, and, along with a crew of like-minded folks, may have found a resolution to protect murals at the Riverfront Y before the building is demolished.

 

In the process, he had a tree removed to provide an unobstructed view of a section of mural that depicts racial harmony, and saved a robin’s nest.

 

“I’m glad he stepped forward and that someone took an active role in this to make sure the murals are preserved and documented as much as possible,” said Pat Meiners, a historical preservationist who had asked initially that the Riverfront Y be declared a historic landmark and lobbied to save murals that adorned the building’s exterior walls and its interior spaces, including the well-known “kissing fishes” murals along the swimming pool.

 

The Riverfront Y property at 101 Locust St. is considered the grand prize of development land downtown. It is for sale because business and city leaders set in play a series of land deals in 2012 that led to the development of the Wellmark YMCA at the site of the former Polk County Convention Complex at Fifth and Grand avenues and the purchase of land for a convention center hotel.

 

A pending offer could be official later this month. There is little question that any buyer, now said to be a local developer, wants to purchase the site sans the eight-story structure. It would be too expensive and too complicated to save the building and convert it to a commercial use. City visionaries would like to see a luxury high-rise.

 

Meiners credits Cownie for working toward a solution to a problem that could have pitted developers against preservationists, creating the view of a section of mural and saving the bird’s nest.

 

As it stands, digital technology will be used to document all of the murals and possibly reproduce some of them for display at the ultra-modern Wellmark YMCA that replaced the Riverfront Y.

 

Meiners said preservationists might not have gotten everything they wanted — a brick-by-brick removal and transfer of the exterior murals, at a minimum — but they are pleased with the end result.

 

“You don’t alway get everything you want. That’s life,” said the longtime advocate of a museum focused solely on the city’s history.

 

When the Des Moines City Council denied efforts to have the 56-year-old building declared a historic landmark, City Councilwoman Christine Hensley promised to find a way to save the murals.

 

She called on Cownie to lead an ad hoc committee that grew to 10 people, including Meiners and other preservationists, members of the YMCA board, Hensley and local designers. Estimates for removing the murals brick by brick — bricks that were an integral part of the structure — came in at around $250,000, and Cownie feared the actual cost would be closer to $500,000.

 

“I couldn’t imagine who would come up with the money to make it happen,” he said.

 

The cost was prohibitive, so Cownie turned to David Dahlquist and Don Scandrett of RDG Dahlquist Art Studio, an arm of RDG Planning & Design. They turned toward the high-tech tools available to the design profession. High-resolution photos would be taken of all photos, using as much shadow-free natural light as possible on the exterior and erecting scaffolding and placing artificial light inside to grab photos that were as free of blemishes as possible. Sophisticated computer software would be used to remove distortions and create an image that would make the murals appear as though they were being viewed in person.

 

Next up is a printing process called digital glazing that uses powdered material rather than ink. The images can be reproduced on a variety of surfaces, including brick and tile, and in sizes as large or as small as desired. And they can be used in videos that would be used to tell the history of the YMCA.

 

“The first thing is save the image, and that’s a way to begin to tell the story,” Dahlquist said.

 

Des Moines photographer Doug Hetherington will lead the photo shoot.

 

“He’s one of the oldest photographers in business in the state, let alone country,” Dahlquist said.

 

Pieces of the murals also could be saved.

 

The cost of the project is about $150,000. Cownie has made a contribution and is seeking additional funds.

 

“I told the Y I would raise it or pay for it myself,” he said. If any money is left over, Cownie said it might be used to pay Stanley Hess, the former Drake University art professor who created the murals, something for his work. Hess volunteered his time for the original project.

 

Hensley is happy with the outcome.

 

“It’s exciting. There’s a lot of interest. I think the project that has been put forward is outstanding,” she said.

 

This is not the first time Cownie has found himself in potential conflict with preservationists. In 2008, when his JSC Properties Inc. bought property at 219 E. Grand Ave., plans were to tear down a 1930s terra cotta gasoline station and pave a parking lot.

 

Cownie donated the station and some cash to efforts to move it to a new location.

 

“If we can avoid a conflict between business and preservationists, that’s a good thing,” Cownie said.