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It was fitting that The New York Times ran a glowing article about downtown Des Moines just as John Ruan passed away at the age of 96.

Fitting as a tribute to what Ruan and a few others of his generation started here – and also as a reminder of how things have changed. The Times headlined its story “In Des Moines, Downtown Revival Is a Team Effort,” and used Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s new headquarters as its prime example of how things are getting done here.

“… the project will have taken roughly four years from start to finish,” the Times wrote. “By the standards of most downtown construction – where land assembly alone can span half a decade or more – that is unusually fast, developers say. But Wellmark’s speedy pace is typical of recent commercial, residential and retail development in Des Moines, where public and private cooperation has produced a robust urban landscape matched by few cities its size.”

Nothing beats cooperation. But anyone wanting to learn the Des Moines lesson needs to go back to the glory days of Ruan, Bill Knapp, the late John Fitzgibbon and the late David Kruidenier to understand what came first.

Strong personalities and major showdowns were the order of the day when downtown Des Moines first stirred from decades of complacency.

Ruan and his fellow leaders shouldered the responsibility and carried their projects forward with sheer willpower.

By doing the dirty work, they made this a place where it was a lot easier to envision the finer things – stylish architecture, lively night life and Ruan’s World Food Prize ceremony, for example.

David Southwell, Wellmark’s chief financial officer, is quoted in the Times: “Downtown 13 years ago, when I got here, looked nothing like it does today.”

True. But you should have seen it 40 years ago. Ruan did, and he wasn’t satisfied. Now look.