Grinnell to Pella to Newton and Home

July 18, Bea and I headed off on another road trip. I was still without my truck and Bea was at the wheel! Definitely cannot come to Iowa without Dutch Letter Pastries from Jaarsma Bakery in Pella, so off we went. Enroute, we stopped in Grinnell so I could get some pictures of the Sullivan "Jewel Box" Bank.

Located in downtown, Grinnell, The “Jewel Box Bank” is one of the small banks designed by Louis Sullivan between 1909 and 1919. Built in 1914, the original part of the bank now houses the Grinnell Chamber of Commerce.

A “Victorian” architect, Sullivan was born in Boston and studied at MIT and in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. As a founder of the “Prairie School” of architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright was one of his students. Additional photos can be seen at this website: http://www.galenfrysinger.com/iowa_grinnell_merchants_bank.htm

Then on to Pella to the bakery, to Ulrich's meat market for some ring bologna and bacon as only made in Pella and to the Windmill Cafe for a piece of sinfully delicious buttermilk pecan pie!

On the way back to Marshalltown, we drove through Newton, IA to locate some of the wall murals painted by Carl Homstad. An artist from Decorah, Iowa, he received his BA in Art from Luther College (Decorah, IA) and continued his studies in Europe, China and Japan. He has painted more than 40 large outside murals over the last 30 years.

 

 

We stopped at Montana Mikes for a late lunch/early supper and headed home. Once back in Marshalltown, we drove downtown to see the murals Homstad painted in Marshalltown.