Going under the provisional name of NORTHLAND CENTER, Des Moines' second shopping mall had been renamed MERLE HAY PLAZA by the time of its August 1959 grand opening. In this rendering, we see the open-air North Mall, which was part of a 740-foot-long shopping concourse.
The shopping center's namesake, Merle David Hay. He was the first Iowa citizen lost in World War I, as well as one of the first three American soldiers killed in the conflict. In December 1917, 58th Street, in Des Moines, was renamed Merle Hay Road in his honor.
Photo from http://www.dmoed.org
Saint Gabriel's Monastery of the Passionist Order, which stood at the southeast corner of the MERLE HAY PLAZA site. The structure was razed in 1958.
Photo from http://www.dmoed.org
