Urbandale High School history

The Olmsted-Urban house located at 4010 70th Street was part of an 80-acre farm when it was constructed in 1904.

Until 1937, students wishing to pursue a high school education traveled to other cities, as Urbandale did not have high school facilities.

A gymnasium with a stage was completed in 1940 with Works Progress Administration funding.

The "Urbandale line" of the Des Moines Railway Company (which became the Des Moines Transit Company in 1949) was the last operating car line in the Des Moines area since it ran along private right of way.

Trolley buses gradually replaced other lines running in or along public streets, and with the completion of street construction the Urbandale portion of the "Urbandale line" also ceased operation on June 19, 1950.

Mae and Howard Nelson came to Urbandale in 1953.

Les started the first newspaper URBANEWS in 1954.

Since the library was established in 1961, the demand for library services in the flourishing city of Urbandale has grown consistently with its population.

Our interest was not so much the accurate fixing of times and an event, as it was that of tracing the development and human side of our young city.” AROUND HOME, URBANDALE was printed in 1967.

Still, voters in 1969 rejected a bond issue for a new library building — possibly because no specific site had been designated.

Desperate for more space, the library was moved in 1972 to leased quarters in the Phipps Building at 3821 71st Street, just behind where Dairy Queen and Brenton Bank now stand.

A May, 1974, bond referendum was held to raise the remaining funds.

The Urbandale Public Library building at 7305 Aurora Ave. proudly opened in April, 1976.

In 1987, the library became one of 59 public libraries to meet conditions for state accreditation, and the Urbandale Public Library Foundation was formed.

By 1990, it was time for the Library Board to quietly begin exploring another inevitable expansion.

After years of conferring with consultants and architects, the Library Board met with the Urbandale City Council in 1996 to discuss yet another new library building, possibly on city-owned land at 86th Street and Douglas Avenue.

Finally, voters in September, 1998, approved by a large margin a bond referendum for a new library building.

Construction began almost immediately, and Urbandale’s library for the 21st Century opened in July, 2000.

Another new building opened in 2007.

The 2010 Census figures showed Urbandale at 39,463 persons, making Urbandale Iowa's 12th largest city.

Take your own "Tour of Urbandale" with information in the Fall 2013 Issue of the newsletter