Des Moines By Night

Des Moines was not exactly a hub of activity during our admittedly brief stay in the city. 

So not surprisingly, it seemed to be largely lacking when it came to the scene after dark. Not much in the way of nightlife to be found there. 

That said, there are certainly parts of the city that look pretty,  even almost spectacular, at night. I found this to be particularly true of the State Capitol Building when illuminated by the floodlights. 

Not surprisingly, it resembles the Hotel des Invalides in Paris at night,  as it does in the daylight. Makes sense, since it is,  of course,  modeled on that building. 

Also, there were these blue and purple streetlights that fascinated my son and me. We saw the same kind of streetlights  in Kansas City,  so it must have been a Midwest thing. It reminded me of the first time that I saw blue lights inside of buses,  which I believe was in Seattle over 20 years ago now. Those lights were designed to calm people down, or at least so I was told. Since then,  I have seen those lights closer to home,  in the New York/New Jersey region. So I wondered if these lights,  similarly, were designed to calm drivers. Also,  if they too would be seen in other parts of the country,such as in the greater New York/New Jersey metropolitan area, or will they simply remain a local phenomenon?

So I added some pictures of these still seemingly bizarre streetlights,  for now. Also, the Asian Garden and the skyline of downtown Des Moines as these began to be illuminated. 

Enjoy!