Rainy Day in Des Moines

The mural Rainy Day in Des Moines is no longer accessible. Since 2016, an interior wall on the 2nd floor (skywalk level) of the Equitable Building has covered the mural.

Doug Shelton’s mural captures a historical street view of the 19-story Equitable Building which towered above Des Moines’ skyline at 604 Locust Street when completed in 1924. It remained the tallest building in Iowa for almost 50 years. Shelton looks back to that era and portrays this Gothic-inspired building on a rainy day with cars and pedestrians dotting the streets and sidewalks. The street scene composition looks eastward with the vanishing point giving the viewer a misty glimpse of the Iowa State Capitol Building.

Artist Stephan Hay created the light colored decorative framework in trompe-l’œil — an optical illusion of the contrasting terra cotta material used in The Equitable Building.