The Iowa State Fair has been a symbol of the city of Des Moines and the State of Iowa since its inception. But even though it is an event that brings our state together as much as anything else, its history is also reflective of the gentle tensions between urban and rural here. Iowa State Professor of Architecture Thomas Leslie will show how the Fair’s history reflects Iowa’s history, and how the Fair’s architecture in particular reveals how the event has always been caught between business and entertainment.

Image: Kurt Ullrich, John Deere Agricultural Building, 2013, black and white photograph, 21×25 ⅛ in., collection of the artist.

This talk is free and sponsored by Humanities Iowa and the Henry Family Foundation.