HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD IN DES MOINES MAY SOON BE GETTING A NEW LIFE. THE OLD HARLAN’S BARBERSHOP HAS BEEN EMPTY FOR ABOUT TEN YEARS. KCCI MARCUS MCINTOSH TELLS US ABOUT THE WORK TO SOLIDIFY THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS BUSINESS IN DES MOINES BLACK HISTORY. FOR YEARS TO COME. THIS IS HOW THE OLD HARLEM BARBERSHOP BUILDING LOOKS TODAY. THE WOODLAND HEIGHTS BUSINESS WAS ONCE THE LIFEBLOOD OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY, DISPLACED BY REDLINING AND URBAN RENEWAL PROJECTS. AND IT WAS A QUESTION UNTIL BLACK BARBER EXPERIENCE. LIFELONG DES MOINES RESIDENT TED JEFFERSON IS ONE OF THOSE SUPPORTING EFFORTS TO DESIGNATE HORNE’S BARBERSHOP A LOCAL LANDMARK. HE SAYS HOLLINS WAS MORE THAN A BARBER SHOP. MORE LIKE A WELCOMING 90 MINUTE TO TWO OUR FAMILY REUNION. YOU WOULD MEET YOUR FRIENDS, CATCH UP WITH WHAT’S GOING ON, CATCH UP WITH THE NEWS, CATCH UP WITH WHAT’S GOING ON WITH AND PEOPLE’S LIVES. FOR JEFFERSON, LIKE MANY OTHER TOWNS, BARBERSHOP, WHICH OPENED IN 1968, HOLDS SPECIAL MEANING. ONE VIVID MEMORY INCLUDES A MAJOR MILESTONE FOR HIS SON. HE WAS 18 MONTHS OLD AND HE RECEIVED HIS FIRST HAIRCUT AT HARLEM’S BARBERSHOP. HARLEM’S BARBERSHOP CLOSED IN 2015 AND HAS SET EMPTY EVER SINCE. A LOT OF OUR A LOT OF THE WORK WE DO ON A DAILY BASIS IS HISTORIC PRESERVATION WORK. STEVE WILKIE. SHAPIRO IS THE NEW OWNER. HE WILL NOT BE ROLLING BACK HAIRCUTS TO PRICES LIKE THIS. HE PLANS TO TRANSFORM THE MORE THAN 100 YEAR OLD BUILDING THAT WAS FIRST A GROCERY STORE INTO AN OFFICE FOR HIS ARCHITECTURE FIRM WHILE KEEPING AND PRESERVING WHAT MAKES THIS BUILDING SPECIAL. WE SALVAGED A LOT OF THE FIXTURES AND WILL BE REUSING THINGS LIKE SINKS AND LIGHT FIXTURES. EVEN THE WOOD PANELING WILL PROBABLY FIND A WAY TO INCORPORATE BACK INTO THE DESIGN. IN SHAPIRO IS A DRIVING FORCE BEHIND EFFORTS TO HAVE THE BUILDING DESIGNATED A LOCAL LANDMARK. THAT DESIGNATION PROTECTS THE CHARACTER OF THE BUILDING AND STRETCHES HIS $120,000 BUDGET, MAKES THE BUILDING ELIGIBLE FOR HISTORIC TAX CREDITS. THE CITY’S LANDMARK REVIEW BOARD HAS RECOMMENDED WALKER SHAPIRO’S PROPOSAL TO THE CITY COUNCIL. THE DECISION TO DESIGNATE THE PROPERTY AS A LOCAL LANDMARK COULD BE MADE THIS MONTH IN DES MOINES, MARC