Ames City Hall After The Bombing
Shortly after 9 AM on May 22, 1970, a bomb exploded outside a barred jail window at police headquarters just below the department’s communications center, injuring nine; two seriously. The blast, heard throughout central Ames, extensively damaged the south side of City Hall, blowing out the barred window and the jail door. Many neighboring businesses sustained broken windows and structural damage, and a helicopter pilot surveying the scene noted building debris atop the Sheldon-Munn Hotel and several other buildings in the central district. No arrests were ever made. A number of months later, a suspect in the case accidentally blew himself up in a failed bombing attempt in the state of Minnesota.
Federal, State and local law officers converged on Ames City Hall within minutes of the blast. The bomb ripped the hood from Assistant Police Chief Tom Lyttle’s Buick, which was parked directly over the blast The Ames City Hall Building in 1970 is today known as the Richard O. Jacobson Youth & Family Center, located at 420 Kellogg Ave.
Ames Tribune Headline
This bombing was especially disturbing to Ames residents because a bomb had been discovered in Judge McKinney's garage one month earlier.
At least a dozen Ames businesses reported damage as a result of the explosion that ripped through city hall. While tremors from the explosion could be felt for at least six blocks from the bombing site, damage was limited to downtown businesses within a 1 1/2 –square block radius from the city’s main municipal building – which houses the police department, jail, mayor’s and city manager’s office and Municipal Court.
Probably the most extensively damaged building, except for city hall, was the Sheldon-Munn Hotel – which, according to a hotel official, had between 175 to 200 windows broken during the blast. Shaughnessey’s, a home decorating shop at 510 Kellogg Ave., reported several broken light fixtures stemming from the explosion. The back door was blown off the China Center, 231 Main St., and some damage to the Center’s merchandise was reported. A window was broken at the Ames Laundry at 220 Fifth St., and several light fixtures were damaged.
The explosion ripped off the back door at Marjorie’s Smart and Thrifty, a women’s dress shop at 233 Main St., and glass was broken in a side entrance. The Leftwich Style Salon, Kellogg Avenue and Main Street, reported that two large windows were broken in the building. Nyle Nim, an employee at Nim’s Sportman’s, was thrown across the room by the tremors from the blast. The store, located at 225 Main St., suffered slight structural damage. The air-conditioning system was also damaged and several windows were reportedly broken. The Lazy M Shoe Store, 232 Main St., reported several cracked windows, and the store’s sign was damaged by the blast.
To find the cache, go to the scene of the bombing. The windows are replaced with glass brick. They are A rows tall. Note the signs that are there today. The westernmost sign has the position of someone written on it. How many lines does that position take up? That is B . The next parking sign to the East has a position written on it. That position takes up C rows.
Final Location N 42° 01.AAB W 093° 37.(C-B)CC
The final location does not require getting on railroad property!
Ames Police Captain Injured
The explosion ripped off the back door at Marjorie’s Smart and Thrifty, a women’s dress shop at 233 Main St., and glass was broken in a side entrance. The Leftwich Style Salon, Kellogg Avenue and Main Street, reported that two large windows were broken in the building. Nyle Nim, an employee at Nim’s Sportman’s, was thrown across the room by the tremors from the blast. The store, located at 225 Main St., suffered slight structural damage. The air-conditioning system was also damaged and several windows were reportedly broken. The Lazy M Shoe Store, 232 Main St., reported several cracked windows, and the store’s sign was damaged by the blast.
Federal Agents Investigate the Scene
This cache was placed as part of the Iowa Geocachers Organization's annual Hike-N-Seek Event September 22-24 in Ames, IA. For more information visit http://www.hikenseek2017.org/.