US route endpoint in
Des Moines

When the US routes were originally commissioned in 1926, US 63 did not serve Minnesota or Wisconsin as it does today.  Instead, at Oskaloosa IA, US 63 was routed essentially along what is now IA hwy. 163, ending in Des Moines:

The notation "63 starts" points to the intersection of East 14th Street and Grand Avenue.  Following are some photos from that junction, taken 80 years later.  This first one was looking west on Grand at 14th:

The car in the foreground was stopped at what was once the north end of US 63 (and later the north end of US 163).  Westbound US 32 continued straight ahead, and that was also southbound US 65.  Northbound US 65 was to the right -- a movement that can no longer be made, as 14th is now one-way southbound (today it carries southbound US 69).  In the distance, part of the gold dome of the State Capitol is visible.  Here we are looking north on 14th at Grand:

US 65 was ahead and to the left, and US 32 ran across the photo.  The beginning of US 63 and 163 was to the right.  The view in this next photo was from the opposite direction (south on 14th):

That route also ended at 14th and Grand, for about four years, and then US 163 was decommissioned.  Much more info and maps about highways in Des Moines are available on Jason Hancock's page and on Jeff Morrison's page.