Des Moines City Hall

The Des Moines City Hall in Des Moines, Iowa, United States was built in 1909-1910. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 10, 1977 as the Municipal Building, and became a contributing property in the Civic Center Historic District in 1988. The building serves as the seat for the government of the city of Des Moines. Beginning April 7, 2016, City Hall offices have been relocated while the building undergoes renovation. The construction is necessary to install modern heating, cooling, and sprinkler systems while preserving the historic character of the building. The project is expected to take 18–24 months. During that time, City Hall will be closed to the public, and City offices will move to other nearby locations.HistoryIn Des Moines’ early years the city council met in churches, schools, homes and stores. In that time period the population of the city grew from 1,500 to more than 12,000. The city council approved the construction of a two-room log building in 1869 to serve the needs of the fire department and city business. It was built the following year at the corner of Second and Walnut Streets.In ten years the city’s population grew by another 10,000 people. In 1880 the city council decided to build a new city hall and a separate building for the police and fire departments next door. It was built in 1882 on the corner of Locust Street and Second Avenue. The city failed to maintain the building adequately, and it was too small to serve its needs, a new building was needed.