Des Moines City Hall
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Municipal Building
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| Location | E. 1st & Locust Sts. Des Moines, Iowa |
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| Coordinates | 41°35′21″N 93°36′58″W / 41.58917°N 93.61611°WCoordinates: 41°35′21″N 93°36′58″W / 41.58917°N 93.61611°W |
| Built | 1910 |
| Architectural style | Beaux Arts |
| Part of | Civic Center Historic District (#79000926) |
| NRHP Reference # | 77000549 |
| Added to NRHP | November 10, 1977 |
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.
In Des Moines’ early years (1851-1870) 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.
Des Moines had also grown in size. Its population was 86,000 in 1910 and it covered 65 square miles. In 1907 the city council decided to construct a new city hall. A location was chosen on the east side of the Des Moines River between Grand Avenue and Locust Street. A new bridge on Locust Street was planned to open in 1909. Streets in the area had also been raised 3–4 feet to lessen the impact of flooding.
The Des Moines architectural firm Proudfoot & Bird was hired to design the new structure. Because of recent corruption in city politics they were tasked to design a building that would define an open and honest government. It was also to be large enough to house all city departments except the fire department. The building should also allow citizens to see and hear city business being transacted. To help create a new image the buildings name was to be called the Municipal Building rather than city hall.
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