Des Moines, IA HyperLocal City Guide featuring Neighborhoods, Zip Codes and Yellow Pages.

Des Moines, IA, has been referred to as a friendly, caring neighborhood type of city, and is the center of the Feed Grains and Livestock Belt, governmental leadership, as well as home to numerous insurance companies.

As Iowa's capital city, Des Moines is situated at the junction of the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers. The Des Moines river is 535 miles long. It’s early beginnings as Fort Des Moines, in 1851, led to it becoming chartered as Des Moines in 1857 as it was settled by homesteaders.

Des Moines is the seat of Drake University, the College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery, Grand View College, among other educational institutions.

The city has gone down in history as suffering several floods in the 1950s, and most notably the historic Great Flood of 1993 that was a devastating event for the city. The occurrence took place despite flood control measures constructed on the Des Moines River. The majority of the city and surrounding cities forced the evacuation of much of the city of Des Moines.

Accommodations
The Renaissance Savery Hotel is located in the heart of downtown Des Moines. The hotel is minutes from the State Capitol, the Iowa Historical Museum and the Court Avenue Entertainment District. The Renaissance Savery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Des Moines Marriott is a luxury hotel in the heart of Des Moines and is connected to downtown attractions via skywalk. The Butler House on Grand is an elegant setting. The 1923 Tudor mansion has been restored to its original grandeur. Butler House on Grand is a full service B&B that offers first rate amenities and has seven guest rooms that feature local and national artists and designers.

The Iowa State Fair Campgrounds is another kind of accommodation where there are 160 acres of gently rolling woodlands and over 2,500 sites available.
Restaurants

For local flavor, the Kin Folks Texas Style BBQ is an Iowa tradition since 1988. Kin Folks Texas Style BBQ offers slow-cooked smoked meats and homemade sides, where they demonstrate country hospitality and delicious food .

The Prairie Lodge Restaurant & Dinner Theater is a favored buffet; a live performance dinner theater is offered many weekends.

The 801 Steak and Chop House has very fine selections and boasts of an award-winning selection of wines as recognized by Wine Spectator. The 801 is a premier spot in downtown Des Moines.

Shopping
The Brass Armadillo Antique Mall contains 36,000 square feet of antiques, collectibles and primitives. The Merle Hay Mall is Iowa's first enclosed shopping mall and has 1.2 million square feet. The Mall has Department stores as well as over 100 specialty stores.

The Historic Valley Junction in downtown West Des Moines is a charming, renovated railroad district, with a collection of more than 120 retail businesses. Some of those retail shops include: art galleries, fashion boutiques, antique shops, restaurants and specialty stores.

The Woodsmith Store is the nations’ largest woodworking specialty tool store. A large library and coffee bar is very inviting. Metro Market is Iowa's first and only indoor farmer's market. Over 30 vendors offer Iowa-produced, Iowa-made, &and Iowa-valued products.

Music/Arts
Des Moines Art Center has a permanent collection of major 19th, 20th, and 21st century recognized art masterpieces in a striking contemporary building complex. The Art Center was designed by three internationally recognized architects. An extension of the world-renowned Des Moines Art Center, the Des Moines Art Center Downtown, offers fresh exhibitions in an energetic, urban museum space.

The Des Moines Symphony performs six pairs of classical concerts each season, as well as its opening Gala, New Year's Eve Pops, and more.

Major Attractions
Greater Des Moines is a diverse, multi-faceted metropolitan area where the arts, theatre, ballet, symphony, opera are plentiful. Other places of interest include the Capitol, the Center of Science and Industry, the Iowa Museum of Agriculture, and the state fairgrounds. The 400-acre Iowa State Fairgrounds is open year-round and features hundreds of ongoing events, as well as the annual August Fair.

The Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad is an operating educational railroad museum providing excursion train rides and dinner train rides through the scenic Des Moines River Valley.

Written by: Karen J. Lee