Des Moines City Hall, the government building you are visiting, went up in 1909 and 1910. For more than a century this address anchored municipal life: it served as the administrative center for the City of Des Moines from January 1, 1912, to January 29, 2026 — a span officially measured as 114 years and 29 days. The building was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 10, 1977, as the Municipal Building, and in 1988 it became a contributing property in the Civic Center Historic District.
In January 2026 the structure was vacated and officially designated the Des Moines Historic City Hall; the City of Des Moines is retaining ownership. You should know the city you’re visiting is Iowa’s capital city and the county seat of Polk County, serving more than 214,000 residents across 46 neighborhoods. Although this building is now closed, city services remain fully operational at the City’s new City Hall inside the TM Franklin Cownie City Administration Building at 1200 Locust Street. Offices were first relocated beginning April 7, 2016, while renovation work was underway. Notice the façade and the surrounding Civic Center Historic District taking shape around it.