For a city of its size, Des Moines boasts a remarkable collection of buildings designed by world-class architects such as I. M. Pei, Richard Meier, and Mies van der Rohe, plus plenty of art-focused institutions.
Lofts and live music venues are reinvigorating the city’s core, particularly in the East Village near the State Capitol and in the entertainment district along and just off Court Avenue. Streets that were once quiet after 6 p.m. are now lively late into the night.
Why: Rural Iowa is America’s Heartland at its most quintessential. Only forty-five miles from Des Moines is Dutch–flavored Pella, with buildings (charmingly decorated façades and windmills) and businesses (bakeries and butcher shops) resembling what you’d find in the Netherlands.
STAY:
Down the street from the Des Moines Art Center, the 1923 Tudor–style Butler House on Grand(866-455-4096) boasts rooms featured in such magazines as Traditional Home and Midwest Living.
Built in 1912 as the Des Moines Club, the structure that houses The Suites at 800 Locust(515-288-5800) sat abandoned for eleven years until it was redeveloped as the city’s best boutique hotel. Jazz and blues bands play in the lobby-level Cosmopolitan Lounge.
In the center of town and on the Molengracht (canal) is the Royal Amsterdam Hotel(877-954-8400). Many rooms peer over the quaint Dutch–style rooftops and the town’s largest windmill.
EAT:
The minimalist space and menu of Italian food prepared in a French style makes Lucca (515-243-1115), winner of a 2007 Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, a standout.
El Bait Shop (515-284-1970) serves supercheap, surprisingly decent Mexican food plus more than 100 beers on tap in a setting perhaps best described as “Mazatlán meets the Midwest.”
Dutch recipes inspire many of the specialties at the Restaurant at Strawtownand the more casual De Kelder (641-621-9500). The dining rooms fill every nook and cranny of an 1855 house, now part of a larger inn complex.
DO:
A strong contemporary focus has put the Des Moines Art Center(515-277-4405) on the world art map. Recognizable works by Francis Bacon, Henri Matisse, and Edward Hopper are among the highlights. The city’s newest building of note is the sleek Central Library(515-283-4152), designed by British architect David Chipperfield and topped with a grass roof.
For polka, head to Hessen Haus (515-288-2520), where the bold drink beer by the boot. Two blocks away is its British-pub counterpart, The Royal Mile (515-280-3771). Check out Vaudeville Mews (515-243-3270) for edgy shows almost every night of the week. Charming shops of note include the hometown gallery of famous furniture maker Sticks (515-282-0844) and the quirky antiques shop FoundThings (515-282-3241).
Tulip Time (641-628-2409) is when Pella shines, literally—part of the annual festival, scheduled this year for May 1 through 3, includes an old-fashioned street cleaning. Also worth experiencing that weekend are the crowning of the Tulip Queen, a parade with wooden-shoed participants, and, of course, the namesake draw: tens of thousands of tulips sprouting all over town. Beyond the festival, Pella also boasts the Historic Village Complex run by the local historical society, where you’ll find the boyhood home of Wyatt Earp.
Des Moines Art Center
Hessen Haus
The Molengracht in Pella
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