Founders Chair Logo Stacked Offwhite
Join
Traditional VC in Insurance and WealthTech

Traditional VC in Insurance and WealthTech

Apr 16, 2026 | Capital, Founders, Funders

TraditionalVC in Insurance and Wealth Tech Venture capital was built for a different kind of company. The archetypal VC bet is a software business with near-zero marginal cost, a large consumer addressable market, and the ability to grow exponentially before anyone...
The New Messy Middle

The New Messy Middle

Mar 27, 2026 | Funders, Founders

TheNewMessy Middle How AI, Capital, and the Incumbent Advantage Are Reshaping Early-Stage Growth By James Wong There’s a new reality forming in early-stage companies right now. It’s not just harder. It’s more complex. But it’s also more opportunistic than it’s been in...
AdvisorCRM Launches Trove

AdvisorCRM Launches Trove

Mar 23, 2026 | Founders, News, Success Stories

AdvisorCRM Launches Trove There’s a quiet problem running through nearly every financial advisory firm in the country. Opportunities are sitting inside existing client relationships — CD maturities approaching, annuity surrender dates passing, life events...
Operator Advantage in Early-Stage Investing: Part 2

Operator Advantage in Early-Stage Investing: Part 2

Feb 16, 2026 | News, Founders, Funders

The Operator Advantage in Early-Stage Investing: Part 2 The Emotional Reality No Pitch Deck Captures Building a company is isolating in ways founders don’t expect. The sleepless nights, wondering if payroll will clear. The decision to let someone go who believed...

Est. 1919 · Des Moines, Iowa

HOTEL FORT DES MOINES

A century of stories, one remarkable address

Famous Guests
Scandals & Secrets
Firsts & Innovations
The Beginning
1922
\
1922

Helen Keller rang in the New Year here, staying at the hotel while in Des Moines for performances over New Year's Eve.

1927
\
1927

Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig had breakfast here before an exhibition game. Two of baseball's greatest, at the same table, in Des Moines.

1927
\
1927

Charles Lindbergh hosted a banquet here after his famous transatlantic flight. The menu featured boneless squab — reportedly a rare Des Moines delicacy at the time.

1933
\
1933

Amelia Earhart visited the hotel to speak about her solo flight across the Atlantic — a rare chance for Iowans to hear her story firsthand.

1947
\
1947

Mae West stayed here during her performance of "Come on Up" at the KRNT Radio Theater. One imagines she made an impression on the staff.

1959
\
1959

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev occupied the Presidential Suite during the height of the Cold War. This hotel has seen history made.

1960
\
1960

JFK, LBJ, and Hubert Humphrey all attended dinner here and held a meeting on farm policy — three future or sitting presidents under one roof.

1980
\
1980

Elizabeth Taylor stayed here during a Des Moines appearance. Hollywood glamour, right here in the heartland.

1980
\
1980

Elizabeth Taylor stayed here during a Des Moines appearance. Hollywood glamour, right here in the heartland.

2003
\
2003

Cher requested her own personal mattress be placed in room #1025. The hotel obliged. Room 1025 has never quite been the same.

2008
\
2008

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both stayed here during the Iowa caucuses — rivals for the presidency, sharing the same address for a night.

1939
\
1939

Police raided the Log Cabin Room on the 11th floor, seizing liquor and gambling equipment. The tip reportedly came from the men's own wives.

1927
\
1927

When Lindbergh dined here post-transatlantic flight, he reportedly insisted on serving boneless squab, an extravagance that raised eyebrows across Iowa.

1959
\
1959

The FBI monitored Khrushchev's stay closely. Guests on nearby floors reportedly had no idea who was sleeping down the hall.

1971
\
1971

President Nixon greeted supporters in the lobby during his stay — a reminder that this hotel has always been where Iowa's political drama plays out.

1919
\
1919

When it opened, every single room had a bathtub, purified chilled circulating water, and a window. Unheard of luxury for its era.

1938
\
1938

The hotel announced the first air-conditioned guest room in Des Moines, a genuine technological milestone that made front-page news.

1953
\
1953

100 rooms received TV sets in what was reportedly the largest single installation of televisions in Iowa at the time. The fee to operate yours? 25 cents.

1982
\
1982

Governor Terry Branstad nominated the hotel to the National Register of Historic Places, cementing its place in Iowa's official history.

1919
\
1919

The hotel opened on July 15, 1919, built for approximately $1.5 million and designed by the architectural firm Proudfoot, Bird & Rawson.

1919
\
1919

Its opening was a statement of ambition: every room had a private bathtub, purified water, and a window. In 1919, this was genuinely extraordinary.

1974
\
1974

Ronald Reagan attended WHO Radio's 50th anniversary celebration at the hotel, proof that Fort Des Moines has always been Iowa's premier gathering place.

2021
\
2021

After major renovations, the hotel reopened as part of the Curio Collection by Hilton, a century of history, restored for the next hundred years.