The East Side of Des Moines is the part of the city that kept working when other districts were reinventing themselves. Home to the Iowa State Fairgrounds, the commercial corridors of East 14th and East University, and generations of immigrant families who reshaped its identity, the East Side carries a blue-collar authenticity that defines its character. It is a neighborhood where loyalty runs deep and change arrives on its own terms.
Key Moments
Stories from East Des Moines
The State Fairgrounds: the annual city inside the city
The Iowa State Fairgrounds are the East Side’s most obvious landmark, but they are also much more than that. The Fair’s official materials say the Iowa State Fair is the largest event in Iowa and one of the oldest and largest agricultural and industrial expositions in the country, attracting more th
East 14th and East University: the commercial corridors that still define the East Side
One of the easiest mistakes to make about the East Side is to imagine the fairgrounds matter only in August. The official Iowa State Fairgrounds site shows otherwise. It promotes a year-round event calendar, facility finder, non-fair-time camping, and a wide range of buildings and venues for confere
The East Side's immigrant story: how new arrivals changed the neighborhood's map
If the fairgrounds are the East Side at festival scale, Capitol East is closer to the East Side in everyday form. The Capitol East neighborhood plan says the area is denser than the city overall and identifies it as a primarily low-income community, but also as one of the neighborhood’s greatest ass
The East Side today: old houses, new energy, and the question of what comes next
East High is one of the strongest institutions on the East Side because it carries both age and emotional continuity. The East High Alumni Association says the school was founded in 1861, and Des Moines Public Schools’ history page says it began on the top floor of Bryant School at East 9th and Gran
The East Side: the part of Des Moines that kept working
The East Side is one of those places that resists a neat border even while everyone in Des Moines knows what you mean when you say it. In the city’s neighborhood toolkit, east-side life is represented through multiple recognized associations, including Capitol East, Capitol Park, Fairground, and Fai