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The Art Center Architecture | Des Moines Art CenterDes Moines Art Center Tour

Session 54  |  Friday, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM  |  $15 per person
Minimum: 10    Maximum: 14
Meet in the hotel lobby at 10:45 AM.
Creative expression can be a source of joy, a form of healing, and an act of resistance. Join us for a guided tour of the Des Moines Art Center, a Modern and Contemporary art center with a collection from the 19th century to the present. The collection is housed in three buildings designed by three different architects – Eliel Saarinen, I.M. Pei, and Richard Meier. The museum includes works by artists including Matisse, Warhol, Monet, Murakami, O’Keeffe, Bacon, and Grant Wood.

Historic Iowa Capitol and Dome Tour

First-floor view of the rotunda at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines |  Library of Congress
Session 56  |  Friday, 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM  |  $15 per person
Minimum: 10   Maximum: 20
Meet in the hotel lobby at 2:15 PM to take free public transit (DART Route 42).
Tour the Iowa state capitol building, a site of the continuing struggle for equality and justice in Iowa. Built between 1871 and 1886, the Iowa State Capitol is the only five-domed state capitol building in the country, and the primary dome offers a spectacular view of Des Moines. Inside, the building features works of art, fixtures, and carvings in both wood and stone. The State Law Library is housed in the capitol and is in the Victorian style with iron staircases reaching the five tiers. Learn more at the Iowa State Capitol Visitor Guide.

Tea Time at the Jordan House-KitchenJordan House Tour

Session 118 |  Saturday, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM  |  $20 per person
Minimum: 10   Maximum: 14
Meet in the hotel lobby at 10:35 AM.
 
From 1810 to 1850, an estimated 100,000+ enslaved African Americans seized freedom through the Underground Railroad, a network of people, routes, and safe places guiding their escape from enslavement. The Jordan House Museum is part of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program and the Iowa John Brown Freedom Trail. In this Victorian house museum tour, learn about Iowa history and James Jordan, an abolitionist and “chief conductor” of the underground railroad in the area. Limited accessibility: the basement and 2nd floor are only accessible by stairs, and the Underground Railroad exhibit is in the basement.