Sam Summers returned to his music promotion roots when the Val Air Ballroom reopened earlier this year.

Since January 2022, Summers has spent much of his energy restoring the Val Air to its original state during the peak of the big band era and the start of rock and roll.

“I used to [book] shows at the Val Air when I was in college,” said Summers, owner of First Fleet Concerts, a promotion company he started in the mid-2000s while attending Iowa State University. “Those shows are what launched me into my full-time business. The Val Air is a pretty special place to me.”

Summers acquired the ballroom in January 2022, paying $1.9 million for the 8.5-acre parcel at 301 Ashworth Road in West Des Moines. In late 2022, the venue was shuttered while it underwent nearly $15 million in renovations and improvements. 

Val Air reopened in late February. Eleven events were scheduled for the venue in March. Summers hopes to have at least 100 shows a year at the Val Air, he said.

“We have to demonstrate that this is a good venue for the first 30 or so shows,” Summers said. “If we are able to show we’re a good venue, we should not have any problem booking shows. … And [artists] know this is a good venue when you tell them what you spent on it.” 

Val Air built in three phases

The Val Air Ballroom, which has operated for nearly 85 years, was built in three phases. The venue’s foundation was constructed around 1921 and originally intended to be the floor of a multilevel factory building that was “expected to be one of the largest in the Des Moines area,” according to an application to the National Register of Historic Places. The factory was not built for financial reasons and for more than a decade, the structure sat unfinished.

In 1939, Thomas Archer acquired the property and built a partially covered ballroom on top of the abandoned factory foundation, according to the application, completed by local architectural historian Alexa McDowell. The covered portion of the facility included a hardwood maple dance floor, a stage, a coat check room, bars and restrooms. The open-air portion of the ballroom had a polished concrete dance floor.

Archer also owned and operated the Tromar Ballroom, a fully enclosed venue in downtown Des Moines. The Val Air operated in May through September, and the Tromar from October through April. It cost 10 cents to enter at the Val Air’s gate, which was on Ashworth Road, and 40 cents a person to dance, according to the application.

“Ballrooms were prolific across the country and in Iowa … during a time when there wasn’t TV and social media,” said McDowell, of Des Moines. Ballrooms “were a place for people to come and gather. It’s how they learned about popular music. It’s how they socialized.”

By the mid-1950s, interest in ballrooms began to wane, McDowell said. Movie theaters were gaining in popularity. So was roller skating and bowling.

Around 1955, Archer enclosed the Val Air and converted the Tromar to an indoor roller-skating rink. Des Moines’ only other ballroom at the time was the Riviera at Riverview Park in north Des Moines. (Both the Tromar and Riviera were destroyed in fires: the Tromar in 1963; the Riviera in 1980.)

An estimated 200 ballrooms operated in Iowa in the 1950s, according to the application. Fewer than 10 are still in operation.

“Communities started losing interest in these venues, and a lot of them went away,” McDowell said. Over the years, ballrooms have been converted to other uses such as wedding venues and event centers.

Val Air on historic registry

The Val Air, whose interior was redone in 1961 after a fire, was for sale for over six years before Summers acquired it. 

Restoring the historic structure required patience and perseverance, he said.

The Val Air, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in fall 2022, received $3.2 million in historic tax credits from the state of Iowa and up to $1.18 million in property tax rebates from the city of West Des Moines. The project also received $1 million from Destination Iowa funds. 

“If you don’t have those funding streams, the project doesn’t pencil out financially,” said Summers, founder of Hinterland Music Festival in St. Charles. “The cheaper option would have been to tear it down and build something else. … I’m not saying it would have wound up on the chopping block because it’s a pretty important building.

“But somebody needed to step up and I was ready to do it.”

Many Central Iowans have memories of attending events at the Val Air, whether it was to see big-name acts like Duke Ellington, Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey and Lawrence Welk, or to attend an area high school’s dance. In recent years, the venue hosted a mix of rock, blues and Latino artists, which Summers said will continue.

“The Val Air is an icon,” McDowell said. “It’s been around so long that many people have an emotional or memory connection to it. … They share their stories, and those stories become a community’s shared memory, and in my opinion, there’s great value in that.”

Summers’ memories of booking shows at the Val Air are among the things that sparked an interest in buying the property and upgrading it.

The building was in dire need of repairs, particularly the roof, which originally was tin, Summers said. A thin, deteriorated layer of insulation was between the ceiling and roof. 

“What was here before actually wasn’t rated high enough for a [heavy snow],” Summers said. The roof also didn’t keep loud music inside the venue.

Between the Val Air’s new roof and ceiling, layers of a rocklike material and dense insulation were installed. The materials keep loud music inside the venue but also help keep it cool during Iowa’s hot and humid summer months, Summers said.   

“Because it got so hot in here, [the former owners] would open the doors, and the sound would get out and disturb the surrounding neighborhoods,” Summers said. 

Other improvements include upgrades to the heating and cooling systems and sound system. A new 4-foot-6-inch  stage was added on the venue’s west side. The stage is about 12 inches taller than the previous one, Summer said. “You’ll be able to see the performers from the back of the ballroom. Before, it was difficult.”

The roof over the stage was removed and a box-like structure installed, providing more room to hang speakers, lights and other equipment. An area on the south side of the stage serves as a lounge for performers and their support crews. It includes restrooms, showers and other amenities, Summers said. The Val Air will provide a backstage liaison to make sure the artists’ needs are addressed.

“I learned a lot of things at Hinterland about caring for artists backstage to make them want to come back and play [at a venue] again,” Summers said. 

The Val Air’s original 72-by-140-foot  maple dance floor was refurbished. Some original light fixtures were cleaned and fitted with LED lighting. Restrooms were expanded and new carpet installed. Walls were painted a mint green, a color that had been used in Val Air’s early days. Light pink Formica countertops are in the bar and concession areas. 

“We found some green paint when stripping the walls, so we decided to go with the green palette,” Summers said. 

Also, improvements have been made to a small stage on the ballroom’s north side to provide a “premium experience” for guests, Summers said. Guests will have access to a lounge located under the stage, he said.

Future plans for Val Air

Now that improvements in Val Air’s upper level are complete, Summers’ attention is on completing improvements to the lower level, which is being converted to a restaurant and bar. 

“There used to be just dirt and standing water down here,” Summers said. Concrete flooring has been added to areas that were just dirt. An entrance has been added for individuals with disabilities. Plumbing has been installed for an L-shaped bar and full kitchen. Electrical wiring has also been installed.

“Back in the day, this used to be a speakeasy,” Summers said.

According to the application to the National Register of Historic Places, an injunction was filed in the mid-1940s against Archer and his company for the illegal sale of “intoxicating liquor” in a place known as “Club 100,” which  was in the building’s lower level. Club 100 appears to have been located in the southeast corner of the basement, according to the application.

“We’re not going to call it a speakeasy, but it will be that vibe,” said Summers, who estimated the restaurant and bar would open by late fall. “It will give people something to do before and after a show.”