In 1939 the Val Air was opened by Mr. Tom Archer on property purchased from the old Wilson Tire Company.  it first opened as an open air dance pavilion, thus the name Val Air, and was later changed to the enlosed stucture in 1954, that you see today.

It was a part of a chain Archer owned with ballrooms in such locations as Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Marion, Creston, Sioux City all in Iowa, Dell Rapids & Sioux Falls in South Dakota, Omaha, Nb and St. Joseph, Mo.

The Val Air was the "King" of Des Moines ballrooms in the 30's and 40's, drawing the likes of Glen Miller, Louis armstrong, and the ever popular Lawrence Welk.

With the dawning of the rock era, all the top names played archer's Val Air. From Roy Orbison to The Everly Brothers, from the Ventures to The Trashmen and the Fabulous Flippers.  They all called the Val Air their "home base" in Des Moines when traveling the Midwest ballroom circuit.

In recent years, the Val Air was put on the sale block and was under the threat of being demolished, until Des Moines businessmen Mark Kennedy, Phil Kaiser & partners stepped forward and bought this exciting rock and roll palace.  They reopened it in 1997 as it remains today.

• A record attendance was recorded at 5,000 for Glenn Miller and his band in 1942.
• In 1955, the ballroom was changed into a indoor facility