Hotel Randolph
In 1993, Jason Roe was on a road trip with friends from his home in Orange County, California, and he found himself at a rock show, seeing the Iowa City-based band High and Lonesome (fronted by David Zollo) performing at Buzzard Billie’s. Roe had such a great time he told his friends he wasn’t leaving. He saw the Hotel Randolph rented rooms for $25 a night, and he told his friends goodbye. His first room was on the eighth floor. He could save money having a room without a shower, which seemed perfect — until he had to use the community bathroom for the first time. It was at the end of a long, spooky hallway like the catacombs. He chose a sponge bath at the sink.
Cityview // July 2023
The Varsity
The Varsity Theatre stood out because it played foreign and art house films that most of these movie houses didn’t. Bev Mahon and his original partner, Bob Fridley, owned several theaters together, but this one was special. After Bev and Bob ended their partnership, Mahon retained the Varsity to show the films he loved. Even after all the small theaters eventually closed, The Varsity stood the test of time.
Cityview // February 2023
Beggars’ Night
Beggars’ Night started in 1939 because of the vandalism and bad behaviors that were happening on Halloween nights. In 1938, the Des Moines Police Department reported more than 500 calls. As a result, parents feared having their kids trick or treating on the same night as all this other stuff, so the date was changed to Oct. 30. Unfortunately, moving dates doesn’t change things. If folks want to vandalize, they can do it any night of the week.
Cityview // October 2022
The PS Lounge & The Blue Goose
There has been a lot of conversation from the recent shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs. Things haven’t always been friendly within our own community, but there has thankfully been nothing as tragic as what has happened there. This is why I see hope in Des Moines and in Iowa. Our community is our family, our neighbors, and the people we work with every day. Even when we feel like we are moving backwards as a whole, Iowans eventually show their common sense.
Cityview // November 2022
Punk Rock in Iowa
One of the most interesting pieces of The Law’s history was when Chesterman began throwing large multi-band shows called “Music For No Man’s Land.” The Law would headline, and they would have four to five other bands play on the same night, including A Testament of Youth (ATOY), The Young Executives, and Political Vomit. They even put out a compilation cassette of one of the shows with all the bands. Chesterman and his then-girlfriend Kris also published a music fanzine called “Times Up.”
Cityview // August 2022
Remembering ‘A Thief in the Night’
The rapture happens, and a young woman is too busy living in the present and has little concern about her future. She wakes up one morning to find her husband has disappeared. She wanders through downtown Des Moines where the police are rounding people up. An emergency government system is now in place, and United Nations Imperium of Total Emergency (UNITE) is a sort of police organization that declares anyone without the mark of the beast (666 tattooed in binary) will be arrested.
Cityview // May 2021