This is the first in casual series that take readers in unique places in Iowa, which are not easily accessible to the public.
Going down to the Merle Hall mall, one is greeted by the ghosts of former stores and ominous gaze of dolls dressed in Christmas clothing.
The space of 30,000 square meters, once the McDonald’s House, cost cutters and more, is now abandoned under the feet of the Mall. Although closed to the public since 2000, the residents of De Moin often speculate about what happened there since it was sealed.
Once you enter the space, you are confronted with what was previously the old disk jockey. CD shelves have been replaced and now keep the old fountains for drinking mall, sinks and other water supply parts.
The exterior of the cost cutters is visible at the level of the closed basement in Merle Hay Mall on July 17, 2025 in De Moin.
Moving in the common area where the escalators were located, empty flower beds and benches were illuminated by black antique street lights.
The weak contour of the former McDonald’s sign is still visible at the entrance to the wooden panel, and the old school, the brown non -petiole has a light layer of dust coloring the floor.
Prior to closure, buyers visited the basement for the Armed Forces Recruitment Center or to make a quick $ 10 by completing a research company survey.
What was the initial use of the basement of the mall Merle Hay?
What was known as the “garden court” can do much more than serve as a place to get a burger or hairstyle. Initial use for the basement was an effective bomb shelter. The mall has taken advantage of the Federal Civil Protection Act of 1950, which offers the coinciding grants to the countries for the construction of shelters for air attacks.
“The owners of commercial property had a very important incentive to build, what they would say would be a civil defense building,” said Elizabeth Holland, CEO of Merle Hay Investors, who owns the mall.
Merle Hay Plaza was discovered in 1959 and was developed by the grandfather of the Netherlands Joseph Abbel, making her a third generation to lead the mall in de Moine. The mall takes over the enlargement of the suburbs to the north and west of de Moyin. At that time, the Interstate 235 was not there to reduce metro traffic.
Instead, Douglas Avenue serves as one of the main routes from De Moj to the growing suburbs. The mall blocks the border of de Moine and urbandal, effectively serves as an epicenter for the scattered subway.
“Nowadays, they call the road after the mall,” Holland said. “At that time, Merle Hay Road was already Merle Hay Road, and they named Merle Hay Plaza because it was on the road.”
When tax loans expire, Abbell decided to take advantage of the commercial space. So he turned it into bowling in 1972 and additional spaces for stores in the early 1980s.
“When these tax loans expire, instead of having two -storey beds and canned foods in the basement, my grandfather developed sails on Merle Hey,” Holland said. “And so we were in the bowling business.”
Has the basement of the Mall Merle Hay?
When the Netherlands decided to work for his grandfather 28 years ago, there was already a haunting of the basement being pursued.
“I do not know the genesis of why people think it is persecuted except 28 years ago, people already consider it,” Holland said.
Christmas decorations are seen in the closed level of the basement in Merle Hay Mall on July 17, 2025 in De Moin.
Security employees make frequent trips to the basement. Some of them move the Christmas dolls around to look as if they’re alive. The Netherlands has never experienced paranormal activity in the basement, but as a keen fan of the horror movie, it cannot help but enjoy speculation.
“There have been so many different applications that I think it’s probably an urban legend that has grown around there are many people there,” Holland told the rumors.
Why did the Merle Hay Mall basement close?
A common view of the level of the closed basement at Merle Hay Mall on July 17, 2025 in De Moin.
After repairing the interior of the mall, many tenants wanted to move to the upper floor or from the mall.
So, investors decided that it would be best to close the entrance in the garden court area, located near the mall children’s region. A separate input still allows access to the bowling alley.
What next for Merle Hay Mall’s basement?
The mall is in conversation with a possible entertainment business that would take over the basement. A contender would develop a Speakeasy nightclub to combine with the existing bowling alley.
The basement reconstruction project will be part of the bigger project of the mall arena. In April, Merle Hay Mall announced that Arena would be home to Drake’s hockey team when it opened. Other tenants who joined the project at that time included the professional football team indoors in Iow Hawks and the figurative skaters in Central Iowa. Des Moines Buccaneers no longer plan to be part of the project.
Calls on the renewal of the basement continue, but it is too early to say what business or with whom they are, the Netherlands told the register.
“I don’t want to say who it is with,” Holland said. “This is a very powerful local operator of the entertainment sites, but we had some good conversations.”
Kate Kiley is a reporter for a common task for the register. Reach it at kkeleye@registermedia.com or follow her on Twitter at @Kkeley17S
This article originally appeared in Des Moines Register: Merle Hay Mall Basement. See inside the garden court.