Hall of Laureates

The World Food Prize Hall of Laureates occupies a magnificently restored Beaux Arts building in downtown Des Moines — the city's original public library, transformed through a $29.8 million capital project into the headquarters of the World Food Prize Foundation. The renovation honored Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Norman Borlaug, whose legacy in fighting global hunger the building now celebrates through museum exhibits, commissioned artwork, and a stained glass globe tracing the origins of world agriculture. As an event venue, the Hall of Laureates operates on an exclusive booking model: only one event at a time, so every gathering has the building entirely to itself. The venue encompasses multiple distinct spaces — including the Borlaug Ballroom, the Ruan Laureates Room, the Rotunda with its original stained glass skylight, and the Des Moines Mural Room featuring restored WPA murals — that can be combined or configured to suit dinners, receptions, conferences, and weddings of varying scale. The building is LEED Platinum certified and staffed by a professional events team that works behind the scenes throughout each event.