Ottumwa
In O'Town, as Ottumwa, a city that bestrides the Des Moines River, is frequently referred, coal was once the driving force, so much so that the Coal Palace was set up in the late 19th-century to showcase the area's industrial attributes. In recent times, arts and culture has taken the place of manufacturing, producing new Ottumwa event venues that welcome groups with open arms. The closest airport is Des Moines International (DSM), 85 miles to the northwest. It has good service from most points of North American. Ottumwa also is on the main California Zephyr-train rail line between Emeryville, California (opposite San Francisco) and Chicago. Chief among convention venues in Ottumwa is the state-of-the-art, 92,000-square-foot Bridge View Center, which has six meeting rooms for 100 persons and 10,000 square feet of exhibition space able to seat 500. Hotel properties with meeting space include the 82-room Quality Inn, which has 400 square feet of meeting space; the 61-room Hotel Ottumwa, built in 1917, which has 7,000 square feet of meeting space, including a ballroom; the 54-room AmericInn, which has one small meeting room; an…
Ottumwa