How do you get into Alleged Lee’s?
We have not confirmed it. Alleged Lee’s is in the directory because it calls itself a speakeasy, and that is the whole of what we can stand behind about its door.
Drinks of the era
We have not seen this venue’s own list, so what follows is the period rather than the bar: French 75, Clover Club, and Aviation are all drinks of this era, and each links to its origin and its build.
The building
Documented — Alleged Lee’s occupies the Baker–Devotie–Hollingsworth Block, a property listed on the National Register of Historic Places under reference number 78001256. The listing is a federal record maintained by the National Park Service, and the nomination document is the primary source for the building’s architectural and social history.
National Register reference 78001256 · NPS nomination document
Where Alleged Lee’s sits
Alleged Lee’s is in Des Moines, Iowa, in Polk County, in the Midwest of the United States.
Our directory currently lists six speakeasies and hidden bars in Des Moines. The full list is on our guide to hidden bars in Des Moines.
Measured from the map pins, the closest of those to Alleged Lee’s are Ken’s – a not so secret speakeasy, about 400 m away, Monihans Speakeasy, about 1.1 km away, and Secret Admirer, about 1.3 km away.
Iowa holds 16 listed venues in this directory. See them all on our Iowa speakeasy guide.
Prohibition in Iowa
Iowa did not wait for the federal government. Statewide prohibition took effect here in 1916, four years before the Eighteenth Amendment came into force nationally on 17 January 1920. By the time the Volstead Act was being enforced across the country, Iowa already had an established illegal trade and the habits that went with it.
More on the period in our history of Prohibition in Iowa.
What the newspapers recorded in Iowa
Searching the Library of Congress run of Iowa newspapers for speakeasy, blind pig and bootlegger across 1920 to 1933 returns dated pages anyone can open. These are from Iowa:
- Evening times-Republican, January 23, 1920 — read the page at the Library of Congress
- Decorah-posten og ved arnen, January 30, 1920 — read the page at the Library of Congress
- The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat, February 17, 1920 — read the page at the Library of Congress
- Evening times-Republican, March 10, 1920 — read the page at the Library of Congress
Planning a visit
You can reach Alleged Lee’s by phone on (515) 243-1087, through its own website, and on Facebook.
The address is 510 E Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50309. Open in Google Maps.
What we have confirmed
For Alleged Lee’s we hold street address, telephone number, official website, social accounts, and a listed-building record. We do not yet hold opening hours, a published drinks list, or an online booking link.
It is in the directory because the description in the source data describes it as a speakeasy.
Overture Maps carries this venue; OpenStreetMap has no matching record.
The source data classifies the premises as a bar.