The boundaries of the Downtown Neighborhood Association are: Ingersoll Avenue (West of 14th Street), High Street (between 14th Street and 6th Avenue) and Grand Avenue (East of 6th Avenue) on the North, the Raccoon River on the South, the Des Moines River on the East, and 18th Street on the West.

A small group of early downtown residents got together in June 2002 to begin the process of establishing our neighborhood association. The City of Des Moines officially recognized the Downtown Des Moines Neighborhood Association, today known as the Downtown Neighborhood Association of Des Moines or simply the Downtown Neighborhood Association (DNA) in September 2002. Our first board meetings and members joined in October 2002. Our first annual meeting and election of a board of directors occurred in January 2003. We went online with our first version of desmoinesdna.com on January 16, 2003.

On March 13, 2014, the Downtown Neighborhood Association was recognized as a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)4 of the Internal Revenue Code. We were granted a retroactive exemption with an effective date of March 15, 2010.

Today, the Downtown Neighborhood Association is one of the fifty-seven (57) neigbhorhoods represented within the City of Des Moines. Collectively these neighborhoods are part of the umbrella neighborhood association of Des Moines Neighbors.