Construction began on Veterans Memorial Coliseum in downtown Marshalltown in 1928, with dedication services held on March 15, 1929. The facility has served a number of purposes in its 80-plus-year history, including an important training quarters for the Iowa National Guard prior to World War II. The local American Legion Post has held meetings in the second-floor offices, Marshalltown Community College has played basketball games in the gym, and local residents have rented the building for dances, sports, and even weddings.

Since the building was originally dedicated for to veterans of the Civil War, Spanish American War, and World War I, a special ceremony was held on Veterans Day 2009 to mark the 80th anniversary of the facility and rededicate the building to all veterans.