Adventureland purchased the Park and later donated it to the City of Des Moines upon stipulation it would never compete with Adventureland.
The area still survives as a Park maintained by 'The Kiwanis Club' but they have not had sufficient funds to keep it up.
The old Antique Carousel remains a mystery. There was a legal agreement that it would never leave Iowa. Adventureland says it ran it for a number of years (in question) and sold it to a private party in Iowa. Oddly a very similiar Carousel showed up at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan at the same time.
Zoological Gardens--1889--1909?-unclear if any 'amusements'....
Riverview Park--opened 1915.
There was a fire in 1933.
Riverview Park re-opens after the fire-1934
Purchased by Adventureland Park and sold to the City of Des Moines-1978
Kiwanis Riverview Nature Island created about 1992.
Their proposal would remove hundreds of trees and harm the appearance of the park, said members of the service group who have spent more than a decade cleaning up and trying to develop the island as a nature sanctuary.
"If the levee is built" in the middle, "it's pretty much going to eliminate the island," said Ed Linebach, president of the Kiwanis Island project.
They favor an earlier proposal that routed the levee just east of the island. That plan would cost taxpayers roughly $1 million more.
The man-made island is along the Des Moines River a few blocks northwest of North High School. For much of the 20th century, it was an amusement park. The park was vacated and the land was given to the city in the 1970s by the owners of Adventureland Park. Essentially abandoned, the area became a dumping ground for old appliances and furniture. Kiwanis, a nonprofit group focused largely upon community improvement, took over management of the 10-acre park, five-acre wetland and 12-acre lagoon in 1992. The group's $27 million plan included an aquarium, fishing and boating facilities and other features at the location.
The group has been unable to raise the money for most of that plan, but city leaders note that volunteers have generally kept the area attractive and well maintained.
"It's not the major cultural attraction that was anticipated, but they have done a nice job of bringing volunteers together and keeping the area nice," said Des Moines Park and Recreation Director Don Tripp. "I tend to look at the positive and what all they have done."
The park is adjacent to the Neal Smith recreational trail, although the levee plans would include a new trail along the top of the earth berm.
Federal officials have studied the area since 1998, prompted by city leaders eager to minimize future flood damage. Many homes and businesses in the area were hit by floods in 1993, which caused more than $152 million in damage in Polk County.
Employees with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have outlined a more than $10 million plan for flood control systems that span from areas near McHenry Park just north of Riverview Island to downtown. Construction is expected to take place within the next five years.
"It's a necessary plan," said Tripp. "It's proposed on the basis of flood protection."
Federal money likely will pay for more than $6.5 million of the flood project. Guidelines used by federal officials closely examine cost benefits to determine if alternatives to a proposal are appropriate. The analysis shows a levee through the middle of the island is the best plan.
The current levee near the island does not provide reliable flood protection, officials from the Army Corps have said. The new levee through the island would be up to 14 feet tall and roughly 60 to 100 feet wide. Trees would not be allowed to grow in the levee because the roots weaken flood protection systems.
The proposed levee project through the island has benefits other than just flood protection, Tripp noted. A trail along the new levee would directly link the island to McHenry Park. People still will have access to much of the land just as they do now for picnics and nature outings, he added.
"I think they're going to be able to do some of the things the Kiwanis has not been able to raise the money to do," Tripp said. John Morrissey, chairman of the Highland Park Neighborhood Association and a Kiwanis member, acknowledged that flood protection is the heart of the issue. He recalls the devastation left by the floods of 1993. Still, he wants park users and residents to know that "this is part of the cost we have to pay." "From my perspective, I can't complain too loudly, but I would like people to know because there's a trade-off that has to be made here," Morrissey said.
Federal officials will continue a public review process through Aug. 1, said Dennis Hamilton, a project manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The plan could be approved by the Corps chief this year.