Riverview Park (Iowa) facts for kids
Riverview Park was a fun amusement park in Des Moines, Iowa. It was open from 1915 to 1978. Before it became a full amusement park, it started as a place with animals and a stop for trolley cars in an area called Highland Park.
A group of nine local business people, led by Abe Frankle, built Riverview Park on an island. You could get to it by crossing a wooden bridge. In its early years, the park offered exciting things like daring acts, live music concerts, and cool rides. In 1923, a new carousel (PTC#65) arrived from the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. These carousels were famous for their beautifully carved horses. Later, in 1928, a different carousel with many hand-carved animals replaced it.
In 1920, a famous designer named John Miller created a special roller coaster for the park. It was shaped like a figure-eight and had eight drops that went all the way to the ground! In 1940, the park added the Riviera Ballroom. This was a popular spot for big band dances in the 1940s and 1950s. Later, in the 1960s and 1970s, it became a place for teen dances. The Riviera Ballroom was even added to the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.
Park's History and Growth
Riverview Amusement Park continued to grow and do well for many years. This lasted until the late 1960s. When Disneyland opened in 1955, it was a huge success. This led to many large, corporate-owned theme parks opening across the country.
It became harder for smaller, traditional amusement parks like Riverview to compete with these big new parks. Many small parks started to close down. Riverview Park also felt this pressure. However, it managed to stay profitable because many companies booked their summer picnics there every year.
The Park's Closure
After the summer season in 1978, a new theme park nearby, Adventureland, offered to buy Riverview. Adventureland said they planned to keep Riverview open. They wanted to continue hosting all the company picnics and welcome the general public too.
However, when the sale was finished in the spring of 1979, Adventureland decided to close Riverview Park for good. They chose not to keep the older park open.
Riverview's Legacy and Rides
Even though Riverview Park closed, some of its rides and attractions still exist today. A few of them were moved to Adventureland.
These rides include:
- The Haunted House (which later closed and was replaced by the 'Dragon' roller coaster).
- The Himalaya.
- The Scrambler (which reopened at Adventureland in 2011).
- Riverview's carousel.
- The Flying Scooters.
You can even find a small piece of the Mirror Maze from Riverview. As you leave the Dragon roller coaster at Adventureland, you pass by some wavy mirrors that were once part of Riverview's Mirror Maze.
