The Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden (known as the Des Moines Botanical Center until 2013) is a 12-acre (5-hectare) botanical garden located near downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States, on the east bank of the Des Moines River and north of I-235.
Interest in a Des Moines botanical center began in 1929. A city greenhouse was acquired on the west side of the river in 1939, which served the city as a production and display greenhouse until the Botanical Center was completed in 1979. From 2004 to December 31, 2012, the facility was operated on behalf of the city by Des Moines Water Works. On January 2, 2013, the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden opened for the first time as a nonprofit organization under the leadership of president and CEO Stephanie Jutila and the governance of the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden Board of Directors. The institution is undergoing a dynamic renewal funded by a successful capital campaign to raise $12.6 million for the Phase I expansion of the outdoor gardens and improvements to the existing conservatory and building.
The conservatory has over a 1,200 different taxa from around the world in artistic settings designed to explore, explain and celebrate the majesty of the plant world. Future outdoor gardens, designed by the Chicago-based landscape architect Doug Hoerr, will include a new rose garden, entrance garden, nearly 0.5-acre water garden, maple allée, belvedere overlooking the Des Moines River, celebration lawn and walled perennial border, conifer and gravel garden, a hillside garden, and an annual and bulb parterre.[ citation needed ] These gardens reflect the institution's commitment to developing gardens as forms of public art. The gardens will feature rich annual color designs conceived around artistic concepts inspired from music, history, art and pop culture, using plants as the ingredients for exhibitions.
From 1986 until the mid-2000s, the Botanical Center was a used as music Venue.[ citation needed ]
According to a contest on the WHO Radio Van & Bonnie morning show on June 21, 2011, the dome is constructed of 665 plexiglass panels.[ unreliable source? ]
In September 2020, CEO Stephanie Jutila resigned and was succeeded by Kim Perez in March 2021. [1]
In March 2021, the Botanical Garden revealed its plans for the development of an additional 7 acres (3 ha) which will include improved connections to both I-235 and the riverfront, an additional exterior entrance to the Flora Café, a willow garden near the river with water and sand areas for children and families to enjoy, a River Cafe with edible fruit and vegetables planted nearby, restrooms, an amphitheater located in natural topography with a dry garden overlooking the amphitheater, and an elevated pathway through a canopy of trees in the rolling hills of the heavily wooded space. [2]
There is Flora café inside the Botanical Garden. [3]
Events at the center include a summer concert series which starts in June. [4]
Located between the Botanical Garden and the Des Moines River in the greater Des Moines trails system, the Neil Smith Trail and the John Pat Dorian Trail connect just north of the Botanical Garden along the eastside of the Des Moines River. Portions of these trails may be underwater when the Des Moines River is 13 feet (4.0 m) above flood stage between the Saylorville Dam and downtown Des Moines. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]
Des Moines is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County with parts extending into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857. It is located on, and named after, the Des Moines River, which likely was adapted from the early French name, Rivière des Moines, meaning "River of the Monks". The city's population was 214,133 as of the 2020 census. The six-county metropolitan area is ranked 81st in terms of population in the United States, with 709,466 residents according to the 2020 census by the United States Census Bureau, and is the largest metropolitan area fully located within the state.
A conservatory is a building or room having glass or other transparent roofing and walls, used as a greenhouse or a sunroom. Usually it refers to a space attached to a conventional building such as a house, especially in the United Kingdom. Elsewhere, especially in America, it can often refer to a large freestanding glass-walled building in a botanic garden or park, sometimes also called a palm house if tall enough for trees. Municipal conservatories became popular in the early 19th century.
Interstate 235 (I-235) in Iowa is an auxiliary Interstate Highway that runs just north of downtown Des Moines through the heart of the Des Moines metropolitan area. I-235 runs from the junction of I-35 and I-80 in West Des Moines to the separation of the same two Interstates in Ankeny. The highway is approximately 14 miles (23 km) long.
The University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens includes botanical gardens, natural areas with trails, and several research-quality habitats and is part of the organization Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum. It was established in 1907.
Mud Island is a small peninsula in Memphis, Tennessee. It is bordered by the Mississippi River to the west and the Wolf River and Harbor Town to the east. Mud Island River Park is within the Memphis city limits, 1.2 miles (1.9 km) from the coast of downtown. Mud Island includes a museum, restaurants, an amphitheater, and a residential area. It is accessible by foot, kayak, paddle board, or automobile. Activities on Mud Island include concerts/performances, kayaking, paddle boarding, and biking. The park is managed and operated by the Memphis River Parks Partnership. Admission to the park is free.
Ankeny High School is a public high school located in Ankeny, Iowa, United States. It is part of the Ankeny Community School District, and serves grades 10 through 12.
The Des Moines metropolitan area, officially known as the Des Moines–West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is located at the confluence of the Des Moines River and the Raccoon River. Des Moines serves as the capital of the U.S. state of Iowa. The metro area consists of six counties in central Iowa: Polk, Dallas, Warren, Madison, Guthrie, and Jasper. The Des Moines–Ames–West Des Moines Combined Statistical Area (CSA) encompasses the separate metropolitan area of Ames, and the separate micropolitan areas of Pella, Boone and Oskaloosa (Mahaska). The Des Moines area is a fast-growing metro area.
801 Grand High Rise Building is a 45-story skyscraper in Des Moines, Iowa, United States, operated and managed by JLL Americas and owned by Principal Financial Group. The building was constructed in 1989 and is the tallest building in Iowa. It is part of a larger downtown campus run by Principal Financial Group and features a skywalk and an eight-sided copper pyramid at its top.
Historic East Village is a commercial and residential neighborhood in central Des Moines, Iowa, United States, directly east of the Downtown Des Moines area. The neighborhood is bounded by Interstate 235 on the north, the Des Moines River on the west and south, and East 14th Street on the east. It also sits adjacent to the Historic Court District, which sits west across the Des Moines River. Part of the East Village forms a nationally recognized historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.
Principal Riverwalk is a recreational park district along the banks of the Des Moines River in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. After eight years of work, it was completed in January 2013.
Raccoon River Valley Trail (RRVT) is a rail trail running 56 miles (90 km) from Waukee, Iowa, to Jefferson, Iowa. In 2013, an additional 33.1-mile (53.3 km) north loop was completed on the RRVT, making the RRVT nearly 90 miles (140 km) of paved trails and having a paved interior loop of more than 72 miles (116 km). The 39-mile (63 km) portion of the trail from Waukee to Herndon is part of the American Discovery Trail, which runs between Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware and Point Reyes near the Bay Area of California. In Iowa, the American Discovery Trail will be concurrent with U.S. Bicycle Route 50.
High Trestle Trail is a rail trail running from Ankeny to Woodward in central Iowa. The recreation trail opened on April 30, 2011. It is a paved recreational trail that runs through the Polk, Story, Boone, and Dallas counties. The trail's name is derived from a former 1913 bridge that spanned the Des Moines River between the towns of Madrid and Woodward.
Lauritzen Gardens are a botanical gardens and arboretum located at 100 Bancroft Street in the South Omaha neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska. The gardens are open daily during business hours; an admission fee is charged.
Water Works Park is a 1,500 acre park southwest of downtown Des Moines, Iowa and contains the Des Moines Water Works (DMWW) which is a publicly owned municipal water utility that supplies the greater Des Moines metropolitan area. It is one of the largest urban parks in the United States. Located along the Raccoon River west of Fleur Drive, the park offers trails, picnic areas, grills, and fields.
Richard Elmer Olson was an American politician and insurance executive who served as the Mayor of Des Moines, Iowa, for two consecutive terms from 1972 until 1979.
Downtown Des Moines is the central business district of Des Moines, Iowa and the Greater Des Moines Metropolitan Area. Downtown Des Moines is defined by the City of Des Moines as located between the Des Moines River to the east, the Raccoon River to the south, Center Street to the north, and 18th and 15th Streets to the west.
The Fifth is a skyscraper under construction in Des Moines, Iowa. Developed by Mandelbaum Properties, upon completion in 2022, it will be the second tallest building in Iowa. The building will consist of a movie theater, hotel, parking garage, retail, and residential space. Construction started in late 2018 and was expected to finish at the end of 2022. The project will likely be cancelled unless taken up by a new developer.
U.S. Highway 63 (US 63) is a United States Highway that runs through the eastern third of Iowa. It begins at the Missouri state line southwest of Bloomfield and travels north through Ottumwa, Oskaloosa, Tama, Waterloo, and New Hampton. It ends at the Minnesota state line at Chester. Between Ottumwa and Oskaloosa, the highway is a four-lane controlled-access highway. Through Waterloo and New Hampton, it is partially controlled; that is, the road as both grade-separated interchanges and at-grade intersections. The rest of the highway is largely a two-lane rural highway.
Lauridsen Skatepark, at 88,000 square feet, is currently the largest public skatepark in the United States. Opening on 7 May 2021, it was designed by project engineer and landscape architect Tim West, alongside Shane Tully of Snyder & Associates with support from California Skateparks, Landscape Architects and Structural Engineers, Polk County Public Works and the City of Des Moines and is located along the west bank the Des Moines River, at 901 2nd Avenue in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, which is on riverfront property near Second Avenue and School Street just northeast of Wells Fargo Arena.
The Iowa Ford Tractor Company Repair and Warehouse Building is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The single-story, 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m2) building was built in 1949. It was used by the Iowa Ford Tractor Company as a tractor repair and storage facility. In 1977 the building was acquired by the H.B. Leiserowitz Company. They were mostly a photography supply company but they were also a general store and they sold wholesale candy, soda, chips, and cigarettes to small grocery stories and gas stations. It closed in 2017 after its owner died. Green Acre Development Company bought the building later the same year and has plans to convert it into offices. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.
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