Timeline:
1885: The first of 2 water reservoirs are constructed on the highest hill of what was to become Grandview Park. The reservoir was a very large pool that held about 2 million gallons of water.
1906: At a time when there was no park sentiment in Sioux City 30 acres of pastureland were purchased on the city's north side by an independent park commission head by Edwin C. Peters.
Within 2 years 2,200 trees had been planted and grass seed and sod covered the grounds. Flower gardens started to bloom and winding drives meandered through the hills of the 30 acre area.
August 1908: 3,500 people gathered to watch the commission present the new Grandview Park to the city of Sioux City.
As Sioux City grew Grandview Park provided a place people could play, enjoy nature and listen to music.
1924: John and Elizabeth Magoun donated the Lincoln Statue located at the south entrance to the park. It is a very similar likeness of the late president that Mr. Magoun had admired in Jefferson, Iowa.
1930: The Monahan Post Band, lead by Leo Kucinski, who was Sioux City's "Mr. Music", began an earnest campaign to build a band shell. The city parks department was willing to cooperate but there were no funds available due to the Great Depression.
August 1930: Friends of the Monahan Post Band agreed to guarantee a small construction loan for a simple structure, which the band would repay. Work began on the band shell.
Neighboring property owners felt the modest structure was unworthy of the beautiful setting of the park and work on the project halted. With the plan to build the structure on hold until a more acceptable band shell could be built the band worked to secure more funds.
November 7, 1933: 2 things happened to change the scope and size of the band shell project: President Roosevelt created the Civil Works Administration, or CWA. The manager of the Monahan Post Band was shown a drawing of a music shell that had won an honorable mention at a Paris competition.
Late 1933 to early 1934: Applications were prepared asking that the development of the natural amphitheater and construction of the band shell in Grandview Park be included in the CWA projects for Sioux City. Within two weeks, nineteen civic organizations had endorsed the proposal. The requests were sent to Des Moines and Washington D.C.
February 26, 1934: The application was approved and the band pavilion project became CWA Project Number 217. Award-winning plan by local architect Henry Kamphoefner was accepted as the perfect design for the Grandview Park music pavilion. It later won the notice of designers around the world and received numerous awards.
March 5, 1934: Despite a delay in the project when the CWA was reorganized under the Federal Emergency Relief Administration work on the project began.
October 17, 1934: The last cement was poured for the band shell.
The structure required 52 tons of reinforcing steel, 4,200 bags of Portland cement, and 300 bags of white cement. Herschel Elarth designed the sculptured plaques on the front. First, he created the figures in clay. Then molds of the designs were made and brought to Sioux City. Casts of the molds were then made in white cement.
The orchestral stage was designed to accommodate 100 musicians or a chorus of 300. The building also featured two large dressing rooms, two smaller dressing rooms, a conductor's room, library, and storage room. Seating for 5,000 was constructed in the natural amphitheatre. Project costs, as approved by the CWA, included $47,436 from Federal Relief funds and $3,800 in materials from the city of Sioux City.
Spring 1935: The music pavilion was dedicate. The Monahan Post Band played there every summer.
1937: The current Rose Garden was created where it is today. It was sponsored by the Sioux City Municipal Rose Garden Association, a partnership of the Iowa Rose Society, Sioux City Garden Club, American Association of University Women and other interested individuals. Designed by landscape architect Newell Guernsey the rose garden features: more than 100 varieties of roses and arching trellises.
February 17, 1938: Sioux City Journal described one tribute: "The Sioux City music pavilion in Grandview Park, brain child of a young, unemployed and unknown architect of the city, who drew the plans in the basement studio at his home here, is to be included in an exhibit of the American Institute of Architecture, which will be shown throughout the United States and in Europe. This latest honor will place it among ~100 representative and distinguished (structures) erected in the United States since 1918."
1948: The Monahan Post Band became the Sioux City Municipal Band. The still play their free concerts at the band shell every summer to this day.
Links to more info and source:
Grandview Park & the Band Shell
Grandview Park Water Tanks
Sioux City History & Culture by Bicycle Part 7: Grandview Park
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