21
May
2002
It's pretty amazing that a central-city natural area that was largely abandoned to the vagaries of the free market for more than seven decades has survived by accident.
But that's the story of Schuetzen Park, located south and west of the Fejervary Park on Davenport's near west side. And the park's patrons are working to make sure that the 25-acre natural area doesn't get eaten up by development now, after being so lucky when few seemed to care about it.
Yes, some of the park's attractions from its fifty-plus active years - its music hall and roller coaster, for instance - are gone, but the forest remains intact, and the streetcar pavilion has been restored. Nature trails are being rehabbed, and a new sign welcomes visitors.
Even with so much progress, the task before the Schuetzenpark Gilde, which was formed in 1996, has not been an easy one, and there is still a major fundraising challenge ahead.
Over the years, portions of the park were sold to private owners, and to accomplish the goal of making the area a cohesive whole, the Gilde has had to raise a significant sum of money and work closely with landowners.
Last summer, the organization purchased three and a half acres of the park area from a private landowner in Bettendorf for $42,500, $30,000 of which came from the Riverboat Development Authority. In addition, Scott County gave the organization four and a half acres on one condition: that the Schuetzenpark Gilde purchase the remaining eight and a half acres (owned by a person in California) within five years.
But the Gilde doesn't want to wait that long. "I want to have all of the land wrapped up by the end of the year," said Kory Darnall, president of the Schuetzenpark Gilde.
That's going to take another $65,000 to $70,000, and "we've got a couple thousand dollars" at this point, Darnall said. The organization is now planning a major capital campaign and will seek grants to purchase this final parcel.
The goal is to put all the different parcels of Schuetzen Park into a land trust, so that its survival is no longer an issue. "The main thing is to preserve what's left of the natural elements before they're gone," Darnall said.
Schuetzenpark (meaning "shooting park") was founded in 1870 and served as a center for German-American sporting and cultural life for more than 50 years. But with Prohibition came the park's end; without the sale of alcoholic beverages to generate money, the shooting park could not survive. "How do you make a living if you can't sell any liquor?" Darnall said. "They just couldn't weather that." (The Davenport Shooting Association still exists; it uses New Schuetzen Park.)
In 1923, Schuetzen Park was sold to a group of chiropractors who opened the Forest Park Sanitarium on the site. The facility operated until the late 1950s on the premise that treatments such as chiropractic care, fresh air, and enemas could cure insanity.
The Davenport Good Samaritan Center then bought the land, and sold off some parcels. Yet, amazingly, the land was never developed; the forest remained largely pristine. "The park was pretty much untouched for 75 years," Darnall said.
Hilly topography probably played a significant role in keeping development out of the area. "A lot of it would be difficult to develop," Darnall said. "It's really pretty inaccessible." Yet he doesn't want to assume that the natural area can keep development at bay without protection.
Owning the land is only part of the Schuetzenpark Gilde's goal. The park was untended for so long that its nature trails fell into disrepair, and on most weekends spring through fall someone is helping to restore those paths.
In addition to being a beautiful natural area that offers urban habitats for a wide variety of plant and animal species, Darnall said it's important to recognize the historical and cultural significance of Schuetzen Park.
Although the Schuetzenpark Gilde's goal is primarily to maintain the park as a nature area, it also wants to help preserve the area's role as a center of German culture. Last year, the park hosted Mozart and Kurt Weil festivals, and Darnall said he would love to see an open-air opera program in the area; German immigrants brought classical music and opera with them to the New World.
The programming will largely be the purview of other organizations, but the Gilde plans to execute a few events each year.
On May 31, for example, the park will be hosting a concert for west-end schoolchildren to celebrate the life of composer and instructor Ernst Otto (1865-1939), and on June 2, it will be offering a "summer welcome" concert.
For the rest of 2002, it's planning a fall nature walk as well as an outdoor screening of the classic F.W. Murnau-directed silent film Nosferatu, with live musical accompaniment, to get people in the mood for Halloween.
By that point, Darnall and the Schuetzenpark Gilde might be able to celebrate the completion of a goal: having the entirety of the park in their hands, preserved for generations.
The Schuetzen Park Historic Site will be hosting a "summer welcome" concert at 1:30 p.m. on June 2. The event will feature a live musical salute to "150 years of Davenport Turnverein," a German Shepherd dog show, and a performance by the Anachronistics.
The Schuetzenpark Gilde has also published Schuetzenpark: Davenport's Lost Playland, a history of the area. For more information about the booklet or Schuetzen Park, e-mail (SchuetzenPark@aol.com).
Yes, some of the park's attractions from its fifty-plus active years - its music hall and roller coaster, for instance - are gone, but the forest remains intact, and the streetcar pavilion has been restored. Nature trails are being rehabbed, and a new sign welcomes visitors.
Even with so much progress, the task before the Schuetzenpark Gilde, which was formed in 1996, has not been an easy one, and there is still a major fundraising challenge ahead.
Over the years, portions of the park were sold to private owners, and to accomplish the goal of making the area a cohesive whole, the Gilde has had to raise a significant sum of money and work closely with landowners.
Last summer, the organization purchased three and a half acres of the park area from a private landowner in Bettendorf for $42,500, $30,000 of which came from the Riverboat Development Authority. In addition, Scott County gave the organization four and a half acres on one condition: that the Schuetzenpark Gilde purchase the remaining eight and a half acres (owned by a person in California) within five years.
But the Gilde doesn't want to wait that long. "I want to have all of the land wrapped up by the end of the year," said Kory Darnall, president of the Schuetzenpark Gilde.
That's going to take another $65,000 to $70,000, and "we've got a couple thousand dollars" at this point, Darnall said. The organization is now planning a major capital campaign and will seek grants to purchase this final parcel.
The goal is to put all the different parcels of Schuetzen Park into a land trust, so that its survival is no longer an issue. "The main thing is to preserve what's left of the natural elements before they're gone," Darnall said.
Schuetzenpark (meaning "shooting park") was founded in 1870 and served as a center for German-American sporting and cultural life for more than 50 years. But with Prohibition came the park's end; without the sale of alcoholic beverages to generate money, the shooting park could not survive. "How do you make a living if you can't sell any liquor?" Darnall said. "They just couldn't weather that." (The Davenport Shooting Association still exists; it uses New Schuetzen Park.)
In 1923, Schuetzen Park was sold to a group of chiropractors who opened the Forest Park Sanitarium on the site. The facility operated until the late 1950s on the premise that treatments such as chiropractic care, fresh air, and enemas could cure insanity.
The Davenport Good Samaritan Center then bought the land, and sold off some parcels. Yet, amazingly, the land was never developed; the forest remained largely pristine. "The park was pretty much untouched for 75 years," Darnall said.
Hilly topography probably played a significant role in keeping development out of the area. "A lot of it would be difficult to develop," Darnall said. "It's really pretty inaccessible." Yet he doesn't want to assume that the natural area can keep development at bay without protection.
Owning the land is only part of the Schuetzenpark Gilde's goal. The park was untended for so long that its nature trails fell into disrepair, and on most weekends spring through fall someone is helping to restore those paths.
In addition to being a beautiful natural area that offers urban habitats for a wide variety of plant and animal species, Darnall said it's important to recognize the historical and cultural significance of Schuetzen Park.
Although the Schuetzenpark Gilde's goal is primarily to maintain the park as a nature area, it also wants to help preserve the area's role as a center of German culture. Last year, the park hosted Mozart and Kurt Weil festivals, and Darnall said he would love to see an open-air opera program in the area; German immigrants brought classical music and opera with them to the New World.
The programming will largely be the purview of other organizations, but the Gilde plans to execute a few events each year.
On May 31, for example, the park will be hosting a concert for west-end schoolchildren to celebrate the life of composer and instructor Ernst Otto (1865-1939), and on June 2, it will be offering a "summer welcome" concert.
For the rest of 2002, it's planning a fall nature walk as well as an outdoor screening of the classic F.W. Murnau-directed silent film Nosferatu, with live musical accompaniment, to get people in the mood for Halloween.
By that point, Darnall and the Schuetzenpark Gilde might be able to celebrate the completion of a goal: having the entirety of the park in their hands, preserved for generations.
The Schuetzen Park Historic Site will be hosting a "summer welcome" concert at 1:30 p.m. on June 2. The event will feature a live musical salute to "150 years of Davenport Turnverein," a German Shepherd dog show, and a performance by the Anachronistics.
The Schuetzenpark Gilde has also published Schuetzenpark: Davenport's Lost Playland, a history of the area. For more information about the booklet or Schuetzen Park, e-mail (SchuetzenPark@aol.com).
