The Vander Veer Botanical Park is a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

in the

Vander Veer Park Historic District The Vander Veer Park Historic District is a historic district in Davenport, Iowa, United States, that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Over its area, in 1985 it included 66 contributing buildings, two contributing struct ...

of Davenport,

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

. It is believed to be one of the first botanical parks west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

. The park was listed on the

Davenport Register of Historic Properties This is a list of the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in Davenport, Iowa, United States. The historic preservation movement began in the city of Davenport in the mid-1970s with the renovation of several historic structures. A comprehens ...

on August 4, 1993.

History

Vander Veer Park was established in 1885. The city of Davenport purchased the land for $13,000 ($ in dollars). The park was built on the old Scott County Fairgrounds land and modeled after

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

’s

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

. Vander Veer was originally named Central Park. In 1912 the park was renamed after the first secretary of the Davenport Park Board of Commissioners, A.W. Vander Veer. A conservatory, music pavilion, and decorative fountains were added after World War I. The park is currently maintained by a nonprofit organization, The Friends of Vander Veer.

Gallery

File:Vander Veer Park Conservatory.jpg, Conservatory File:Vander Veer Rose Garden.JPG, Rose Garden File:Vander Veer Botanical Park Grand Allee South.JPG, Grand Allee File:Vander Veer fountain.JPG, Fountain

History

Gallery

See also