Veterans Memorial Park is one of four parks located along the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

in downtown

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The other three are Centennial Park, which is immediately to the east of Veterans Park,

LeClaire Park LeClaire Park is a public park located along the Mississippi River in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is situated between two other riverfront parks: Centennial Park (Davenport, Iowa), Centennial Park on the west and River Heritage Par ...

and River Heritage Park, which is being developed on the far east side of downtown on land that had been used for industrial purposes. The Riverfront Parkway passes through the south side of the park.

History

The Davenport City Council narrowly rejected a proposal in October 2010 to name the new park on the east side of downtown as a veterans memorial. Instead they established a task force to find a park location for the memorial. They choose Crescent Park, which was an undeveloped area along the Mississippi River near the Crescent Rail Bridge. The council gave its approval in January 2011. An entrance area to the park with three flagpoles was dedicated on

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...

in 2011. Other proposed elements to the park include a high promontory

berm A berm is a level space, shelf, or raised barrier (usually made of Soil compaction, compacted soil) separating areas in a vertical way, especially partway up a long slope. It can serve as a terrace road, track, path, a fortification line, a b ...

, an observation spire or another type of large memorial and an

amphitheater An amphitheatre ( U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meaning "place for vie ...

. The other elements will be phased in over a period of years. Phase Two of the parks' development was begun in May 2022. It will create the berm or overlook along the river.

References

External links

Conceptual plan for the parkThe Friends of Veterans Memorial Park
{{Quad Cities Parks in Davenport, Iowa Protected areas on the Mississippi River Military monuments and memorials in the United States