It was built upon an island, accessed via a wooden bridge, by a group of nine local businessmen that were headed up by a Des Moines movie-theater mogul named Abe Frankle.
In the early years various entertaining events and attractions that made Riverview Park a fondly remembered family get-away included free acts featuring death-defying daredevils and musical band concerts.
When Disneyland opened in 1955 with such amazing success, corporate sponsored theme parks started springing up all over the country.
Riverview was feeling the pressure also but was holding on to some profitability with its large returning clientele consisting of corporate and company summer picnic bookings every year.
The Riverview site sat abandoned until 2014 when a project was started to convert it into a municipal park with a playground and permanent bandstand.