Commerical Men's Boat Club
The Riverside Park area changed hands many times in the early years of the city. Theophile Bruguier owned the area for over twenty years before selling it around 1880. It was finally purchased in 1890 by the Riverside Park Land Company. Owners included: James Booge, John Hornick, John Peirce, E. C. Peters, and James Peavey. The intent of the company was to develop the land for houses, factories, and railway branch lines. Since many of these men also owned the City and Suburban Railway Company, the prospects for success seemed certain.
Riverside Park
What did the citizens of Sioux City do for entertainment in the late 1890s
through the 1920s.
The answer is Riverside Park. This part of the city was a major attraction for the region. From the first amusement park (complete with a roller coaster), to country clubs, picnic grounds, baseball fields, racing tracks, and fairgrounds, Riverside had it all.
Theatre
In the early days of Sioux City, entertainment consisted of social gatherings with friends such as dances and picnics. In 1870 the Academy of Music was constructed and opportunities began to improve. The four-story building housed the post office and other government and commercial offices on the first floor with the Academy Performing Hall located on the second and third floors.
The Monahan Post Band
In the fall of 1920, a group of Sioux City war veterans met to form a band. The eight musicians were all members of the newly organized Monahan Post of the American Legion in Sioux City and many had just returned from the battlefields of World War I. Herman Koch, Commander of the Monahan Post, believed a band would strengthen the post and he put out a call for musicians. They began to practice under the baton of director Barney Flanagan, a barber who had been a bandmaster in the Army.
