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THROWBACK THURSDAY: Fixing the Prospect Pavilion

This is a story from the WQAD News 8 archives from June 2003 by reporter Mark Martin. MOLINE, Illinois – Moline city administrator Dale Iman wants Prospect Park...

This is a story from the WQAD News 8 archives from June 2003 by reporter Mark Martin.

MOLINE, Illinois – Moline city administrator Dale Iman wants Prospect Park to undergo a complete transformation.

"What it is we want to do is restore this beautiful Victorian park to its original grandeur," said Iman in a June 2003 interview.

That would involve, first of all, restoring Prospect Park's main Pavilion, turning this dirty chocolate brown structure into the way it looked in 1907.

City officials are also in the process of cleaning up the pond.   It doesn't look too attractive.

It's currently being treated with chemicals to control the algae. They also plan to dredge it to 9 or 10 feet to create a healthy environment for aquatic life.

The Prospect Park master plan also calls for a fitness trail, vintage signs, and planting native grasses on the steep hillsides.

"This park has been in the past a very centralized focal point for activities in Moline, and we want to restore it to that," said Iman.

Pictures from old photos and post cards are proof.  In them you can see dozens of people swimming in the pond, a high dive platform is in the middle, and in the winter it was a haven for ice skaters.

As you can see, a lot of work needs to be done before today's Prospect Park reflects the elegant Victorian beauty of the past.

But Iman is passionate about the project.   And if the funds are there it will become a reality.

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