Riverside, Iowa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Riverside is a small town located in rural Washington County, Iowa, United States, along the English River on Iowa Highway 22. It part of the Iowa City, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 928.

1 Local fame
- 1.1 Future birthplace of Captain Kirk
- 1.2 Invasion Iowa
2 New development
3 Geography
4 Demographics
5 External links
6 References

[edit] Local fame

[edit] Future birthplace of Captain Kirk

The "U.S.S. Riverside"

Riverside has proclaimed itself the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk, a character from the television show Star Trek played by William Shatner.

Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, asserts in his book The Making of Star Trek that the character of Kirk had been born in the state of Iowa.

In March 1985, when the town was looking for a theme for its annual town festival, Steve Miller, a member of the Riverside City Council who had read Roddenberry's book, suggested to the council that Riverside should proclaim itself to be the future birthplace of Kirk. Miller's motion passed unanimously.^[1] The council later wrote to Roddenberry for his permission to be designated as the official birthplace of Kirk, and Roddenberry agreed.

The proclamation declaring the town the "Official Future Birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk," signed by Gene Roddenberry, is housed, along with a "Cigarstore Indian"-style carved wooden statue of James T. Kirk, at the Riverside Area Community Club (RACC), in a former beauty salon along State Highway 22 in downtown Riverside. A large stone and plaque in the rear of the building purports to be the site of the future farmstead and birthplace of James Kirk, and the home of his family, in the c.2230s.

Nearby, a local bar and grill in Riverside displays a special plaque of its own--under the pool table. When directed there, a person can read that this particular spot under the table is noteworthy for being apparently the "Future Conception" site of James Kirk. The two sites are popular with tourists, who also buy memorabilia from the RACC including "Authentic Kirk Dirt," soil samples of Kirk's future hometown.

The town now hosts an annual Riverside Trek Fest that includes such events as an annual parade, Star Trek-themed pet shows, Kirk look-alike and talent contests. The 2003 festival featured a "Spockapalooza" battle of the bands, as well as a lawn mower "trektor" pull. Other Trek Fests have featured minor celebrities as guests, including Grace Lee Whitney (The Original Series' Yeoman Janice Rand), and Charles Napier (The Original Series' Adam of "The Space Hippies" of the episode "The Way to Eden").

Although not considered "canon", at least two Star Trek novels had material based in the real town of Riverside. "Best Destiny," an immediate sequel to the events shown in "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country," depicted Kirk's childhood in Riverside. the novel's opening chapter had a pre-teen Kirk playing with friends in fields, near the English River. This river in real life lies along the south side of downtown Riverside especially bordering the site of the annual Trek fest.

Another novel, "Final Frontier," not to be confused with "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier," was written as a "prequel" novel to the Original Series. Telling about the space adventures of James Kirk's father, Commander George Samuel Kirk, Sr., the opening and closing passages of the novel show a Captain Kirk, mulling over his Starfleet career options shortly after his first five-year mission. The younger Kirk was shown walking around the farmhouse owned by his family in Riverside. Its wrap-around veranda had views of both the English River and the Cedar River to the east.

[edit] Invasion Iowa

Main article: Invasion Iowa

During a September 28, 2004 town meeting, the town learned that its residents had become the unwitting stars of a Spike TV reality show inspired by the Kirk connection. Over a week earlier, William Shatner arrived in town under the guise of filming a science fiction movie called Invasion Iowa. The actual reason for the presence of the film crew was to capture the reactions of a small town to the arrival of a big Hollywood film company.

[edit] New development

The Riverside Casino & Golf Resort opened in Riverside on August 31, 2006. This resort includes a Las Vegas style casino, an 18-hole golf course, 200 room luxury hotel, 1,000 seat event and convention center. The Casino offers 1,180 slot machines, and approximately 45 table games. Riverside was one of two finalists for a multi-million dollar Earthpark/Rainforest project; but the project was awarded to Pella instead. The casino now has 100 acres of land that currently has no planned development.

[edit] Geography

The English River at Riverside

Riverside is located at 41°28′55″N, 91°34′36″W (41.481891, -91.576631)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.6 km² (1.0 mi²), none of which is covered by water.

Riverside is approximately 20 miles south of Iowa City along U.S. Highway 218.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 928 people, 378 households, and 249 families residing in the city. The population density was 354.8/km² (921.6/mi²). There were 396 housing units at an average density of 151.4/km² (393.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.06% White, 0.54% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.43% from other races, and 0.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.32% of the population.

There were 378 households out of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.1% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 33.7% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $41,080, and the median income for a family was $52,344. Males had a median income of $30,526 versus $26,645 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,744. About 1.2% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.8% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.