The Riverside Park Dance Pavilion is in Merrick County, Nebraska. It was built in 1940 with the aim of reviving the Riverside Park area. At its peak, dances were held twice a week drawing people from central Nebraska. Its simple design (altered little since its construction) was characteristic of dance halls of its time, but which rarely still exist today. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.HistoryIn the early 1900s, Central City underwent a building and business boom. In the fall of 1920, business leaders from Central City purchased over of land, known as Parker's Island, from the estate of George Howell. They formed a non-profit corporation, the Riverside Park Association. Its purpose was to improve and operate the park for the entertainment of the general public. The Association sold shares of stock, summer cabins, and rented owners' cabins during the summer, with profits reinvested in the park.The park included an open-air dance floor consisting of a concrete slab enclosed by a fence, tennis courts, a swimming pool with water slides, playground equipment, softball and baseball diamonds, horseshoe pitching courts and a picnic area. Its first dance was held in October 1921. In the 1920s, there were few recreation areas and few cars to travel to them, so the park was very popular.The Great Depression resulted in decreased park revenues. Records from 1934 to 1938 show uncollected debts and unpaid bills due to a large drop in park visitation and summer cabin rentals from 1930 to 1940.In 1940, the park was close to closing and a number of meetings were held by the association to decide its fate. On February 13, a new board of directors was elected and charged with finding a way to finance the park. On February 15, the board voted to finance the park by constructing an enclosed dance pavilion.
