Kay Myers (center), with son Bruce Myers and his wife Angela Myers.
The Sherman Hill Association, in partnership with the Mickle Center, is proud to announce the Myers Family Fund has made a generous donation towards the construction of our neighborhood’s new park.
This substantial gift, which represents about half of the total fundraising goal, will help facilitate the creation of Sherman Hill’s park at the Mickle Center. In honor of this gift, the park will be named “Myers Park.”
Honoring the Myers Legacy of Philanthropy
The park is named in honor of the philanthropists behind the Myers Family Fund, Lawrence (Larry) E. Myers and Pauline Kay Myers.
Larry dedicated his life to his career, community, and family. He served as president of the Iowa Jewish Home, an institution that once occupied the site of the park at the Mickle Center. (Larry’s son and Sherman Hill resident, Bruce Myers, fondly remembers all the time the family spent there with residents, especially bingo nights.)
Larry’s career with the Nyemaster, Goode, West, Hansell & O’Brien law firm, and his service as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army from 1952 to 1954, were complemented by his extensive philanthropic efforts. He was president of the Polk County Bar Association, the Des Moines Area Religious Council, and Tifereth Israel Synagogue. He was also a founding member of Hospice of Central Iowa and served on the Board of Trustees of the Des Moines Area Religious Council Foundation. His dedication to the Jewish community was recognized when he was named the Jewish Honoree of the National Conference of Christians and Jews in 1998.
Kay Myers, Larry’s wife, has also been a prominent figure in the Des Moines community. She served on the board of the Iowa Jewish Home Guild and led fundraising for their Golden Ball event. She also supported the Tifereth Israel Women’s League, and she served as executive director of the Iowa Nurses Association for 20 years. This donation is yet another testament to Kay and her family’s enduring commitment to supporting and improving the lives of those in their community.
Larry and Kay raised three children, Margo, Michael, and Bruce. “My parents worked very hard throughout their lives and have taught us kids the importance of giving back through philanthropy,” said Bruce. “Unfortunately, we lost my dad in 2005, but I’m confident he would be thrilled to have his name associated with this noble cause.”
Bringing Back Sherman Hill’s “Lost” Park
The donation from the Myers Family Fund marks a significant milestone in the effort to bring a park back to the Sherman Hill neighborhood. The original Chamberlain Park, which opened in 1904 at Ingersoll and 19th St., was sold to private developers in 1995.
Once complete, Myers Park will fulfill an effort 30-years in the making, led by the Sherman Hill Association, the Mickle Center, and dedicated volunteers.
Looking Ahead: Fundraising Accelerates to Complete Park
This contribution, coupled with the Sherman Hill Association’s commitment of $25,000, represents significant progress (about 50%) toward the project’s initial fundraising goal.
Update Dec 23, 2024: Thanks to a grant award from Polk County, in addition to previous major donations from the Myers Family Fund and the Sherman Hill Association, plus many neighbors donating, we have reached our fundraising goal! More updates coming soon as construction begins in 2025.
For the first time in nearly 30 years, Sherman Hill is on the verge of having its very own park again. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of the Sherman Hill Association, the Mickle Center, and dedicated neighborhood volunteers, we have a plan to bring a new playground to our community by 2025.
Below is how we got here and how you can be a part of this exciting project.
History: Sherman Hill’s lost park
If you’ve ever wondered why a neighborhood as great as Sherman Hill doesn’t have its own park – for 91 years, it did.
From 1904 to 1995, Sherman Hill’s Chamberlain Park occupied two acres at 19th and Ingersoll. The property was donated by the Chamberlain family, and even then it was considered a valuable piece of land, originally owned by the Ingersoll family.
The original park
According to city documents, the original park was packed with amenities. In talking with neighbors about the original park, some recalled taking their kids to the park and remembered using the wading pool.
The original park donors: Meet the Chamberlain family
The Chamberlains were a prominent family who founded Iowa’s first drug company in 1872. Siblings D. S. (Davis) Chamberlain, Lowell Chamberlain and Izanna Chamberlain were officers of the company.
By 1900, the business was flourishing. Over the next twenty years, branch offices were opened in South Africa, Australia and Canada. Products included Chamberlain’s Cough Remedy, Chamberlain’s Liniment and Chamberlain’s Pain Balm.
From left to right: Lowell, Izanna, and D.S. Chamberlain.
The Chamberlain family’s impact on Des Moines was remarkable and is connected to many landmarks and institutions of our city.
Des Moines officially adopts the park in 1933
The park operated outside of the city’s operations for its first 20 years.
In 1933, the park was officially deeded to the city and absorbed into the city’s park system. Interestingly, this change also lifted the rule that park visitors had to be under 12 years old or accompanying a child.
But by the early 1990’s, there was concern the park was becoming run down and little used. After a few years of debate and limbo, the park was sold to developers. G&L Clothing built a store (today’s Boot Barn) and Crescent Chevrolet built a used car lot (today’s Tri-City Electric).
Today, it looks like this:
Funds from the property sale were distributed to the Sherman Hill and Woodland Heights neighborhoods. Woodland Heights built Chamberlain Park near Woodland and MLK, and some of the features are a nod to the original park.
Sherman Hill used the funds to establish their Self-Supported Municipal Improvement District (SSMID) fund, which helped fund the installation of historic street lights (and is helping to fund the new park).
More information on the history of Chamberlain Park can be found in this document created by the Parks Department. (Many of the historical images and information here comes from this work.)
Previous efforts to bring a park back to Sherman Hill
Since the time of the park sale, there have been numerous attempts to bring a park back to the neighborhood.
Despite many supporters, challenges always centered around funding, insurance coverage, and a site.
A new park: Mickle Center approaches Sherman Hill Association seeking a park partnership
In the spring of 2022, the Mickle Center reached out to the Sherman Hill Association to explore a partnership to build a park. This effort was part of a larger renovation project at the Mickle Center.
With this invitation, the Sherman Hill Association launched an initiative to explore installing a park at the Mickle Center. Key milestones included:
Sept. 2022: Surveyed neighbors to gauge their interest and support of a neighborhood park (the results of which showed “a definite interest for a park that would be used on a regular basis.”
Spring 2023: Established a park committee of Sherman Hill Association Board Members (Cale Johnson and Matt Warner-Blankenship) and neighborhood volunteers (Noah Brinkmeyer and Libby Nizzi).
Evaluated a wide range of styles of park equipment and suppliers.
Created a partnership model to provide equipment, insurance, and coverage for the park on the Mickle Center property.
December 2023: Presented the findings and initial park plans to neighbors at Sherman Hill’s quarterly meeting to get input on equipment choices, materials, and location.
March 2024: Received unanimous approval from the Sherman Hill Association Board to pursue the park. The board also committed $25,000 toward the project, which is about 25% of our total fundraising goal.
March 2024: Received unanimous approval from the Mickle Center Board to pursue the park partnership.
Sherman Hill’s new park
Our new park will be located at the Mickle Center, on the northeast corner of their property. This location offers nice elevation, natural shade, and close proximity to a new patio space the Mickle Center team is installing.
Because this area isn’t particularly large, the Park Committee focused on playground equipment that maximized the space with multi-user pieces – things lots of kids can play on at the same time. The equipment’s muted aesthetics will also complement the historic neighborhood and the Mickle Center. As an added bonus, this equipment’s natural wood requires minimal maintenance and is very durable.
In working with Crouch Recreation, we estimate needing $101,590 to purchase and install our playground equipment.
In addition to this one-time cost, we estimate ~$3,000 in annual operating costs to cover insurance and semi-annual replacement of base material (the soft stuff that helps keep users safe). The Sherman Hill Association will use SSMID funds to cover these annual expenses (similar to how the fund supports the maintenance and upkeep of historic streetlights).
Any additional funds we are able to raise will be used for park upkeep and long-term support of the park area.
Last updated December 23, 2024. Thanks to our donors, we have achieved our fundraising goal!
Our park project in the news
We’re grateful to these news organizations for helping us raise awareness for our project. Check out their stories to learn more about this initiative.
We are looking for volunteers to help put on this year’s home tour!
With more than 15 stops and a lot of ticket sales, it takes a village to put on the event.
Volunteers will be assigned to one of the beautiful homes or points of interest on our tour to take tickets, direct guests, answer questions, and/or help our homeowners with other tasks. In exchange for volunteering, you will receive a free ticket to the tour. We can accommodate individuals or groups of volunteers.
Can you help? Learn about our volunteer shifts and sign up here. All volunteers earn a free ticket!
