History of the Riverline.
A natural spring was discovered in this location in 1888 when Col James H. Drake had a 70 foot well dug on his property. In 1890, Drake attempted to sell the water to the city to be used as its primary water source. The city government doubted that the spring would be able to produce enough water for its needs, so the city chose to use water from its wells and springs north of town.
In 1934, the first modern swimming pool in Sioux Falls was built at Drake Springs. The water came from the natural springs and flowed at a rate of 200,000 gallons a day at a constant 45 degrees in temperature. A sunken garden was also developed near the pool during the latter part of the 1930s. The gardens were removed when the pool was renovated in the 1960s.
This area was also the original location of Howard Wood Field and had been owned by the Sioux Falls School District since 1916. The athletic field had been used by the Sioux Falls Canaries and local high schools and colleges. In 1955, the school board made plans to build a new more modern athletic field and sold the original 8.41-acre site to Sears Roebuck & Co. for $367,637.80 or $1 a square foot. The new 68,000 square foot Sears Shopping Center complex opened in 1961 with parking for nearly 700 vehicles. The Drake Springs pool was built in 2010 after being home to a baseball field known as Nelson Field.
A once in a lifetime opportunity awaits.
In 2022, several Sioux Falls community leaders saw an opportunity to maximize the use of the riverfront land on the edge of the viaduct east of Downtown Sioux Falls.
With its proximity to the river, the bike trail, the Whittier neighborhood, and a growing and prospering downtown, this property was identified as having much greater potential for vibrance than it has in its current use.
After several discussions, initial dreams began to unfold into the actual potential of purchasing the land and envisioning future use cases for the property.
Today, we have a working name for this next chapter of our downtown — the Riverline District — along with purchase agreements in place and early ideas of how the property could better serve the community. In addition, a committee and four subcommittees are exploring various aspects of the project.
