Reviews of Pappajohn Sculpture Park (Tourist Attraction)

Jeff Kerns

What an amazing statement the city of Des Moines made when they partnered with the Des Moines Art Center to create such a prominent place in the heart of downtown for all people to enjoy art.

JACK MULLIN

why isnt there any pizza. v dissapoint

Daniel Uher

Some great art here. Only thing that could make it better would be if it expanded

Abel Bain

This sculpture park is really neat and great for picnics or to just relax and read. We got food from a local restaurant and just ate as we looked at the statues. It was a fun time and I would probably do it again! It's free so it cant hurt. Although they seem to not add or switch sculptures, it really makes the city live!

Ethan Carpenter

Great place to play Pokémon Go. Art sucks though.

Heather Rene’

Clean park to walk around. Interesting sculptures. Enjoyed the weather.. sunny and beautiful!

Joseph Greene

Great place to walk around or sit and admire. sculptures are very diverse so there is something for everyone

Matthew Steven

Fun place to take silly pics and spend some time enjoying the outdoors

Anthony Caligiuri

One of the best additions to our city. Gives Des Moines a really cool vibe.

Connie Cox

The water features are beautiful, some plants I have never seen before. Wonderful place

Carrieaf

A beautiful place to walk in any season! Bring a blanket, snacks and a sketchpad!

Sara Proctor

Loved it. Walked around and talked to my teenager. Go figure.

nate mcnamara

Unless you're really into ART the sculptures are not that amazing. Makes you wonder how talented one has to be to be an accredited artist. Is nice to relax and chill at under a shade tree

Ryan Roy

Great place to walk around and relax downtown, if you're stopping in to town on a short stay and need to get your Pokemon Go fix in then this is the place to go!

Brock Bailey

If you are looking for a great place to walk around, this is your spot. Also, fantastic for gamers on Pokemon Go and Harry Potter Wizards Unite.

carol mccullough

Enjoy looking at the new and old pieces of art. Got food festival starting tomorrow.

Kirk Troy Sanders

I love all the art work and effort that was put into creating an area for material like this.

Brittany Roozeboom

My favorite place to hoop! No one bothers you, there's plenty of well lit places to walk and things to see at night, and during the day there's plenty of room for socializing

Chris Jones

So many great pieces of art to see and a nice relaxing place to walk around

M B

I don't really think some of the "art" is art, but I enjoy the park and all the lunch/dinner options. Nice place to get away and chill out. Perfectly located.

stacey glenn-bradley

We love getting out in the fresh air and walking around especially in such a beautiful setting. This photo is actually from a couple blocks away.

Ugoma Achebe

Love love love in the summer. Lots of great things to do in the area as well

DANIEL LEWIS

not papajohns get a new name! no pizza

Kevin Chorniak

A very special place to visit in downtown Des Moines! This is something very unique to our wonderful city!

Greg Strohbehn

Very nice park. It was relaxing and a good place to relax or bring the family.

Natasha Kamerick

Love it. Nice and good pokemon place.

Drew Hildal

Nice, peaceful place to sit and soak up the scenery and beautiful artwork in downtown Des Moines!

Danielle Oakes

What a fun place to walk around and enjoy art!

Devin Zell

This is a LOVELY park to have a picnic.

Arlo

Beautiful! Our first time visiting Des Moines and we had to stop and see the sculpture garden. What a great place for everyone. It was so fun to take the family. The sound area was really cool too. They have musical instruments for everyone to play across the street. Very enjoyable and so clean! We all loved it!

Scott Hiland

Beautiful and interesting sculptures in a well kept little park. Nice to drop by and walk around a little bit.

Beth Thompson

I enjoyed my walk thru this sculpture park! Had quite the variety of art here. Wish I had the chance to see it at night. Many of my favorite pieces reminded me of the ones that appeared in Beetlejuice.

RoseGoldGames

It's really pretty and well built, but it needs more things you can interact with, rather than being a quick thing to drive by. Me and my family walked by it while going to the farmers market. Better parking would be nice as well. There are also a lot of pokéstops for you Pokemon go players like me

Tanya Drewes

wasnt overly impressed with all the sculptures. Other reviews have it more hype than we thought it deserved

T Brown

Just a neat place to sit, relax or walk around and look at the sculptures. Different from any other place I've seen

Jeffrey Maldonado

Great place for a relaxing time. At least for a Sunday afternoon.

Ann Trine

This is a lovely park. We've never been here before and we were very pleased with how well it's maintained. My grandson truly loved it!

Matthew Mitchell II

I'm no art critic by any means, I don't understand the whole artistic creativity behind the garden shovel other than the obvious meaning of Iowa being farmland. The alphabetical person makes no sense to me, honestly none of them do but they are a sight to see while downtown. I prefer viewing them at night because of the lack of bystanders and the creepiness factor of some of them. The sculptures on the Northeast end of the park are a most to see at night, then return during the day time hours, huge difference.

Candi Beyer-DeGoey

Great photo opportunities! Beautiful and interesting sculptures.

Marla Sandve

We went for the Italian fest, beautiful area in downtown Des Moines.

Derp Kurdistan

Cool place. Kids loved the sculptures

Fernando Garcia

What a doosy, I love yhis. abcdefghiqklmfartnopqrstuvwxyz come here little man snsssssssssssssssssssssddddd

Ricardo Hernandez Rivera

There was more than one photoshoot taking place when I arrived. That is in addition to the many other Instagram photoshoots- couples snapping selfies, parents capturing their children in front of sculptures, friends messing about on their phones. It made for a very nice stroll in the park.

Bruce Nygaard

Well worth the little saunter around the block! Some nice pieces. Creative, without being overly-wrought.

mike evans

Beautiful to see at night with the downtown lights in the background

the qoulyv

This place is incredible. Year round it looks nice, and the park keeps expanding with the space it has. It doesn't take much time to go through the entire park, but it makes a beautiful place to take food from the surrounding restaurants, or a nice place to read something from the nearby library. Speaking of which, everything surrounding the park is full of character and makes for a top notch experiance.

David Meyer

Unbeatable. I've lived in much bigger cities that could not come close to having such a wonderful place to view sculptures. Des Moines is most fortunate.

scott schwienebart

It's fine. Has a lot of similar sculptures as the Walker sculpture park in Minneapolis

Sean Gilbert

Very interesting name, designs, and atmosphere! Chose to stop by quick on the way through IA and so glad I did!

Jason Kems

Great place to visit and relax for anyone. There are always people milling around and experiencing the art. It was a perfect backdrop to have a car show to celebrate the art of automobiles. Nice gem in Des Moines.

Nathaniel Soldwisch

Overall a beautiful park that I visit frequently, I met the love of my life here and it brings only amazing memories

Brett Payne

Very nice park enjoyed the sculptures tremendously. Not to crowded plenty of parking.

Ryan Hinson

Very pretty and well worth the drive into the city. Lots of nice places to go for lunch or even a dinner date!

Elizabeth Thelen

Beautiful public space celebrates sculptors. It's in heart of liveable city.

Teresa Oliver

It's very beautiful and peaceful place to be. Has a good diversity of sculptures.

Martina Ubochi

Papa John's Sculpture Park is always a nice place to visit if you're in the downtown area! The night scenery is amazing!

Michael Wieser

I go by here everyday. It's beautiful lively and you know that the other side isn't a bad thing

Jackie Skinner

There is a lot of amazing talent out there. Nice to see they put some in downtown Des Moines. A must-visit.

Trent Day

Hard to find parking around the park. The description signs arent clear to determine what the sculpture is. Overall it was very neat to see and experience .

Thomas Balizzakiwa

It is a very beautiful place with cool air, good for some time off to relax the mind.

Adam Benway

Very cool and surprising spot near downtown. Lots of families walking around with plenty of grassy space. Easy way to fill some time in an afternoon with some works from rather famous names. Easy pick for a quick walk.

Donald Cooke

Worth a stop and walk-around before or after visiting the Art Museum a couple of museums away. A great public space!

Shawnalee Seward

The vibe is great and has beautiful art work

E Young

Beautiful art sculptures an worth visiting!! Kid friendly and Pokémon go hot spot!!

Jeff Ash

Cell phone guided tours, beautiful and many Pokémon stops

Sabrina Kerr

It was a nice little stroll around the park getting to look at neat/pretty art sculptures.

Ray Soto

I was in town for work and my colleague recommendes I check it out. Glad I did! Went first thing in the morning and had the place to myself. Surreal experience!

celeste harmston

It wasn't bad but we couldn't find the pamphlet

TenderGranny

Very beautiful and relaxing place to walk through. Although some art pieces are absolutely stunning others are weird and... odd (my favorite was the two pieces of metal that were stuck together). I do wish there was more art though. It's in such a gorgeous part of the city. Definitely would recommend.

Tilly Lockett

Good place to see free art.. well worth a visit.

Dal Kok

It's a fine place, but it does need some work. It's got a few stuff, and most of those stuff are made of metal. There is no natural arts.

Jessica Echterling

Always a nice walk around and through the sculpture park. With Americana, the library, and Ritual Cafe so close it makes for a great before/after meal walk.

Raj Phalke

My daughter liked it fun at some evening

Kimberly Hawkins

Had great weather the day we visited. It was clean and inviting. The sculptures were unique and clearly labeled. They even had a map with a directory for each sculpture. Very nice park!

Faisal Rahman

Beautiful park near downtown Des Moines. A must see place.....you can walk around, near by restaurant or just relax after work.

Michael Alfaro

Really cool. Check it out in the evening!

Robert S

This place is beautiful definitely worth checking out if you're visiting. It's also great to look at I. The evening after dark they have a beautiful light prism piece.

CJ Bloyer

Call me biased, but I love the sculpture park. It's great for hanging out with your friends, plenty of Pokestops, Wizards Unite Challenges & Inns, plus, you're close to downtown and can pretty much just walk around enjoying the city center without too much effort. Go on a Sunday and parking is free! Would definitely recommend!

Pete Krotje

Rather odd sculptures. Cell phone guided tour very verbose and took too long. Very nice lawn, though

Alma McKinney

This park was a pleasant surprise. We stumbled upon it during a recent visit to Des Moines, IA. It is small but well maintained . The sculptures are fantastic. I recommend it.

Toby Meyers

Free garden of interesting art. Street parking was $1.25 per hour, you will only need about an hour to walk through.

Russ Bickett

Nice place to walk around or sit and read a book. Usually not too crowded.

Sam Fenstermacher

I stopped here for a stroll on a Sunday afternoon. Time well spent. Parking at meters was free on Sunday.

Mike Lester

Very nicely designed, with excellent sculpture specific lighting. Good groupings and a lot of green space.

Root User

Take the time and walk around. It's a very nice park to enjoy some outdoor art.

Aaron Fountain

This place is just beautiful. I came to admire it more when I saw photographs of what use to stand on the street (empty storefronts). I won't say much because there are plenty of reviews, but I wish some parents who stop having their children climb on things when guests are not suppose to touch the sculptures.

Dennis Gillcrese Jr

I always stop here when I am in town. Very relaxing. Only negative is that it is not uncommon for other visitors to not respect the artwork and not touch the pieces...even with signs telling them not to.

ARISTOTLE PAPPAJOHN-GOLDADE

mason is a bully and the pizza is great

Ken Garton

The audio was hard to get to work. Would of rather had some thing to read about the items

Grant Golden

Very clean, fun and open area. Went here to take some photos for little brother in law's back to school.

Maryanne Shelten

If you go on Sunday you don't need to pay to park. Needs picnic tables. Bring a blanket for that.

L Washburn

Beautiful weather and very clean park and downtown area. A few of the sculptures were quite interesting, especially the giant sitting person made of solid steel letters painted white.

Bill Flapan

Very interesting sculptures. Nice park to walk through in the city. We walked there Sunday morning and it was starting to get busy.

Sarah Hartman

Cool place to walk through and glimpse some larger than life artwork. Situated in down town Des Moines it’s quite a break from the traditional brick and mortar.

Hoyt Phillips

Beautiful open space. I walked here from my hotel and enjoyed walking around. The art is fun and varied. Very nice space and very open. I highly recommend stopping here. Also walk a couple blocks up and check out the library - their outdoor space is beautiful as well.

Nathan Dean

A very interesting and well taken care of, landscaped, grass field park filled with fascinating sculptures. Well worth a visit.

Courtney

Very beautiful park to take a scroll through. Its clean and very well out together. Although be wary parking is an issue. You will need to make sure to carry coins. Took us about 20 minutes to walk through

Khole Cupp

The art is nice, provides a nice place to relax in the middle of downtown DM. Lots of objectives in augmented reality games too. Truly has something for everyone

Noah Torstenson

Beautiful sculpture park! Lots of cool sculptures, and it seems like there are new ones all the time. Definitely a highlight in Des Moines. The park is crowned by the new Renzo Piano Kraus Gateway center, which itself certainly belongs in the sculpture park

Judai Winchester

The Pappajohn Sculpture park is a unique space within downtown Des Moines. I've been here many times, it's always neat to check out the unique sculptures and statues on display here. Also a great place to have lunch and watch the world go by.

Avishag Engelman

quick and fun to visit while in des Moines. grass was super soft. great for a picnic.

Chris Edgar

Many interesting and fun sculptures. Great place to walk around.

F. Ben Bianco

What a wonderful place to take a walk. And take the children they will really enjoy it. Or take the dog. It's always easy to find a space around the park. Don't forget to bring change for the meter. Or come at night , the park is always open and all the sculptures are lit . It's never dark there. The sculptures are amazing. You'll want to plan on at least 1 hour to be able to see all of them. Whether it's winter or summer, even if the sculptures are covered in snow it is an amazing place!

Maxx Menagerie

They're always adding or rotating new pieces of art into the park. It's a very cool and comfortable place to go hang out.

Sherri Wallis

Its a neat place but not as nice as some sculpture parks I've seen in much smaller communities.

Amber Winn

Went to Art Festival here but I come here a lot for events and it's a nice open space by the library and has some awesome art sculptures and it's nice just to walk around

stiver189

Great environment in beautiful downtown Des Moines for a casual jaunt, especially on an awkward first date. Swing by one of the local patios or happy hours before or after to complete the evening.

Ismail Barnawi

If you appreciate Art this somewhere to visit if you are in Des Moines Iowa.

Shanda Wagner

Beautiful park perfect mixture of art, the city and the outdoors!

Vicki Gatter

Nice place to go for a walk over lunch downtown.

Nando Alvarez

I love that place because when I'm there specially at night it's more fun to walk around and think about how and why the guys designed those sculpture and what their truly mean is

Pradeep Jain B.P

Nice Sculptures, very little being explained about it.. Living the viewer to make sense and reflects the inner wisdom of each individual

Kelli Newton

Great place for a picnic, a walk, with kids, family and friends. Be prepared for a good walk to see it all. Loved seeing the "LOVE" that is on a temporary visit!

Dharma Punna

Love to jog around this park on weekends

Fran Timmons

I've driven by the sculpture park for years. Gradually watched pieces added. I walked through with my 11 year old grandson, and how beautiful. Today, they added a new red sculpture, that says LOVE. We enjoyed the unique art. Please check out.

John Dahl

There is a nice phone tour if you have time to do it. Variety of many different art styles

Tracy Cavalier

It's a great place to take out-of-town family.

Valey Menette'

Love it. I can just walk around looking at all the sculptures. I wasnt cute that day so I didn't take any pictures. Lol...I helped shoot a music video. I liked that it's right downtown. I'm going back so I can get some pictures of the ones I like

John Kennedy

Walk my dogs here often, great place very well maintained.

Michelle Randazzo

A lot of beautiful art! And a nice walk!

Justin Norman

A lovely little area to walk around during the day or night. It combines all of the most-wanted traits of a public garden in one beautiful package: lush green hills, smooth paved walkways, and an assortment of delightful phallic sculptures and haunted demon rabbit statues. I like to crouch under the giant spider and pretend it has just given birth to me.

Jason Baker

I love that there are new additions.

cmateski

Creative and nice venue for a day outside.

Jesse Gunkel

This sculpture park is a lot of fun to go through! It's not a big park, maybe 2 blocks, so it's easy to see everything. There are some sculptures that are more interactive than others and that make a great photo op. Even in all the snow, it's a great place to visit!

mike tierney

Warm today but an excellent time to spend in the park

Brian Bopp

I am not a fan of modernist art. Meaningless shapes with random titles do not thrill or inspire, they just take up space. The park has lots of space, green hills whose best use is to practice rolling down until you puke. Even so on a sunny day there will plenty of people strolling and dog-walking, making their own art without the help of the blobs and beams that someone calls 'art.'

Ryan N. Ludwig

Cool sculptures along with a great place to sit around the park.

Bobbi Bobbi

Awesome!! No shade but, so cool to walk around. Make sure you do the tutorial calls.

Paul Fletcher

Very neat place to stretch your legs

Alex Y

Nice place to walk your dog.

Nick Ash

Lovely place to stroll anytime of day. I PREFER Nighttime

Diana C

Must see! It's a quick stop in Des Moines with a lot of interesting sculptures and art. Nice to see free, public art for everyone to enjoy. It's not a giant park. Just enough to squeeze in between other stuff around Des Moines.

L Bradley

Peaceful and fun place to picnic, hang out with family or read a book and relax.

John Ketch

Beautiful park with lots of culture.

Casey Francis

My wife and I stopped here on a whim with our dog when traveling through and we were so glad we did! The sculptures were great and the park was filled with people -- groups of teenagers to couples strolling to kids playing catch. It was a very friendly as atmosphere. Once you're done here consider walking to one of the nearby restaurants like Exile Brewery.

Chevy Skiburban

Cute little sculpture park right in the middle of the city. Great place to wander around and just let the stress of your day disappear in the whimsy that is all around you.

Marci Gallagher

Nice variety of sculpture styles. Easy to get to and has a paved walkway. Not overly large. Everything could be seen in less than an hour if need be. Enjoyable place to have a relaxing walk.

Ali Rafi

Cool place to check out some abstract artwork...great spot to hangout during the summer! There's also restaurants nearby, which is great!

4thSSRgtDF

It's an outdoor, private park that's open to the public.

Jeffrey Miller

It is a beautiful greenspace to hang out and have a picnic. There are lots of restaurants and coffee shops around as well.

Kim Hawkins

Went to an art festival there. It was very cool. Will plant to go next year!!

R Chiostri

Great park to walk thru and enjoy these amazing sculptures!!

Brent Price

Must go during the day too take your pictures if you are into that very awesome place

Lisa Nevins

This is such a beautiful park in downtown Des Moines but the fact that there is a Yayoi Kusama sculpture in it gives the 5 stars! There are so many fascinating pieces of art here! If you are in Des Moines or driving past, please stop!

reviewer

Such a great place to go for photos and to relaxed in the middle of a great city it also shows some amazing art

Narciso Rodriguez

Not as good. They pretend to know it all, and one of the bartenders was as sassy as Lady Gaga. Not going again.

Kassandra Cline

Great outdoor space for a relaxing walk with the family dog. Neat sculptures. Lots of benches to rest and enjoy the artwork.

Stephen Garza

They have great weakends with concerts

Daniel Madison

Very pleasant. Good restaurant options in the area too. Make sure to check out Black Cat Ice Cream right across the street. Edit: R.I.P. Black Cat Ice Cream

Tyler Nelson

I was there for the art festival and visit the sculpture Park. If you're into sculptures and other art pieces this is a great place to visit. Keep in mind that kids are not allowed to climb on any of these sculptures.

Julie Bonz

They have the new LOVE sculpture!

tai palomino

Had a good time walking around with the family. Such a beautiful park

Vicki Porter

Beautiful setting in urban area. Modern art sculptures.

Ashland Christensen

I like the overall peaceful feeling and scenery when I go there. It is a great park, especially for photos to be taken there. I recommend it.

Dana Sadler

Incredible sculptures! Interesting, interactive and different, and a joy to visit each time we go. This time we went to the Des Moines Art Festival. Also very interesting and fun, although we nearly passed out from the heat! We will try it again another year when it's not so hot! We love the park and area as far as places to eat and things to see and do!

Lorne Wiggins

This is a perfect place to bring your kids and your whole family. The park is clean and well-maintained. The air is fresh which is good for exercise or a quick workout.

Shawn

We came here in December but it was unseasonably warm. We sat in the sun and enjoyed the day until the sun went down. The sculptures are amazing and creative. Could do without the newest installment of "poo." Its gorgeous here. The people are friendly, the dogs cute and it's just a great place to spend a Saturday. And you don't have to spend a dime. A unique Des Moines treasure.

Paul Asjes

Spend some time here. Some really great pieces and a nice variety.