A dual-sided performance stage anchored by two spiralling steel columns, the Lauridsen Amphitheater serves as the centerpiece of a major revitalization of Water Works Park, one of the largest urban parks in the United States at nearly 1,500 acres. Completed in May 2019 at a cost of roughly $1.5 million, the amphitheater sits within the park along the Raccoon River on the west side of Des Moines, Iowa, at 2201 George Flagg Parkway. The design by RDG Planning and Design responded to a challenging brief: the site lies within a flood plain and is periodically inundated. Only two steel columns are anchored to the stage via a resilient concrete base, rising from the 100-year flood marker. The columns, crafted to the highest level of architecturally exposed structural steel standards, weave together in a tree-limb pattern inspired by the park's century-old arboretum. An ellipses-shaped canopy of color-shifting aluminum composite, measuring 65 feet wide by 45 feet long, shelters the stage below. The amphitheater's dual-sided layout provides unusual flexibility. The north face looks over Innovation Field and handles audiences from 2,000 up to 25,000 in general-admission configurations. The south side faces a smaller lawn suited to performances under 2,000. This range has allowed the venue to host everything from neighborhood gatherings to major touring concerts. The inaugural show featured country artist Clint Black on June 22, 2019. Since then, the park has welcomed acts including Willie Nelson, Styx, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, and in 2024 became the new home of the 80/35 Music Festival, previously held downtown. Named for philanthropists Nix and Virginia Lauridsen, whose donation supported its development, the amphitheater is the focal point of a multi-phase master plan introduced in 2013 by the Des Moines Water Works Park Foundation, the City of Des Moines, and Des Moines Water Works. The park itself is a publicly owned water utility site that supplies drinking water to some 500,000 central Iowans while also offering trails, fishing, picnicking, and a restored arboretum.

Type: Outdoors

Address: 2201 George Flagg Parkway, Des Moines, IA, United States, 50321

Website: https://www.waterworkspark.org/

Capacity: 10000

Opening Date: 01/05/2019