Lake Manawa, Coney Island of the Midwest

A muddy swamp left behind from the flood of 1881 quickly grew to be a fashionable resort. An amusement park, dance halls, and a grand midway flourished in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but by the 1920s the glory days had faded. In this History Highlights video historians Ryan Roenfeld, Troy Stolp, and author Lorna Seilstad look at the amusement park and north shore, exploring how it developed, what it was like, and the reasons behind its demise.
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[@davidyoung8521]

Call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye.

[@nuduce123]

I love history. Especially how much people don't know about CB.

[@councilbluffsrevealed4429]

You are so right; Council Bluffs tends to be largely unknown.

[@galek.smetana1041]

Reminds me of the book my father, Frank Smetana, wrote about Lake Manawa years before this video.

[@randyhutch50]

Another site in CB that's gone forever

[@charleskeefer3043]

Apples and upper class decks .

[@joewatts2940]

Now its filled with dope heads

[@karstensbran1751]

Fascinating story. thank you for posting it.

[@councilbluffsrevealed4429]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@liemdrake]

I happen to be from Council bluffs that had went by lake manawa a few times before when I was in second grade went on a field trip that we went by lake manawa had brought up on that with it had a resort with a roller coaster and a area for swimming got destroyed never had rebuild it.