Most People Have No Idea This Abandoned Park Is Hiding In Nebraska
By Delana Lefevers|Published August 17, 2017
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Delana Lefevers
Author
As a lifelong Nebraskan, Delana loves discovering the many hidden treasures of her state. She has worked as a writer and editor since 2007. Delana's work has been featured on more than a dozen websites and in Nebraska Life Magazine.
More than 20 years ago, a group of hopeful individuals got together to create a monument to peace in Nebraska. The space was meant to give people a gathering spot to contemplate, meditate, and escape from the outside world for a while. Today, it sits empty and decaying.
The Prairie Peace Park is located outside of Lincoln in the tiny town of Pleasant Dale. It was once a 27-acre tract of land that encouraged visitors to contemplate their places in the world.
Two large-scale works of art were the highlight of the park. The sculpture above, a metal globe titled "The Dance of Children," represented world peace with children leading the way.
The park's creator focused on children and teaching the next generation to live in peace with one another. Groups of children were invited to the park to paint murals like this one on the side of the house on the park's grounds.
This wall-size map of the world was made using painted film canisters. This series of photos was taken in 2010; since then, nearly all of the film canisters have either fallen off or been removed.
In 2005, after experiencing financial troubles, the park was sold to Global Country World Peace, based in Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa. Plans to build a "peace palace" there fell through and the park was offered for sale once again. The land was up for sale for quite a while, with the stipulation that the globe sculpture and mural remain intact.
Today, the house is in disrepair and the grounds are overgrown and fenced off. But there are still very real reminders of the messages of peace and love once embraced here, including the globe sculpture and the mural which can still be seen through the trees at exit 388 off of I-80.
YouTube user Kayla Humphrey visits the park each year to see how it’s faring; this video was created in November 2016 and shows the park in a sad state.
This video features park co-founder Don Tilley explaining more about the vision behind this unique piece of Nebraska’s past.
Have you visited this unusual park? Were you around when it was built? Tell us about your memories and experiences in the comments!
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