A New Look - Expo Hill

September 28, 2012
robintaylor's picture

It was such a beautiful day that I decided to take a walk over lunch to enjoy the weather and the peace of the Fairgrounds. As I left the office, my feet directed me to the stairs leading to Expo Hill, one of the new features added in time for this year's Fair. And, I recently found out that this is not the first set of stairs here. When Exposition Hall still graced the top of the hill there was another staircase here providing access to the building. At the top, I paused a moment to take in the new look of the hill area....sidewalks, landscaping, benches, a stage. What a difference!

Following the path provided by the new sidewalks, I circled the stage, crossed the plaza and then descended to Grand Avenue via the pathway installed in 2011. As I did, I was taken again by the flow of the site and what potential it provides for entertainment, exhibitors and vendors in future Fairs as well as a great location for a wedding, party, concert or other outdoor function. Thanks to grants provided by the Energy Department of Iowa Economic Development and MidAmerican Energy, we've been able to turn an under utilized and not very attractive space into a showcase of green initiatives and renewable energy products. The solar cubes, cooling benches, pavers and bollards all use solar energy to light the pathways and provide unique accents to the area. The MidAmerican Energy visitor's center receives energy from several solar panels installed on its roof and has a monitor inside that displays what was generated, what's being used as well as information about its geo-thermal system plus energy created at one of its wind farms in Iowa. What a nice whay to show off Iowa's committment to renewable resources. If you are in the area in the evening, stop by and see the site lit at night. It takes on a whole new look!

We still have one more component to complete before putting the project to bed though. Because what we're doing is going down a new path, it's taken a bit longer to figure out how to utilize the solar film on the stage covering. But by next year's Fair we should be able to provide solar generated energy for the stage. And, one other neat bit is that USAShade, the manufacturer of the covering, is going to use our stage in their promotions to show a new way of using their product. I guess it's true that while the Iowa State Fair is a grand agricultural tradtion we're also maintaining our history of being a venue that helps introduce the latest in technologies for the benefit of all.