John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park

Des Moines, United States

4.5

Open now

20 reviews

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Telephone:
+1 515-277-4405
Website:
www.desmoinesartcenter.org
Address:
13th and Locust, Des Moines, IA, 50309
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.7 miDes Moines passenger depot
0.7 mi9th & Crocker NB
0.7 mi9th & Crocker SB
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Today

Today 5:00 am – 10:00 pm
Open now
Local time (Des Moines) 19:08 Friday, 18 July 2025

Business hours

Monday 5:00 am – 10:00 pm
Tuesday 5:00 am – 10:00 pm
Wednesday 5:00 am – 10:00 pm
Thursday 5:00 am – 10:00 pm
Friday 5:00 am – 10:00 pm
Saturday 5:00 am – 10:00 pm
Sunday 5:00 am – 10:00 pm

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20 reviews of John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park

No registration required
Place rating: 3
Minneapolis, MN
You’ll be disappointed if you’re used to Minneapolis’ walker sculpture garden (way better) but it’s still worth checking out. Good excuse to be outside at least. Cell phone tour is a nice option even though the voice gets old after awhile. The short snippets about each art piece in the brochures from the Art Center is a better option.
Place rating: 5
Mission Viejo, CA
Free public art smack dab in the middle of downtown! It’s a small park but it does take maybe an hour to walk around it if you really want to see it in its entirety. Parking was easy. No pay meters on a Sunday bordering the it. The park wasn’t crowded at all but since it’s pretty much open to the public any time of the day, I don’t understand how it could be. Cute find in the city.
Place rating: 3
Grinnell, IA
Pretty cool sculpture park! It probably takes 20 – 30 minutes to walk around to see every one of the pieces if you walk rather slowly. Last time I went though, a couple of my favorites were gone! To be expected, I guess. I’d recommend going twice, once during the day and once at night to take a look. Some of the pieces are illuminated in ways that enhance their features more than regular sunlight can provide.
Place rating: 4
Chicago, IL
While quite small, this park was fun to explore for a few minutes. My daughter informed me that it is a local favorite as a place to relax and enjoy several sculptures. My wife, daughter and I spent roughly 15 minutes walking around the park, chatting and exploring. It was quite cold today, but I would love to visit again in the springtime or summer. My only wish is that the park were larger, as you can see all there is to be seen in a short amount of time.
Place rating: 5
Ankeny, IA
A pretty great place to relax or take pictures. Des Moines is an awesome city with tons of parks around the city. It’s hard to believe this is so close to downtown.
Parking is a bit tricky but parking anywhere downtown can be during peak times.
The park grounds are meticulously maintained which is awesome to see such pride the the area sites!
Place rating: 3
Omaha, NE
Let me preface this saying that modern art is lost on me. I don’t get it, and some of the stuff here just seemed bizarre. That aside, the park is very nice. The ground are well maintained and the park itself is a great place to relax. The park is open in the evenings, and looks cooler to me lit up. It is a neat place to see, but unless you are really into sculptures, you don’t need to make a special trip just to see it.
Place rating: 5
Jackson Heights, NY
This space is a nice park. Some of the art inspires one to wonder what is going on, but that is what art does sometimes. It makes the downtown area look nice. Beware of the parking signs as there are some odd resident permit regulations. There are restaurants, bars and cafes in the vicinity of the park.
Place rating: 5
San Mateo, CA
A great park to walk through! Loved the sculptures and the area was very refreshing. I brought my dog with me and she loved running around in the grass and around the park. I loved the kaleidoscope sculpture and went inside of it (beware there are always huge puddles of mud/​water in the entrance). The alphabet human sculpture was interesting as well. You should stop by if you’re in the area and enjoy this sort of thing.
Place rating: 5
Johnston, IA
If you are interested in public art, take the cell phone tour. It uses a QR code on any one of the art pieces and gives you some great info. If you are a photographer, the best times to shoot are early mornings or late-​evenings on the weekdays. Bring your tripod and a wide lens as well as some mid-​range prime (I use a 50 mm and 10−22mm).
The parking is all metered, but I recommend walking or biking here. There are plenty of places to eat nearby, many of which offer carryout. This is a great place to bring kids or take a date.
Security here is done with geo-​fencing. There are plenty of cameras and it is well policed. You don’t need to worry about skateboarders or vandals ruining stuff. The grass and landscaping are well cared for — this place is really fun!
Place rating: 3
Des Moines, IA
What can you say about the place? I guess for Iowa, it’s cool enough, but when you bring people from out of town, the smile politely, nod and say, «Oh…isn’t this nice.»
There’s plenty of space to kick back and read a book, or play catch with your dog, or let your kids go wild. It’s a great place right in the middle of downtown. No one will argue with that. But in the way of sculpture parks, this is more like a sculpture room.
And believe me, when grandma gets her peepers on Gymnast III, she may pack everyone back up in the car and get out.
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
Really cool place to checkout in Des Moines. The sculptures are all very different and make you wonder who in the heck thought to make them! And it’s free!
Place rating: 5
Des Moines, IA
This place is beautiful during the day! Got to walk around during lunch hour and its pretty busy place from people walking dogs or taking lunch on the benches. Pretty cool place to just take a stroll around.
Place rating: 5
Indianapolis, IN
I have to hand it to you, Des Moines. I’m a little jealous of your downtown sculpture park. Every time I find myself strolling through the area I think to myself, this would be quite lovely in the heart of Indy. Kudos to the generous couple who made this beautiful and diverse collection of artwork available to the public. I was especially impressed to find a piece of work by Haring (the brightly colored dancing blob/​stick figures –if that helps ring a bell). The space is free and «open» until midnight with lighting, artwork markers and landscaping. If you find yourself craving coffee while in the area, stroll on in to Ritual Café (located within the block) — it’s one of my favorite coffee spots in the city.
Place rating: 5
Des Moines, IA
This sculpture park is amazing and adds great character to downtown Des Moines! After a date night, my S/​O and I brought our puggle to walk around downtown and came across this park of beautiful art. At night all of the sculptures illuminate with spotlights coming from the ground, placing more emphasis on the artwork! It’s kept very clean and the grass is beautiful and soft! Our puggle loved laying in and rolling in the lush grass :) It’s also super safe and people love coming here, because it was busy when we came! Surrounding the park are the sidewalks and there are fountains on the sidewalks, which I thought was interesting! My S/​O and I will definitely be coming here often to enjoy the beautiful artwork displayed here :)
Place rating: 5
Iowa City, IA
This brings life to downtown Des Moines!
Basically nestled in the middle of the downtown area there are several large sculptures for the public to see. They are very cool and worth taking a picture with, as you may have seen before from one or more of you friends before because I know I have.
You can’t miss it if you drive around downtown, its a very fun place to walk around or sit around and relax to enjoy the day.
Place rating: 5
Philadelphia, PA
Looks really beautiful at dusk or sunset. Free and open to the public everyday. This park features work by world renowned artists. Des Moines is lucky to have it! My favorites were the Haring, the Bourgeois and the Elliason.
Place rating: 5
Ankeny, IA
An awesome park in the middle of downtown, a great place to take a break from the hustle and bustle of downtown life. Stop and take a moment to enjoy the sculptures here. You will see lots of people sitting in the grass either reading, eating, or just relaxing.
Downtown in general is a great place to just take a walk to observe the sights, this place is just a bonus. It is right next to the library, you could always check out a book and have a quick reading session. Next to restaurants if you want a quick bite to eat. There is street parking if you happened to drive here.
Place rating: 5
Des Moines, IA
Every day, I go for at least a 3 mile run, and my route since I moved to Des Moines always includes the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park.
Nothing beats being inspired by beautiful works of public art on a run. It makes the sky blue when it’s not and the sun shine even when it’s cloudy. Our sculpture park here in Des Moines is full of legendary sculpture’s works and it’s beautifully manicured lawn and sidewalks make this a destination spot for romantic walks, hanging eating lunch, or bringing in visitors to show the beauty of our city.
If you are feeling uninspired take a blanket and go sit on the sculpture park lawn and just take it in.
Place rating: 4
West Des Moines, IA
I really love this place.
The sculpture garden was recommended to me by several people when I told them I was first moving to Des Moines. And, they were all right – it’s pretty great!
First, it’s a gorgeous setting – lush grass, beautiful views, a winding pathway leading you to every sculpture. Each sculpture has a phone number you can dial to get more information about the piece, which I find to be nice. Or if you are like me, just use your imagination!
I really enjoy coming here to just clear my mind and take in the scenery. It doesn’t get old, even after coming here dozens of times!
Place rating: 5
Austin, TX
Whether day or night, the sculpture park is a wonderful walking tour. During the day, the sculptures look close together and the colors are quite bright. At night, I would say they take on slightly different personalities. Yoshitomo Nara’s White Ghost glows eerily at night, shadows creeping all over its form as your steps take it closer. Butterfield’s driftwood horses look more peaceful at night, though I am willing to bet during they day they look as large and muscular. Haring’s 10 foot tall sculpture of three a yellow, a blue, and a white) people encourage you to view from every angle in order to determine if they are tangled in either a mele or dance or love-​making or whatever you can imagine. These are just my highlights, but I really enjoyed everything there.