Tree of Five Seasons area to be renamed 'Five Seasons Plaza'

UPDATE: The city-owned riverfront spot next to the First Avenue bridge that has been home since 1996 to the sculpture, the Tree of Five Seasons, is on the verge of getting a new name, Five Seasons Plaza.

Daniel Gibbins, the city's parks superintendent, on Monday noted that tree and the park around it are in the process of a face-lift, funded by private donations, and he said those behind the renovation have suggested the park's name change.

Gibbins called the park's current name, Riverfront Park, "nondescript," and he said the city's Parks and Recreation Department is supporting the park's proposed name change.

The name change, which the City Council is approving, comes as the renovation of the tree and the park, both of which were flooded in 2008, is being completed.

The creative forces behind the city's Five Seasons moniker, the Five Seasons tree and the current tree and park renovation are Bill Munsell and Gary Anderson, colleagues at the former ad agency, Creswell, Munsell, Fultz & Zirbel Inc.

The two came up with the idea that Cedar Rapids had five seasons - the fifth to enjoy the other four - more than 40 years ago.