(Read the intro post for background on this trip.)

This is a special non-burger post. Andrew (24) and I left the Twin Cities and headed down to Riverside, Iowa. They are the self-purported “future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk” (from the Star Trek series). We actually re-routed our trip especially to come to Riverside since we’re both Star Trek fans (especially Andrew – observant blog readers will have seen the Star Wars comm badge he wears on his jacket – all of them.)

Andrew in front of the museum, standing by the USS Riverside parade float.

In the original Star Trek series, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry stated the Kirk was from Iowa but didn’t say where. Someone in Riverside decided that Kirk was born in Riverside and put up a little museum called the Voyage Home Museum. In 1985 the city petitioned Roddenberry and Paramount Pictures for permission to adopt Kirk as their “future son”, which was approved, so it became Star Trek canon that Kirk is from Riverside.

We were super disappointed when we pulled up to the museum to find it was closed. A sign on the door said they were closed due to lack of staff, but they did have a list of numbers to call to see if they could come let you in. The second number I tried resulted in a nice lady walking over (on her birthday no less!) to open the museum up. It’s a small museum stuffed full of Star Trek memorabilia ranging from actual props like Data’s desk from the Enterprise-D to self-built sets like the Enterprise bridge and transporter room. Super fun. They also have the “USS Riverside” (which looks a lot like the Enterprise) float for their annual TrekFest event and a bronze statue of Kirk across the street in a park.

Andrew in in a transporter bay. The buttons next to Kirk trigger red alert and other sounds.

The original prop for Data’s desk in his quarters from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
.

The whole town is in on this. Down the street there’s a stone plaque noting the birthplace.  The street lights have Star Trek pennants flying from them. There was a bar called Murphy’s Bar and Grill that claimed to be the future Shipyard Bar (where the fight scene in the new Star Trek movie takes place). They also have a plaque marking “Captain James T. Kirk conceived at this point on June 22, 2227”; it used to be under the pool table until a remodel, when they moved it to a wall. Unfortunately, the bar closed this summer due to COVID business impacts. I hope someone buys the bar and reopens it, or Kirk may never be conceived…

Anyway, it was a fun side trip on our journey.