Pioneer Bowl – State Fair Grounds by Susan Gessner –

The Pioneer Bowl was a significant new addition for the 1936 Northwest Fair. It was close to the Pioneer Settlement which placed it just south and east of the Fair Grounds. A WPA project turned a natural depression or slough into an amphitheater. A large stage was built on the east end of the amphitheater and a pond was developed in the middle of it. Trees added to the setting: “about two thirds of the Bowl has around it a background of stately elms and sturdy ancient oaks.” The Pioneer Bowl was used for pageants, mass meetings, old time dances and an occasional wedding. The Pioneer Bowl did not survive the 1969 flood.