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Riverside, Iowa

Riverside, Iowa (right) and the Riverside Shipyard (left)

Riverside was a town in Iowa, on Earth. It was the birthplace of George Samuel Kirk and his brother, James. (SNW: "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow")

In the alternate reality created by Nero's incursion, It was the hometown of James T. Kirk, his mother Winona Kirk, and his stepfather. Riverside was the location of the Riverside Shipyard, where the USS Enterprise was constructed.

The area in and around Riverside was characterized by open wheat fields and sporadic industrial and residential construction. A large quarry was also located in Riverside.

In 2255 a contingent of Starfleet cadets – under the command of Captain Christopher Pike were present in Riverside, visiting a local bar before shuttling to Starfleet Academy in San Francisco, California. (Star Trek)

Appendices[]

Background information[]

Long before Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home established that Kirk was from Iowa, Stephen E. Whitfield and Gene Roddenberry had stated in their book The Making of Star Trek that Kirk had been "born in a small town in the State of Iowa." However, they had not been more specific.

Note that while The Making of Star Trek gave no specific year for Kirk's birth, since the time frame of Star Trek: The Original Series had not been locked down when the book was written, it did state that Kirk was thirty-four years old, matching the age given in TOS: "The Deadly Years". Given the assumption of the Star Trek Chronology (1st ed., p. 29) that "The Deadly Years" occurred in 2267, that would mean Kirk's birth year was 2233. The Chronology also assigned Kirk a birthdate of March 22, which is the birthdate of William Shatner. 2233 is confirmed in Star Trek, since the timeline does not change until the Narada appears, and his mother, Winona Kirk, was pregnant with him at that time.

In March of 1985, Riverside was looking for a theme for its annual festival. Steve Miller, who was a member of the Riverside City Council, had read The Making of Star Trek and suggested that Riverside proclaim itself the future birthplace of Kirk. This motion passed unanimously. [1] The council contacted Roddenberry for permission to be designated as the official birthplace of Kirk. Roddenberry agreed, and designated Riverside as Kirk's birthplace.

Since 1985, the town has held an annual "Trek Fest" in June, a themed Star Trek festival based on an original series episode. The festival features a costume contest and a parade with Star Trek themed floats, including the classic bridge, and a float based on that year's theme. The city also showcases a Constitution-class "U.S.S. Riverside" statue (which doubles as a parade float), a "birthstone" marking the future birthplace of James T. Kirk, and a memorabilia museum, named "The Voyage Home", which houses props from the TV series and the Invasion Iowa reality show.

In 2006, William Shatner, the iconic actor who portrayed Kirk, starred in a reality mini-series entitled Invasion Iowa which took place in Riverside, Iowa, since it had been declared as the future birthplace of Kirk. The series had Shatner recruiting Riverside residents as actors for a film he was directing; however, it was all an elaborate joke on the people of Riverside.

In 2008, Walter Koenig was the Grand Marshal for the parade, judge for the costume contest, and held a Q/A and autograph session with the attending patrons. In 2009, Nichelle Nichols and George Takei joined Koenig, participating in the same roles as he had done in 2008. At the local Riverside Casino and Hotel, the trio held a mini convention answering questions, signing autographs, and holding photo-ops. In 2010, Barbara Luna was welcomed to the small town, along with Koenig, and even stayed at the hotel, dining with fans. James Cawley was scheduled to appear, but a representative from his production company addressed fans stating his minor injuries in a car accident preventing him from attending but looked forward to it.

Star Trek 2009[]

In early-April 2008, sequences depicting Riverside were shot by the second unit of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek in Bakersfield, California. The car chase involving young James Kirk in his uncle's Corvette was filmed here. A deleted scene depicting the Kirk Family's Riverside home was also filmed in Bakersfield. [2]

Following the completion of the film, the people of Riverside made world headlines in 2009 when the town was given a preview of Star Trek. This film marked the first official canon reference to Riverside. While Star Trek established that the alternate reality version of Kirk lived in Riverside, it would not be established as the birthplace for the prime Kirk until SNW: "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow".

External links[]

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