1.
Davenport, Iowa
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Davenport was founded on May 14,1836 by Antoine Le Claire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk War stationed at nearby Fort Armstrong. According to the 2010 census, the city had a population of 99,685, located approximately halfway between Chicago and Des Moines, Davenport is on the border of Iowa and Illinois. The city is prone to frequent flooding due to its location on the Mississippi River, there are two main universities, Saint Ambrose University and Palmer College of Chiropractic, which is where the first chiropractic adjustment took place. Several annual music festivals take place in Davenport, including the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, The Mississippi Valley Fair, an internationally known 7-mile foot race called the Bix 7 is run during the festival. The city has a Class A minor league team, the Quad Cities River Bandits. Davenport has 50 plus parks and facilities, as well as over 20 miles of paths for biking or walking. Four interstates and two major United States Highways serve the city, Davenport has seen steady population growth since its incorporation, with an exception being the 1980s, when the population decreased due to job loss. The Quad Cities was ranked as the most affordable metropolitan area in 2010 by Forbes, in 2007, Davenport, along with neighboring Rock Island, won the City Livability Award in the small-city category from the U. S. In 2012, Davenport as well as the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area was ranked among the areas in the nation in the growth of high-tech jobs. The current mayor of Davenport is Frank Klipsch, the land was originally owned by the Sauk people, Meskwaki, and Ho-Chunk – indigenous peoples of the Americas. In 1803 France sold it to the United States under the Louisiana Purchase, lieutenant Zebulon Pike was the first United States representative to officially visit the Upper Mississippi River area. On August 27,1805, Pike camped on the present day site of Davenport, in 1832, a group of Sauk, Meskwaki, and Kickapoo people were defeated by the United States in the Black Hawk War. The United States government then concluded the Black Hawk Purchase, sometimes called the Forty-Mile Strip or Scotts Purchase, the purchase was made for $640,000 on September 21,1832 and contained an area of some 6 million acres, at a price equivalent to 11 cents/acre. Although named after the defeated chief Black Hawk, he was being held prisoner at the time, the purchase was therefore agreed to by Sauk chief Keokuk, who had remained neutral in the war. It was made on the site of present-day Davenport, army General Winfield Scott and Governor of Illinois, John Reynolds, acted on behalf of the United States, with the future Davenport founder, half-Native, Antoine Le Claire serving as translator. Chief Keokuk gave a portion of land to Antoine Le Claires wife, Marguerite. Antoine built their home on the spot where the agreement was signed. Antoine did so, finishing the Treaty House in the spring of 1833, Davenport was established on May 14,1836 by Le Claire, and named after his friend Colonel George Davenport, who was stationed at Fort Armstrong during the war
2.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
3.
Central Fire Station (Davenport, Iowa)
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The Central Fire Station is located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States and serves as the headquarters of the Davenport Fire Department, as well as the downtown fire station. Built from 1901 to 1902, it is the oldest active fire station west of the Mississippi River and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The first group of firefighters in Davenport were organized in 1856 and called the Independent Fire Engine. The citys early fire fighting corps were all volunteer hook and ladder and hose companies, which were paid a fee to extinguish a fire. They were located throughout the city in makeshift quarters and generally possessed poor equipment, by 1880 the city determined it needed a professional, paid fire department. The Davenport City Council authorized the formation of a fire department in 1882. Marsh Noe was the first fire chief and twelve men made up the first paid fire department, the city’s first fire house, Hose Station No. 1, had built on Perry Street in 1877 for the Fire King Engine 2nd Hose Company. Before the turn of the 20th century the city built other small stations throughout the city. By 1901 the city decided it needed a new and larger fire station downtown, at this time there were six hose companies located throughout the city, a citywide alarm system was in place as well as a fire hydrant network. The city and its buildings in the area continued to grow in size. The fire department also grew in size so a station was needed to care for all of these realities. Local architect Gustav Hanssen was contracted to build the new station and he had designed several homes in the city including Sacred Heart Rectory, which is also on the National Register of Historic Places. The location of a double engine firehouse across West Fourth Street from the Scott County Court House was selected as the location for the new building, the building was opened in 1902, which makes it the oldest active fire station west of the Mississippi River. It was built at a cost of $21,000, as the city and the fire department grew a two-story annex was added to the rear of the building around 1940. It added three truck bays. The building continues to serve as a fire although it does have space. The station itself houses Engine 1, Engine 2, Truck 1, in 2015 the city addressed the space problems of the facility
4.
Davenport Public Library
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The Davenport Public Library is a public library located in Davenport, Iowa. With a history dating back to 1839, the Davenport Public Librarys Main Library is currently housed in a 1960s building designed by Kennedy Center architect Edward Durell Stone, the library began with a reading room in the Le Claire Hotel established in 1839. Another reading room and circulating library were announced in an 1853 article in the Davenport Gazette, the library eventually leased an entire building. Although then named the Young Mens Library Association, it was managed by the communitys women, in 1877, one of them—Clarissa Cook—pledged $10,000 to the library for the construction of its own building if property were obtained for the construction by the citizens. After successfully raising the funds to purchase a lot, the city laid the cornerstone for the Cook Memorial Building on November 7,1877, the library eventually outgrew its space. Even though the Library Association no longer had to pay rent and charged a fee for borrowing books, it was struggling financially, local author Alice French requested the assistance of her personal friend Andrew Carnegie, who was already becoming known for his philanthropic assistance of libraries. Carnegie promised to donate $50,000 to construct a new public library if the library were tax supported, the question was successfully put to the vote at the April 1900 election, the first in Iowa which permitted women voters. The city opened its Carnegie library, the largest west of the Mississippi River in 1904, the building was designed by Boston architect Calvin Kiessling. By 1960, the library had outgrown the Carnegie Building as well and it was expanded in 1963 to provide space for further services for children, but the expansion caused displacement of the sand on which the building was founded, leading to structural damage. In 1966, the Carnegie Building had to be demolished, the subsequent Davenport Public Library building, designed by architect Edward Durell Stone, was opened on October 6,1968. While the library had long maintained branches in area schools, it opened its first official branch and this branch was located in the historic Annie Wittenmyer Complex, in rooms that were used as the kitchen and dining room of the former Iowa Soldiers Orphans Home. However, due to the growth of the area and the proximity of this branch to the Main Library, the citizens of Davenport passed a referendum in 2003 that supported the building and operation of two new library branches. The Annie Wittenmyer Branch closed in November 2005, the Fairmount Branch Library opened on Saturday, January 14,2006, and the Eastern Avenue Branch Library opened on Saturday, July 10,2010, completing the library expansion project. Notes Official website Official Site of the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center Official City of Davenport site
5.
Davenport Register of Historic Properties
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This is a list of the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in Davenport, Iowa, United States. The historic preservation movement began in the city of Davenport in the mid-1970s with the renovation of historic structures. A comprehensive study of the neighborhoods, districts and architecture was begun in 1978. The study was conducted in three phases, the first two phases were carried out from 1979 to 1982 and the third phase from 1982 to 1983. The results were published in two volumes, davenport—Where the Mississippi Runs West reported on the first two phases and Davenport Architecture—Tradition and Transition reported on the third phase. A Multiple Resource nomination was submitted to the National Register of Historic Places that included 12 districts, by March 1985 all the districts and 249 properties were listed on the national register. The Historic Preservation Commission was established in 1992, and the historic preservation ordinance was passed the same year, Davenport became a Certified Local Government in the state of Iowa. It was now responsible to review local projects participating in state and it was also able to exercise some control over the modification and/or demolition of historic buildings in the city. The historic preservation ordinance also allowed the establishment of a register of historic properties. The first four properties were added in 1992, the list below contains properties on the Davenport Register of Historic Places in alphabetical order, National Register of Historic Places listings in Davenport, Iowa
6.
Scott County Courthouse (Iowa)
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The Scott County Courthouse in Davenport, Iowa, United States was built from 1955 to 1956 and extensively renovated over a ten-year period between 1998 and 2009. It is the building the county has used for court functions. It is part of a larger county complex that includes the county jail, administration building, Scott County was established in 1837 by the legislature of the Wisconsin Territory. Until this time the area had been a part of Des Moines County, the first court sessions in the county were held in St. Anthonys Catholic Church. The juries met in a room that was available by George Davenport. Davenport and Rockingham, a town a mile south on the Mississippi River, an election was held in February 1838. Because the population base at the time was in the part of the county. Davenport’s promoters paid $3,000 in whiskey and bribes to miners from Dubuque, Iowa to vote for Davenport, Rockingham contested the election and a new election was set for August 1838. A rule was put in place whereby one had to be a resident for at least 60 days in order to vote in the election, both towns’ promoters defrauded the ballot box this time. Laborers were imported to work in the mills at least 60 days before the election, when the county commissioners purged the polls after the election Davenport won by two votes. Rockingham again protested and the legislature of the Iowa Territory, of which Scott County had become a part of in 1838, the third election had four jurisdictions vying for the county seat. Besides Davenport and Rockingham the geographical center of the county, or “Sloperville, ” entered the race as did Winfield, the other three jurisdictions made offers of land, buildings and cash. Winfield offered 90 acres of land and $100 in labor and materials, Rockingham made an offer to build the courthouse and jail. Davenport’s promoters, especially Antoine LeClaire and George Davenport, promised to build a courthouse, davenports offer of land, cash and building materials was valued at $5,000. The town also stressed its more central location and that its proposed site was on higher ground away from the Mississippi River. Rockingham and Winfield could not match the offer and Davenport won after Rockingham withdrew on the eve of the election, the election results were celebrated in Davenport with bonfires, fireworks and speeches. Rockingham was later annexed into the city of Davenport, and Winfield is now part of Bettendorf, the countys first courthouse was a Greek Revival style building built in 1842. It was a structure that featured stately columns and a round cupola
7.
United States Courthouse (Davenport)
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The United States Courthouse, Davenport, Iowa is a historic post office and courthouse building located in Davenport in Scott County, Iowa. It is a courthouse for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, part of the site occupied by the courthouse was previously the site of an 1891 post office, completed in 1896 under the supervision of architect Willoughby J. Edbrooke. The 1891 building also became home to an office of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa in 1904, a wing added in 1909 did little to alleviate the crowding in the building. The city experienced a boom during the 1920s that lasted into the early 1930s. The construction of high-rise buildings downtown, including hotels and department stores, spurred the need for a new building to house the post office, by 1932, the Great Depression had put many people out of work. Federal projects, including construction of a lock and dam, improvements to the seawall, in 1930, Congress appropriated $655,000 for the construction of a new federal building on the site of the 1891 building, plus the purchase of two adjacent parcels. Demolition of the early post office and courthouse took place in April 1932, construction of the new building took just over 500 days. Local architect Seth J. Temple designed the building, which was commissioned by the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury. Temple studied at the American Academy in Rome and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, other Davenport buildings that Temple designed include Davenport Hall, the Union Bank and Office building, and the Blackhawk and Burlington hotels. Constructed as a post office and courthouse, the building retained both of those functions until about 1965, the post office moved out of the building at that time and the U. S. General Services Administration acquired the building, the building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. Courthouse is a skillfully executed example of Depression-era architecture that invokes the Art Deco style, the three-story building is essentially rectangular, though a portion of the building near the rear has only one story. The building has a frame and integral concrete beam floors, with cladding that includes a coursed granite base and Minnesota Kasota travertine limestone on the north, east. The cladding of the elevation is buff colored brick laid in a Flemish bond pattern. The building has a composite roof with a parapet. The main entry is in the elevation, which is the most elaborate. The entablature above the third story windows projects slightly from the surface of the building. A decorative parapet at the top of the features a carved limestone frieze with a stylized Ionic order capital
8.
Modern Woodmen Park
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Modern Woodmen Park, is a minor league baseball venue located in Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is home to the Quad Cities River Bandits, a Class-A affiliate of the Houston Astros, located on the banks of the Mississippi River, in the shadow of the Centennial Bridge, home run balls to right field often land in the river. As night games became more necessary, Davenport teams were playing at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, the city of Davenport realized a lighted stadium, downtown, on the riverfront, would be ideal. Proposed by the Davenport Levee Commission, Municipal Stadium opened May 26,1931 within LeClaire Park, the ballpark was built at a cost of $185,000. The first night game was June 4,1931, expansions in the 1940s and in 1962 brought capacity up to 6,200 and 8,500 respectively. On May 27,1971 the stadium was renamed John ODonnell Stadium in honor of the sports editor of the Davenport Times-Democrat. John ODonnell Stadium was renamed Modern Woodmen Park on December 12,2007, oDonnells name remains on the ballparks press box, and is also hidden underneath the main entry marquee, etched into the façade of the stadium, in a single limestone block. For many years, Modern Woodmen Park played host to games in the fall. Both Assumption High School and Saint Ambrose College called the home until 1987. The football bleachers and press box along left field were removed in 1989, Renovations done before the 2004 season included a nine-foot-high berm that provided a lawn seating area for fans. The berm also acted as a wall around the entire stadium. Until that point, the facility had no protection from Mississippi River flooding. During the Great Flood of 1993, photos of water creeping across the field at the ballpark made national publications. After the 2007 season, new owners Dave Heller and Bob Herrfeldt of Main Street Baseball came in and they sold naming rights to Modern Woodmen in a record 20-year deal, changed the name of the franchise back to River Bandits, and made numerous improvements to the ballpark. In 2008, the added a hot tub deck in right field, as well as a tiki village. Prior to the 2010 season, the City of Davenport and Main Street Baseball replaced the field, to facilitate proper drainage. Other new changes for 2010 included a new stand on the Picnic Plaza level. In 2014, the facility received another addition, as a 110-foot Ferris wheel was constructed just beyond the left field wall
9.
Oakdale Memorial Gardens
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Oakdale Memorial Gardens, formerly Oakdale Cemetery, is located in east-central Davenport, Iowa, United States. It contains a section for the burial of pets called the Love of Animals Petland, in 2015, the cemetery was listed as an historic district on the National Register of Historic Places, and as a local landmark on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties. It is also listed on the Network to Freedom, a National Park Service registry for sites associated with the Underground Railroad. The cemetery board hired Captain George F. de la Roche and it was designed as a rural or garden cemetery, but it transitioned to a landscape-lawn cemetery beginning in the late 19th century. It covers more than 78 acres, some of the graves in the cemetery had been transferred from the overcrowded City Cemetery in the west end. The cemetery is located across Eastern Avenue from the former Iowa Soldiers Orphans Home, there are also at least 11 graves of former slaves who escaped to freedom by way of the Underground Railroad, which led to its inclusion on the Network to Freedom. Two special receiving vaults were built in the cemetery, although neither exists anymore, a brick vault was constructed in 1873 for those who died in the winter when the ground was frozen. A wooden vault was built next to it in 1918 because of the number of deaths as a result of the Spanish flu epidemic. The cemetery entrance is marked by a set of monumental gates, construction of the gates was completed in 1896. The cemetery is home to several private mausoleums. William D. Petersen was the son of J. H. C, Petersen who founded a department store in Davenport that has become Von Maur. He also was responsible for the development of the citys riverfront and his mausoleum was designed in the Gothic Revival style by Davenport architects Rudolph Clausen & Walter Kruse. It was inspired by his wife Saras desire for a similar to the ones she saw in Europe. It was constructed by Presbrey Leland of Valhalla, New York in 1921 for $60,000, the exterior is composed of limestone from Greece. The interior features crypts that were carved from Greek marble and a ceramic tile ceiling that was designed and completed by the Guastavino Tile Company of Woburn, joseph W. Bettendorf was an industrialist for whom the city of Bettendorf, Iowa is named. His mausoleum was built in 1923 in the Egyptian Revival style for $150,000 and its exterior is composed of Barre Granite from Vermont. The interior features crypts carved from marble and Egyptian-inspired stained glass windows. The mausoleum built for Johannna Schricker, widow of Davenport lumber magnate Lorenzo Schricker, was designed in the Neoclassical style by Davenport architect John W. Ross and it was built by the Vermont Marble Company in 1899 at a cost of $6,489
10.
RiverCenter/Adler Theatre
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RiverCenter/Adler Theatre is a convention center located in downtown Davenport, Iowa. It is made up of three interconnected buildings sited on the north and south sides of East Third Street, the Adler Theatre is connected to the original section of the convention center on the north side of the complex. Planning for the RiverCenter began in the late 1970s, the working name for the facility was the “Community Activity Center, also known as “Superblock. ”The facility was built in the early 1980s and opened in 1983. It was designed in a modern, open industrial look, the original building connected the Adler Theatre on the west and the Blackhawk Hotel on the east. Together they formed a convention and entertainment complex for the Quad City area, the facility offered 20,500 square feet of space in a large hall and six breakout rooms. An atrium was built over what was Perry Street, minimalist artist Sol LeWitt was commissioned to provide artwork for the RiverCenter. He created Tower 1984 and two wall drawings and they were Davenports first public art project. A feasibility study was conducted and it was determined that the RiverCenter could be expanded, in the fall of 1993 the expansion opened on the south side of East Third Street, across the street from the Blackhawk Hotel. It was also designed in an industrial look and added 49,000 square feet to the facility. A second atrium covered Perry Street, another hall, four break out rooms. A skywalk above East Third Street connected the two sections of the facility, kaiserslautern Square Park, named for one of Davenport’s sister cities, was built to the west of the new building. The expansion of the RiverCenter was paid for in part by contributions from Riverboat Gambling, the Adler Theatre is a 2, 400-seat performing arts center. It was opened as the RKO Orpheum on November 25,1931, the Art Deco style theater was designed by A. S. Henry Dreyfuss of New York City designed the interior, restoration of the old RKO Orpheum began in 1981. Lee Enterprises made a $1 million contribution for an endowment, the theater was renamed the Adler after newspaper publishers E. P. Adler and his son Philip, both of whom led Lee Enterprises, renovations, which included increasing the size of the stage, took place in 2005 and 2006. The theater is home to the Quad City Symphony Orchestra and Ballet Quad Cities and it hosts Broadway touring companies and other productions and performances. The theater and the former Hotel Mississippi, which surrounds it, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Hotel Mississippi-RKO Orpheum Theater. ”While each remains an entity they advertise
