Davenport Hotel (Davenport, Iowa)

Davenport Hotel
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location:	324 Main Street, Davenport, Iowa
Coordinates:	41°31′24″N 90°34′33″W / 41.52333°N 90.57583°W / 41.52333; -90.57583Coordinates: 41°31′24″N 90°34′33″W / 41.52333°N 90.57583°W / 41.52333; -90.57583
Built:	1907
Architect:	P.T. Burrows Temple & Burrows
Architectural style:	Renaissance Revival
Governing body:	Private
MPS:	Davenport MRA
NRHP Reference#:	83002419[1]
Added to NRHP:	July 7, 1983

The Davenport Hotel is located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is currently an apartment building called The Davenport

History

The construction of the Davenport Hotel in 1907 ushered in the third phase of hotel construction in the city of Davenport.^[2] It replaced the Kimball House as Davenport's finest hotel. The other hotels that belong to this era are the Dempsey Hotel (1913), the Blackhawk Hotel (1915) and the Hotel Mississippi in 1931. It was considered the first “modern” hotel in the city, and was touted as one the finest hotels in the Mississippi River Valley when it opened.^[2] The hotel featured such amenities as fireproof construction, elevators, a dining room, and sample rooms for traveling salesmen. The building’s interior also featured “steam heat, hot and cold water, telephones and electric lights, heavy brass bedsteads with box springs and hair mattresses, velvet carpets and fancy window draperies, quartered oak and Flemish oak furniture, mahogany combination tables and writing desks and beveled mirrors.”^[3] It was also the first of Davenport’s “tall buildings.”^[3][4]

The Davenport was built a block away from the new Rock Island Railroad station making it convenient for travelers. However, it was undermined by the Dempsey Hotel, which was built next to the station and provided moderately priced rooms.^[2] The more elegant Blackhawk Hotel also resulted in loss of business to the Davenport and the hotel was sold to the Blackhawk Hotel company in 1916.

The building remained a hotel into the 1960s, but it eventually became an apartment building. It was extensively renovated in mid-1980s at a cost of $5.5 million.^[3]

Architecture

The Davenport Hotel was designed by a local architecture firm, Temple and Burrows. They were also responsible for the Blackhawk Hotel, the Union Savings Bank and Trust (1924), and the Federal Court House (1932–1933).^[4]

The building is six-stories in height and was constructed in brick over a steel structure. It most likely has a concrete and brick foundation. The building’s character is defined by its form as its decorative elements are more reserved. The six-story “towers” surround a two-story entrance in the center, which creates a sense of mass and enclosure. The building’s exterior decorative elements were confined to a cornice, which is now gone, and the main entrance.^[4] The first floor of the building contains retail space and apartments on the upper floors.

See also

• Ficke Block, which is operated by the same company and is also listed on the NRHP.

References

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-09-27. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Svendsen, Marls A., Bowers, Martha H (1982). Davenport where the Mississippi runs west: A Survey of Davenport History & Architecture. Davenport, Iowa: City of Davenport. pp. 5–6. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Gaul, Alma. "The Davenport at 100". Quad-City Times (November 9, 2007). http://qctimes.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/article_e891141c-6e74-5f40-b5a9-8277f8cb1957.html. Retrieved 2010-09-27. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} "Davenport Hotel". www.qcmemory.org. http://www.qcmemory.org/Default.aspx?PageId=313&nt=207. Retrieved 2010-09-27. 

External links

• Archiplanet listing