20th century History of Davenport, Iowa

panoramic view of second , harrison streets, 1907

on july 25, 1901, large fire erupted on davenport s east side. fire burnt out late in day, instead of being brought under control. 8 blocks of buildings destroyed causing 1 million dollars of damage. no lives lost during fire.

the 1920s brought economic , building boom. city s skyline began form, construction of commercial buildings kahl building , capitol theatre, parker building, , american commercial , savings bank. large national department stores arrived downtown, montgomery wards, sears , j.c. penney. blackhawk hotel built in downtown in 1915. original hotel 7 stories. 4 floors added in 1920s, giving total of 400 rooms. blackhawk has been host several high-profile people including carl sandburg, herbert hoover, richard nixon, , jack dempsey. hotel named rooms 412-414 nixon suite . big bands such guy lombardo , stan kenton played @ blackhawk on many occasions

on christmas day in 1920, 10,000 people turned out see opening of davenport s new, elegant theater, capitol theatre. capitol theatre featured classical interior, orchestra pit , full-scale theater organ. third balcony extended 5 full stories. theater s 2,000 seats regularly filed. on february 18, 1922, woc radio made local broadcasting debut. woc second radio station licensed in country. in 1933, woc hired future president ronald reagan staff announcer.

in 1930, efforts began turn city dump landmark. project construct municipal stadium (now called modern woodmen park). project financed bonds, , cost more $150,000. special features included reserved seats, box seats, , night lighting. stadium home saint ambrose university football games, , boxing matches. today stadium home quad cities river bandits baseball team. 1932, thousands of davenporters on public relief due great depression. shantytown grew in west end of city along mississippi river. sickness, hunger, , unsanitary living conditions plagued area. through county , municipal government, federal civil works administration gave employment thousands of men. worked extend seawall along riverfront. more 200 jobs created construction of lock , dam 15 project, in 1932. hundreds of state employees worked on completing kimberly road outerbelt bypass in 1936.

mid-late 20th century

in 1946 alcoa decided build new rolling mill east of davenport in riverdale, iowa. construction, concerns postwar unemployment ended. retailing in davenport changed inclusion of automobile mainstream america. in late 1940s, parking meters installed in downtown encourage rotation of space between different users. there more cars street parking spaces handle. in 1953, first multi-story ramp completed in state, on corner of fifth street , brady street. large variety of shops kept downtown retail leader after opening of village shopping center in 1956. first iowa.

the deadliest fire in davenport history came on january 7, 1950, when 41 people killed in fire @ st. elizabeth s hospital, mental ward operated mercy hospital. of people lost lives female patients trapped behind windows locked shut rusty, iron bars. cause attributed patient lighting curtains on fire cigarette lighter.

davenport experienced post-war economic , population boom after world war ii. oscar mayer, ralston purina, , other companies built plants in west davenport. 1956 brought interstate highway network davenport. local transportation planning took on new design after world war ii. paved state , federal highways built , through davenport in 1930s expanded handle new truck shipping patterns. in 1960 second span constructed increased traffic on iowa-illinois memorial bridge, while first segment of interstate 80, between iowa highway 38 , u.s. highway 61, opened later year. segment connecting u.s. 61 u.s. 67 completed in 1964, while other interstate highways – 74 on east , 280 on west – opened traffic during 1960s , 1970s.

by 1959, more 1,000 homes year being constructed. late 1970s, economic growth on both downtown , local businesses , industries. farm crisis of 1980s hit davenport , rest of quad cities hard, high unemployment , financial hardships. 35,000 workers lost jobs throughout entire quad cities area. caterpillar plant on cities north side closed, causing many jobs lost.

in late 1970s, davenport city leaders, began plans construct civic center in downtown. center become focus revitalization of downtown s sagging property values. in december 1983, following sixteen months of construction, civic center opened. after public naming contest, named rivercenter short time later. adjacent orpehum theatre renamed adler theater , placed under management of rivercenter. in late 1970s large shopping mall built drawing customers away downtown , leaving area in own economic depression.

the 1990s brought beginnings of economic turnaround city. many renovations , building additions have occurred revitalize downtown. including fixing modern woodmen park, building skybridge, , figge art museum, along many other projects.

davenport (along neighboring rock island, illinois) won 2007 city livability award in small-city category u.s. conference of mayors. tom cochran, executive director of conference, stated award gives conference chance highlight mayoral leadership in making urban areas safer, cleaner , more livable. award acknowledges achievements rivervision plan of davenport , rock island.