Union Electric Telephone & Telegraph | |
![]() | |
Location | 602 Harrison Street Davenport, Iowa |
---|---|
Coordinates | 41°31′33″N90°34′39″W / 41.52583°N 90.57750°W Coordinates: 41°31′33″N90°34′39″W / 41.52583°N 90.57750°W |
Area | less than one acre |
Built | 1910 |
Architectural style | Classic Revival |
MPS | Davenport MRA |
NRHP reference # | 83002519 [1] |
Added to NRHP | July 7, 1983 |
The Union Electric Telephone & Telegraph is a historic building located in a small-scale commercial area just north of downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983. [1]
Davenport is the county seat of Scott County in Iowa and is located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. It is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population estimate of 382,630 and a CSA population of 474,226; it is the 90th largest CSA in the nation. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine Le Claire and was named for his friend George Davenport, a former English sailor who served in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812, served as a supplier Fort Armstrong, worked as a fur trader with the American Fur Company, and was appointed a quartermaster with the rank of colonel during the Black Hawk War. According to the 2010 census, the city had a population of 99,685. The city appealed this figure, arguing that the Census Bureau missed a section of residents, and that its total population was more than 100,000. The Census Bureau estimated Davenport's 2011 population to be 100,802.
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.
Telephone service in the city of Davenport was initiated in 1878 when a private line was installed between the Davenport Water Company office and plant. [2] The following year 36 subscribers in Davenport, Rock Island and Moline, Illinois were hooked up to a switchboard. That area was expanded to 41 towns along the Mississippi River by the Western Telephone Company in 1881. Iowa Telephone and Telegraph was organized the next year and started to serve Davenport residents. Union Electric Telephone and Telegraph entered the market in 1902 and they built this building in 1910. They had about 1,400 customers, but they ceased operations the following year. [2] It was replaced by Tri-City Automatic Telephone Company in 1912, but it lasted only a few years. Scott County had more than 50 private telephone companies in 1910. By 1916 the Iowa Telephone Company, the parent of the modern day Bell system, was the only surviving company. [3]
Rock Island is a city in and the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The original Rock Island, from which the city name is derived, is the largest island on the Mississippi River. It is now called Arsenal Island. The population was 39,018 at the 2010 census. Located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The Quad Cities has a population of about 380,000. The city is home to Rock Island Arsenal, the largest government-owned weapons manufacturing arsenal in the US, which employs 6,000 people.
Moline is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 43,977 in 2010, it is the largest city in Rock Island County. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline and Rock Island in Illinois and the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa. The Quad Cities have an estimated population of 381,342. The city is the ninth-most populated city in Illinois outside the Chicago Metropolitan Area. The corporate headquarters of Deere & Company is located in Moline, as was Montgomery Elevator, which was founded and headquartered in Moline until 1997, when it was acquired by Kone Elevator, which has its U.S. Division headquartered in Moline. Quad City International Airport, Niabi Zoo, Black Hawk College, and the Quad Cities campus of Western Illinois University-Quad Cities. Moline is a retail hub for the Illinois Quad Cities, as South Park Mall and numerous big-box shopping plazas are located in the city.
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system on the North American continent, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. Its source is Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota and it flows generally south for 2,320 miles (3,730 km) to the Mississippi River Delta in the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains all or parts of 32 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces between the Rocky and Appalachian mountains. The main stem is entirely within the United States; the total drainage basin is 1,151,000 sq mi (2,980,000 km2), of which only about one percent is in Canada. The Mississippi ranks as the fourth-longest and fifteenth-largest river by discharge in the world. The river either borders or passes through the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
The utility company built this building for its use on the corner of Harrison and Sixth Streets. It is a brick building on a stone foundation. The two-story structure sits on a raised basement. A staircase rises to the main entrance in the center of the main level. A decorative hood crowns the entrance. Four pilasters adorn the façade on the first and second levels. They are capped by Corinthian capitals. The façade is crowned with an imposing pediment. The window openings feature roman arched windows on the second floor that are capped with a hood and a decorative keystone. [2] The glass block and industrial-type windows are a later addition, as is the addition to the north. [3]
The Corinthian order is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order which was the earliest, followed by the Ionic order. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order. The Corinthian, with its offshoot the Composite, is the most ornate of the orders. This architectural style is characterized by slender fluted columns and elaborate capitals decorated with acanthus leaves and scrolls. There are many variations.
A pediment is an architectural element found particularly in classical, neoclassical and baroque architecture, and its derivatives, consisting of a gable, usually of a triangular shape, placed above the horizontal structure of the entablature, typically supported by columns. The tympanum, the triangular area within the pediment, is often decorated with relief sculpture.
The Davenport Hotel is a historic building located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It is currently an apartment building called The Davenport.
The Hose Station No. 1 is a historic building located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 1999.
Union Station, also known as Union Station and Burlington Freight House, is located near the riverfront in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The buildings are in a section of downtown with several historic structures. Across Ripley Street to the west is the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Freight House, and to the east across Harrison Street is the Dillon Memorial. On River Drive northwest from the Burlington Freight House is The Linograph Company Building. Across Beiderbecke Drive to the south are the W.D. Petersen Memorial Music Pavilion and the Mississippi River.
The Hose Station No. 7 is located along a busy thoroughfare in a light industrial area of the west end of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
City Market is a historic building located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The Henry Berg Building is a historic building located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983. It is on the same block as Davenport Bank and Trust, Central Office Building and 202 W. Third Street. It is also next to the Ficke Block on Harrison Street. All of these structures are listed on the National Register.
The Schroeder Bros. Meat Market is a historic building located in the West End of Davenport, Iowa, United States. The Commercial Vernacular style building was complete in 1905 and it has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983.
Northwest Davenport Savings Bank is a historic building located in a commercial district in the old northwest section of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1984.
The Hiram Price/Henry Vollmer House is a historic building located on the Brady Street Hill in Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The home is named for two members of the United States House of Representatives who lived in the house, Hiram Price and Henry Vollmer, who both represented Iowa's 2nd congressional district. The building is now a part of the campus of Palmer College of Chiropractic where it houses the Office of Strategic Development.
The John C. Schricker House is a historic building located in the West End of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The following year, it was included as contributing property in the Riverview Terrace Historic District.
The Richard Schebler House is a historic building located in the West End of Davenport, Iowa, United States. Richard Schebler, who built this house in 1876, was a grain buyer. Before living here he had lived elsewhere in the neighborhood. The house is an example of a popular form found in the city of Davenport: two-story, three–bay front gable, with an entrance off center and a small attic window below the roof peak. This house is also of wood construction, which allows for more elaboration. Here it is seen in the wall shingles, the small columned porch, and the surround of the attic window. Above the gable window is an intricately carved apron. Surrounding the entrance is an Eastlake-style porch. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983.
The Lambert Tevoet House is a historic building located in the West End of Davenport, Iowa, United States. Lambert Tevoet was a tailor who worked for Bartemeier and Geerts. He probably did not have the house built, but he was an early owner and lived here for many years. The house is an example of a popular form found in the city of Davenport: two-story, three –bay front gable, with an entrance off center and a small attic window below the roof peak. This house is built of brick and has little in the way of decoration. The house does feature simple window hoods and a transom over the front door. The style was popularized in Davenport by T.W. McClelland. The house has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983.
The House at 919 Oneida Street is a historic building located on the east side of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1984.
Hose Station No. 6 is located in a residential neighborhood in the West End of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983. It is one of two former fire stations in the West End that are still in existence. The other one is Hose Station No. 7.
The American Telephone & Telegraph Co. Building was a historic building located on the hill just north of downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The Building at 1119-1121 W. Third Street was historic building located in the West End of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was built in 1875 and featured elements of the Chicago School of architecture. The building was a three-story brick structure with flat arched windows. The third floor windows were shorter than those of the other two floors. The only decoration on the façade was brick corbelling at the cornice level and keystones over the windows. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. This combination commercial and residential rental property had been owned by a series of owners over the years. It has since been demolished and the property turned into a parking lot.
The Louis Hebert House is a historic building located on the east side of Davenport, Iowa, United States. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Argyle Flats is a historic building located on a busy thoroughfare in Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Peters’ Barber Shop is a historic building located in the West End of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was completed in 1905 and it has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1984.
The John Schricker House is a historic building located in the far West End of Davenport, Iowa, United States. The house has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985.