College Square Historic District
Encyclopedia
College Square Historic District is located on a bluff north of downtown Davenport, Iowa
, United States
. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. The area received its name because a large portion of the area was the campus of two different colleges in the 19th century.
on Western Avenue in Davenport. The land was donated by Antoine LeClaire
, one of the city’s founders. 9-4 The school started as a college preparatory school and eventually added a collegiate department. The city decided to extend Western Avenue through the campus so the school moved further east in 1855 to where the College Square Historic District is now located. That year they built a new stone building and boarding house for $22,000. Once again the city council voted to extend Main Street through the campus and in 1858 the trustees decided to move to Grinnell, Iowa
in 1859 where the school was renamed Grinnell College
.
The following year the school property was purchased by the Rt. Rev. Henry Washington Lee
, the first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa
for $36,000. He established Griswold College on the west side of the property. It too contained preparatory and collegiate divisions as well as a seminary department. The college started well at the beginning, but began to have financial problems as a result of the panic of 1872 and started to decline. Kemper Hall, a college preparatory school for boys, was founded on the property. By the end of the 19th century the schools were officially closed by the diocese. On the east side of the property Bishop Lee built Grace Cathedral, which is now known as Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.
The diocese sold the property on the west side of Main Street to the Davenport Board of Education for $53,000. They built Davenport High School on the property between 1904-1907. The north part of the district is largely occupied by houses that were built largely in the two decades following the American Civil War
. In the middle of the district is the city’s Civil War soldier’s monument. Also adjacent to the historic district is Palmer College of Chiropractic
.
The College Square Historic District is part of the larger Hilltop Neighborhood. In 2010 community planners held workshops and other meetings to revitalize the area. They are focused on the commercial district on Harrison Street, which just to the west of the historic district, as well as infill housing in the residential sections.
architect, Edward Tuckerman Potter
and was completed for $80,000. It was only the second Episcopal Church in the United States built exclusively as a cathedral. The attached parish house was completed in 1993, and the bell tower and spire were completed in 1998 after Potter’s original design. The cross on top of the spire reaches 131 feet above the ground. On the south side of the cathedral is the former bishop’s house, which was completed about the same time as the cathedral. The buildings are harmonious in appearance, scale and materials. They are all masonry buildings, grey-tan in color and follow the cathedral’s Gothic Revival style.
. On both the Main Street and Harrison Street sides of the building are single round arched entrances that are framed with Ionic columns. Several additions have been made to the building over the years.
In front of the main school building sits the former Kemper Hall. It was designed by Edward S. Hammatt who also designed the buildings for St. Katherine’s Hall
, the Episcopal girl’s school on the east side of Davenport. He utilized a Victorian
Romanesque Revival style that was built in dark red brick and red-brown sandstone for the foundation and details. There is a round tower on the southeast corner of the building with a stylized cross on the top of the spire shaped roof.
Before World War I
an industrial arts building was built on the campus. It is a side-gable
brick building in the Colonial Revival style. The building was illuminated by large multi-paned steel windows that were similar to those used in factories of the era.
topped by a statue of a soldier, which faces south towards the Mississippi River
in the valley below. Battles in which local soldiers fought are engraved on each side of the obelisk in two rows. The battles listed are: Shilo
, Donelson
, Wilsons Creek
, Fort Blakely
, Corinth
, Prairie Grove
and Vicksburg. It was built in 1880, and listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 1993.
, Greek Revival
, Craftsman
and Colonial Revival
. The most dramatic residence is the Parker-Ficke House
on Main Street, across Twelfth Street from Central High School. It is considered one of the finest examples of Second Empire construction in the state of Iowa. Built in 1881, the house features a mansard roof, multicolor slate shingles, wrought-iron roof cresting, brackets, moldings and fanciful window surrounds. Today the building serves as a fraternity house for Palmer College. It was listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 2003. The neighborhood at one time included the former St. Paul’s English Lutheran Church
. The Gothic Revival structure that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places has since been torn down.
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. The area received its name because a large portion of the area was the campus of two different colleges in the 19th century.
History
Iowa College was founded in 1846 by members of the Congregational ChurchCongregational Christian Churches
The Congregational Christian Churches were a Protestant Christian denomination that operated in the U.S. from 1931 through 1957. On the latter date, most of its churches joined the Evangelical and Reformed Church in a merger to become the United Church of Christ. Others created the National...
on Western Avenue in Davenport. The land was donated by Antoine LeClaire
Antoine LeClaire
Antoine LeClaire was a US Army interpreter, landowner in Scott County, Iowa and Rock Island County, Illinois, businessman, philanthropist and principal founder of Davenport, Iowa-Early life:...
, one of the city’s founders. 9-4 The school started as a college preparatory school and eventually added a collegiate department. The city decided to extend Western Avenue through the campus so the school moved further east in 1855 to where the College Square Historic District is now located. That year they built a new stone building and boarding house for $22,000. Once again the city council voted to extend Main Street through the campus and in 1858 the trustees decided to move to Grinnell, Iowa
Grinnell, Iowa
Grinnell is a city in Poweshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,218 at the 2010 census. Grinnell was named after Josiah Bushnell Grinnell and is the home of Grinnell College.- History :...
in 1859 where the school was renamed Grinnell College
Grinnell College
Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, U.S. known for its strong tradition of social activism. It was founded in 1846, when a group of pioneer New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College....
.
The following year the school property was purchased by the Rt. Rev. Henry Washington Lee
Henry Washington Lee
Henry Washington Lee was a 19th century bishop in the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. He served as the first Bishop of Iowa from 1854-1874...
, the first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa
Episcopal Diocese of Iowa
The Episcopal Diocese of Iowa is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America which covers all of Iowa. It is in Province VI. Its offices are in Des Moines, and it has two cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of St...
for $36,000. He established Griswold College on the west side of the property. It too contained preparatory and collegiate divisions as well as a seminary department. The college started well at the beginning, but began to have financial problems as a result of the panic of 1872 and started to decline. Kemper Hall, a college preparatory school for boys, was founded on the property. By the end of the 19th century the schools were officially closed by the diocese. On the east side of the property Bishop Lee built Grace Cathedral, which is now known as Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.
The diocese sold the property on the west side of Main Street to the Davenport Board of Education for $53,000. They built Davenport High School on the property between 1904-1907. The north part of the district is largely occupied by houses that were built largely in the two decades following the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. In the middle of the district is the city’s Civil War soldier’s monument. Also adjacent to the historic district is Palmer College of Chiropractic
Palmer College of Chiropractic
Palmer College of Chiropractic is a chiropractic school located in Davenport, Iowa. It was established in 1897 by Daniel David Palmer and is considered "The Fountainhead" as it was the first school of chiropractic in the world. For many years, Palmer College of Chiropractic was the world's largest...
.
The College Square Historic District is part of the larger Hilltop Neighborhood. In 2010 community planners held workshops and other meetings to revitalize the area. They are focused on the commercial district on Harrison Street, which just to the west of the historic district, as well as infill housing in the residential sections.
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral
The cornerstone for the cathedral was laid in 1867 and it was completed in 1873, except for its bell tower and spire. The church was designed by a New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
architect, Edward Tuckerman Potter
Edward Tuckerman Potter
Edward Tuckerman Potter was an American architect best known for designing the 1871 Mark Twain House in Hartford, Connecticut. With his half-brother William Appleton Potter, he also designed Nott Memorial Hall at his alma mater, Union College, Schenectady, New York...
and was completed for $80,000. It was only the second Episcopal Church in the United States built exclusively as a cathedral. The attached parish house was completed in 1993, and the bell tower and spire were completed in 1998 after Potter’s original design. The cross on top of the spire reaches 131 feet above the ground. On the south side of the cathedral is the former bishop’s house, which was completed about the same time as the cathedral. The buildings are harmonious in appearance, scale and materials. They are all masonry buildings, grey-tan in color and follow the cathedral’s Gothic Revival style.
Central High School
Davenport Central High School sits directly across Main Street from Trinity Cathedral. Their buildings create a contrast with those of the cathedral complex. The school is actually a multi-building complex. The main building of the high school was completed in 1907. It was designed by Parke Burrows in the Beaux Arts style and was built in dark red brick. The building is a square plan with a stone basement and hipped roofHip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
. On both the Main Street and Harrison Street sides of the building are single round arched entrances that are framed with Ionic columns. Several additions have been made to the building over the years.
In front of the main school building sits the former Kemper Hall. It was designed by Edward S. Hammatt who also designed the buildings for St. Katherine’s Hall
St. Katherine's Historic District
St. Katherine's Historic District is located on the east side Davenport, Iowa, United States and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the campus of a former Episcopal girl’s school named St. Katherine’s Hall. It is currently the location of a senior living facility called...
, the Episcopal girl’s school on the east side of Davenport. He utilized a Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
Romanesque Revival style that was built in dark red brick and red-brown sandstone for the foundation and details. There is a round tower on the southeast corner of the building with a stylized cross on the top of the spire shaped roof.
Before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
an industrial arts building was built on the campus. It is a side-gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
brick building in the Colonial Revival style. The building was illuminated by large multi-paned steel windows that were similar to those used in factories of the era.
Civil War Monument
Between the cathedral and the high school sits the Civil War Soldier’s monument in the middle of Main Street. The monument is a stone obeliskObelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
topped by a statue of a soldier, which faces south towards the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
in the valley below. Battles in which local soldiers fought are engraved on each side of the obelisk in two rows. The battles listed are: Shilo
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and...
, Donelson
Battle of Fort Donelson
The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 11 to February 16, 1862, in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The capture of the fort by Union forces opened the Cumberland River as an avenue for the invasion of the South. The success elevated Brig. Gen. Ulysses S...
, Wilsons Creek
Battle of Wilson's Creek
The Battle of Wilson's Creek, also known as the Battle of Oak Hills, was fought on August 10, 1861, near Springfield, Missouri, between Union forces and the Missouri State Guard, early in the American Civil War. It was the first major battle of the war west of the Mississippi River and is sometimes...
, Fort Blakely
Battle of Fort Blakely
-Sources:**-External links:*...
, Corinth
Siege of Corinth
The Siege of Corinth was an American Civil War battle fought from April 29 to May 30, 1862, in Corinth, Mississippi.-Background:...
, Prairie Grove
Battle of Prairie Grove
The Battle of Prairie Grove was a battle of the American Civil War fought on 7 December 1862, that resulted in a tactical stalemate but essentially secured northwest Arkansas for the Union.-Strategic situation: Union:...
and Vicksburg. It was built in 1880, and listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 1993.
Residential Neighborhood
The residential section of the district is a four block area north of the high school and cathedral complexes. Most of the houses are fairly large in size and reflect various architectural styles. Some of the styles include Second Empire, Queen AnneQueen Anne Style architecture
The Queen Anne Style in Britain means either the English Baroque architectural style roughly of the reign of Queen Anne , or a revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century...
, Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
, Craftsman
American Craftsman
The American Craftsman Style, or the American Arts and Crafts Movement, is an American domestic architectural, interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts style and lifestyle philosophy that began in the last years of the 19th century. As a comprehensive design and art...
and Colonial Revival
Colonial Revival architecture
The Colonial Revival was a nationalistic architectural style, garden design, and interior design movement in the United States which sought to revive elements of Georgian architecture, part of a broader Colonial Revival Movement in the arts. In the early 1890s Americans began to value their own...
. The most dramatic residence is the Parker-Ficke House
J. Monroe Parker-Ficke House
The J. Monroe Parker-Ficke House is an historic home located in the College Square Historic District in Davenport, Iowa, United States. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983...
on Main Street, across Twelfth Street from Central High School. It is considered one of the finest examples of Second Empire construction in the state of Iowa. Built in 1881, the house features a mansard roof, multicolor slate shingles, wrought-iron roof cresting, brackets, moldings and fanciful window surrounds. Today the building serves as a fraternity house for Palmer College. It was listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 2003. The neighborhood at one time included the former St. Paul’s English Lutheran Church
St. Paul Lutheran Church (Davenport, Iowa)
St. Paul Lutheran Church is located in central, Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The church’s original property, which subsequently housed other Protestant congregations, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983....
. The Gothic Revival structure that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places has since been torn down.