Fort Armstrong Hotel
Encyclopedia
Fort Armstrong Hotel is an historic building located in downtown Rock Island, Illinois
, United States
. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1984. The hotel was named for Fort Armstrong
, a fortification that sat in the middle of the Mississippi River
near the present location of the Rock Island Arsenal
. The building now serves as an apartment building.
and Ella Fitzgerald
. They had to stay at boarding houses across the Mississippi River in Davenport, Iowa
because the area hotels would not serve them. Nat King Cole
was refused a room at the Fort Armstrong on one of his visits to the Quad Cities
. The public spaces in the hotel were renovated in the 1980s and the hotel was converted into an apartment building for senior citizens. Green space for the residents was created after the adjacent commercial buildings were torn down.
. The hotel contained 160 guest rooms and ten apartments on the top floor when it opened in 1926. It also featured a banquet room, three dining rooms, a bar, bowling alley, billiard room, barbershop and seven storefronts.
Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island is the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,884 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...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was 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...
in 1984. The hotel was named for Fort Armstrong
Fort Armstrong
Fort Armstrong , was one of a chain of western frontier defenses which the United States erected after the War of 1812. It was located at the foot of Rock Island, Illinois, in the Mississippi River between present-day Illinois and Iowa. It was five miles from the principal Sac and Fox village on...
, a fortification that sat in the middle of 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...
near the present location of the Rock Island Arsenal
Rock Island Arsenal
The Rock Island Arsenal comprises , located on Arsenal Island, originally known as Rock Island, on the Mississippi River between the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. It lies within the state of Illinois. The island was originally established as a government site in 1816, with...
. The building now serves as an apartment building.
History
Rock Island was in need of a modern hotel downtown. To that end over $450,000 was raised in local stock purchases in a week. The total cost of constructing the hotel in 1925-1926 was $800,000. Jacob Hoffman was the hotel’s first General Manager. The hotel became the center of business and social functions for the city. However, not all were welcome to stay in the hotel. Jazz clubs along Second Avenue regularly featured African-American entertainers such Louis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
and Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
. They had to stay at boarding houses across the Mississippi River in Davenport, Iowa
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...
because the area hotels would not serve them. Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
was refused a room at the Fort Armstrong on one of his visits to the Quad Cities
Quad Cities
The Quad Cities is a group of five cities straddling the Mississippi River on the Iowa–Illinois boundary. These cities, Davenport and Bettendorf and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline , are the center of the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area, which, as of 2010, had an estimated population of...
. The public spaces in the hotel were renovated in the 1980s and the hotel was converted into an apartment building for senior citizens. Green space for the residents was created after the adjacent commercial buildings were torn down.
Architecture
The Renaissance Revival building was designed by Chicago hotel designer Charles W. Nicol. It is a nine-story building with deep corner setbacks above the second floor. The setbacks keep the building from dominating the street and allow plenty of light into the rooms. The first two floors of the building are constructed in cast concrete while the upper floors of the building are constructed in brick and trimmed in white terra cottaTerra cotta
Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
. The hotel contained 160 guest rooms and ten apartments on the top floor when it opened in 1926. It also featured a banquet room, three dining rooms, a bar, bowling alley, billiard room, barbershop and seven storefronts.