Hotel Mississippi-RKO Orpheum Theater
Encyclopedia
The Hotel Mississippi-RKO Orpheum Theater is located in downtown Davenport, Iowa
, United States
and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. The Hotel Mississippi was listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 2005. The facility is now known as the Mississippi Lofts and the Adler Theatre.
in 1909 and the Hotel Blackhawk
in 1915. It was designed by A.S. Graven of Chicago
. Henry Dreyfuss of New York City
, who was an art consultant for the RKO
chain, designed the theater's interior. The building is situated on the site that was occupied by the Davenport Block, a commercial block built by Col. George Davenport
, one of the founders of the city of Davenport and its namesake. Developer George Bechtel was able secure the means for the construction of the hotel during the Great Depression
.
The building opened in November 1931 and featured 200 guest rooms and 50 apartments. Businesses such as a coffee shop, a clothier, realtor, floral shop and a beauty salon were housed on the first floor over the years. Eventually the hotel became an apartment building.
The RKO Orpheum Theater was a 2,700-seat theater that was built at the same time as the hotel, which surrounds the theater to the south and west. It was Iowa's largest movie house. Beside movies, entertainers such as John Barrymore
, Liberace
, Ella Fitzgerald
and Pearl Bailey
performed in the theater live.
The hotel portion of the facility is a ten-story L-shaped brick and granite building. The verticality of the building is established by way of the vertically aligned windows that are separated by decorative panels. The Art Deco
style is employed throughout the building, including the theater interior. Overall, the façade of the building is void of excessive ornamentation. However, the stylized geometry indicative of the Art Deco style is found on the horizontal banding that defines the tenth floor. Decorative terra cotta
panels with a floral motif are also used to define the mezzanine level of the lower stories.
that opened in the fall of 1983. The convention center connects the Adler Theatre with the Blackhawk Hotel. The theater was renamed the Adler Theatre after E.P. Adler and his son Phillip D. Adler. They had been newspaper publishers and philanthropists in Davenport and the decision to rename the theater was based on a $1.3 million dollar endowment from Lee Enterprises
, the company they led.
In 2004 the city of Davenport bought the hotel for $739,000 for the expansion of the Adler Theatre. In the Autumn of 2006 a $9 million renovation was completed at the Alder. The theater’s stage was expanded from a depth of 29 feet to 41 feet into what was the west wing of the hotel. The renovations also included a new loading dock, additional dressing rooms, improved sound and computerized rigging systems. Paul Westlake was the architect for the project. Besides Broadway touring companies the theater is home to the Quad City Symphony Orchestra
, Opera Quad-Cities and Ballet Quad Cities
.
At the same time the theater was being renovated the Mississippi Hotel was undergoing a $8.5 million renovation. The last tenants were moved out of the old hotel in 2004 and 56 new apartments were created primarily in the south side of the building. The project was completed in the Spring of 2007. J&T Development LLC of Chicago was in charge of the renovation. In addition to creating new apartments the lobby area was restored to its past appearance. The project restored its multi-colored terrazzo floors, Art Deco-style elevator doors and walnut and teak wood paneling. The loft manager’s office was created from the hotel’s former check-in desk.
In November 2010 a new marquee
was installed above the main entrance of the theater. It replaced one that was installed in 1997. Plans call for a larger marquee to be installed at a later date.
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...
and 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 Hotel Mississippi was listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 2005. The facility is now known as the Mississippi Lofts and the Adler Theatre.
Hotel Mississippi-RKO Orpheum Theater
The Hotel Mississippi was the last large-scale hotel to be built in the third phase of hotel construction in downtown Davenport after the Davenport HotelDavenport Hotel (Davenport, Iowa)
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:...
in 1909 and the Hotel Blackhawk
Blackhawk Hotel
The Blackhawk Hotel is an eleven-story brick and terra cotta building located in Downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It has returned to its original name Hotel Blackhawk. The hotel is located next to the north building of the RiverCenter, Davenport's convention center, and across the street...
in 1915. It was designed by A.S. Graven of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Henry Dreyfuss of New York City
New 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...
, who was an art consultant for the RKO
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
chain, designed the theater's interior. The building is situated on the site that was occupied by the Davenport Block, a commercial block built by Col. George Davenport
George Davenport
Colonel George Davenport was a 19th-century American frontiersman, trader and US Army officer. A prominent and well-known settler in the Iowa Territory, he was one of the earliest settlers in Rock Island and spent much of his life involved in the early settlement of the Mississippi Valley and the...
, one of the founders of the city of Davenport and its namesake. Developer George Bechtel was able secure the means for the construction of the hotel during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
The building opened in November 1931 and featured 200 guest rooms and 50 apartments. Businesses such as a coffee shop, a clothier, realtor, floral shop and a beauty salon were housed on the first floor over the years. Eventually the hotel became an apartment building.
The RKO Orpheum Theater was a 2,700-seat theater that was built at the same time as the hotel, which surrounds the theater to the south and west. It was Iowa's largest movie house. Beside movies, entertainers such as John Barrymore
John Barrymore
John Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
, Liberace
Liberace
Wladziu Valentino Liberace , best known simply as Liberace, was a famous American pianist and vocalist.In a career that spanned four decades of concerts, recordings, motion pictures, television and endorsements, Liberace became world-renowned...
, 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...
and Pearl Bailey
Pearl Bailey
Pearl Mae Bailey was an American actress and singer. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946. She won a Tony Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968...
performed in the theater live.
The hotel portion of the facility is a ten-story L-shaped brick and granite building. The verticality of the building is established by way of the vertically aligned windows that are separated by decorative panels. The Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
style is employed throughout the building, including the theater interior. Overall, the façade of the building is void of excessive ornamentation. However, the stylized geometry indicative of the Art Deco style is found on the horizontal banding that defines the tenth floor. Decorative terra cotta
Terra 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...
panels with a floral motif are also used to define the mezzanine level of the lower stories.
Mississippi Lofts-Adler Theatre
The building had deteriorated over the years and by the 1970s the RKO Orpheum was rarely being used. The last movie shown in the theater was on September 11, 1973. In 1981 an effort began to restore the theater. The Davenport Chamber of Commerce bought the theater and donated it to the RiverCenter For The Performing Arts, a nonprofit group that was established to raise money to restore the theatre and operate it as a performing arts center. The theater restoration project lasted from 1985-1986. The project included restoring the original crystal and glass chandeliers, and rebuilding and reupholstering the original seats. New carpeting was reproduced in England using a roll of the original floral woolen carpeting that was found during the remodeling project. The renovated theater is a part of the adjacent convention center complex called the RiverCenterRiverCenter/Adler Theatre
RiverCenter/Adler Theatre is a convention center located in Downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is made up of three interconnected buildings sited on the north and south sides of East Third Street. The Adler Theatre is connected to the original section of the convention center on the north...
that opened in the fall of 1983. The convention center connects the Adler Theatre with the Blackhawk Hotel. The theater was renamed the Adler Theatre after E.P. Adler and his son Phillip D. Adler. They had been newspaper publishers and philanthropists in Davenport and the decision to rename the theater was based on a $1.3 million dollar endowment from Lee Enterprises
Lee Enterprises
Lee Enterprises is a publicly traded American media company. It publishes 54 daily newspapers in 23 states, and more than 300 weekly, classified, and specialty publications. Lee Enterprises was founded in 1890 by A.W. Lee and is based in Davenport, Iowa....
, the company they led.
In 2004 the city of Davenport bought the hotel for $739,000 for the expansion of the Adler Theatre. In the Autumn of 2006 a $9 million renovation was completed at the Alder. The theater’s stage was expanded from a depth of 29 feet to 41 feet into what was the west wing of the hotel. The renovations also included a new loading dock, additional dressing rooms, improved sound and computerized rigging systems. Paul Westlake was the architect for the project. Besides Broadway touring companies the theater is home to the Quad City Symphony Orchestra
Quad City Symphony Orchestra
The Quad City Symphony Orchestra is a United States symphony orchestra based in Davenport, Iowa and representing the Quad Cities area. The current music director and conductor is Mark Russell Smith. Established in 1916, the orchestra has a full season, performing six masterwork series concerts,...
, Opera Quad-Cities and Ballet Quad Cities
Ballet Quad Cities
Ballet Quad Cities is a ballet company located in Rock Island, Illinois. It was begun in 1996 by Joedy Cook. Its primary performance venues has been the Capitol Theater and the Adler Theater, both in Davenport, Iowa...
.
At the same time the theater was being renovated the Mississippi Hotel was undergoing a $8.5 million renovation. The last tenants were moved out of the old hotel in 2004 and 56 new apartments were created primarily in the south side of the building. The project was completed in the Spring of 2007. J&T Development LLC of Chicago was in charge of the renovation. In addition to creating new apartments the lobby area was restored to its past appearance. The project restored its multi-colored terrazzo floors, Art Deco-style elevator doors and walnut and teak wood paneling. The loft manager’s office was created from the hotel’s former check-in desk.
In November 2010 a new marquee
Marquee (sign)
A marquee is most commonly a structure placed over the entrance to a hotel or theatre. It has signage stating either the name of the establishment or, in the case of theatres, the play or movie and the artist appearing at that venue...
was installed above the main entrance of the theater. It replaced one that was installed in 1997. Plans call for a larger marquee to be installed at a later date.