The History of Rock Island in Post Cards Postcards were originally printed in the Rock Island Argus and Moline Dispatch, 2001 and are reprinted with permission   Safety Building  The big power pole in the foreground and the absence of street signs, are the only clues that this is a vintage depiction of the Safety Building at on 3rd Avenue at 18th Street. The sepia-toned postcard was printed in Germany and was mailed in 1910, only two years after the building was completed. One of Rock Island's most beautiful commercial buildings, it is one of our most architecturally intact as well. The Safety Building was designed by local architect Olof Z. Cervin, who was also an owner. Mr. Cervin said that this was the first time reinforced concrete was used for construction in the Quad Cities. The concrete was used for floors, ceilings, roof, and supporting columns. As a result, Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps noted the building as fireproof. It is 60 by 150 feet, contains 6 stories and cost about $125,000 to construct in 1908. Another financial partner in the venture was Levi S. McCabe, of McCabe's Department Store. Mr. McCabe wanted to enlarge the business district that was located primarily on 2nd Avenue. His investment in the Safety Building was intended to promote that expansion. The third original owner was the Rock Island Safety Deposit Company, who gave the building its name. Cervin sold his interests to McCabe heirs in 1923. The building remained under their control until 1975, when it was sold to a group of local businessmen. The upper stories have always been used for offices and the ground floor has seen both office and retail use. Initially, in addition to the Safety Deposit Company, other ground floor space was occupied by People's Power Company (predecessor of Mid-American) and Tri City Railway Company (who built an amusement park at what is now Blackhawk Park to entice people to ride their streetcars there). The northeast corner was rented as a jewelry shop for many of its early years and, much later, a drugstore located there. For the first few years, the 6th floor was vacant, until it was occupied by Royal Neighbors of America, who also expanded to areas on the 4th and 5th floors before they built their own building (another postcard!). Other offices were occupied by insurance companies, doctors, dentists and attorneys. Architect Cervin reserved suite 401 for his architectural practice. He expanded his firm in 1915 by taking his first partner, Benj. A. Horn. Over the years new partners joined as old ones retired. Through it all, the firm remained in the Safety Building. Now the architectural practice begun by Cervin is known as Scholtz Gowey Gere Marolf, and their offices are still here, but on the sixth floor. A careful look at the design of Safety Building reveals three distinct horizontal divisions separated by cast stone bands. Such a division of structure was becoming increasingly common in Chicago skyscrapers during this time. If we imagine the entire building represents a Greek or Roman column (look at a vintage home porch to see different column styles), the divisions are immediately apparent as representing the base, the shaft (or pillar) and the capital (or top). In the Safety Building, the first story base is dark brick that creates a visual heaviness that supports the building. The classically inspired entrance on the north is trimmed with shell-like carvings called anthemions. The middle shaft portion is four more stories high, with aligned windows accentuating the vertical rise. The buff colored brick used here has a slight surface irregularity and is assembled with very narrow mortar lines. Near the upper corners the bricks are laid so as to create an arrow-like relief. The arrows continue into the top story or capital, which is nicely finished with a bracketed cornice that is punctuated by recently restored electric lights. Since these cornice lights are unique downtown, it's easy to speculate a connection between their use and occupancy of the building by People's Power Company who sold electricity. Architectural changes to the Safety Building are minimal. The postcard shows the entrance to People's Power on 3rd Avenue, near the corner of 19th Street. That entrance has now been shortened to a window and stucco covers the lower area of the first story at the corner and along 18th Street as well. Horizontal triple paned windows have replaced the original double-hung sashes, probably to help accommodate the small air conditioners. Otherwise the Safety Building is a pristine example of Rock Island's own version of the skyscraper. If you'd like to know more about other downtown buildings, be sure to pick up a free copy of the Downtown Walking Tour booklets at the Preservation Commission kiosk at Rock Island's downtown library. Back to the Postcard Index Page The Peoples National Bank 1729-1731 2nd Avenue Today we feature a postcard from about 1906 showing the four-story People's National Bank, located on the northwest corner of 2nd Avenue at 18th Street. Its publisher has carefully removed the surrounding buildings from the picture and has depicted the building as white. Ladies in long skirts and fancy hats chat on the corner, while the gents stand in the middle of the street, their carriages tethered nearby. The upper portion of the building looks like it does today, although the street level has been changed a great deal. Over the years, both the use and appearance of this historic building have changed and indeed are changing as you read this. It was built about 1876 as a three-story building with round-topped windows in the Italianate style and looked similar to the Star Block located a block east. The street floor on the east side was the home of the First National Bank from 1876 until 1890, when it went out of business, while the west side of the first story was used for retail purposes. After the demise of First National, its space was rented to People's National Bank who later purchased the entire building. The second floor was originally used for offices while the third story held the International Order of Odd Fellows lodge and meeting rooms. Entrances to the upper floors were, as they are now, from 18th Street. People's National Bank had been organized in 1874 with Bailey Davenport as its president. Its board of directors included many local gentlemen of wealth and prominence whose names are still familiar to us - George Wagner, F. C. A. Denkmann, August Huesing, Peter Fries, and Ignatz Huber among them. People's was a very successful bank. Although reports vary, in either 1904 or 1911 the bank purchased the building it had rented. Early in the nineteenth century, the building underwent its first major renovation and reconstruction. A fourth story was added, probably designed by local architectural firm of Drack and Kerns. At the same time, the windows were enlarged and squared off. Huge plate glass windows were installed on both 18th Street and Second Avenue and the bank entrance was moved to the corner. The interior was reconfigured as well, an elevator was added and the stairway to the upper floors was modified. Massive vaults (safes) were added on each floor as well. This is the appearance we see portrayed on our postcard. In 1911, the bank retained local architect George Stauduhar for another extensive remodeling project which included a complete reconstruction of their Second Avenue storefront. The entrance was centered in the Second Avenue to permit the bank to use the entire first floor of the building. Columns framed the new doorway, giving it a much more "bankish" appearance. Plans for this remodeling are in the University of Illinois Archives. Shortly after the 1911 remodeling, People's formed another bank, the German Trust & Savings Bank, which shared space with People's. During World War I, German Bank changed its name to American Trust & Savings. The 1920s saw many mergers and consolidations throughout the banking industry and these banks were not immune. In 1927, both People's and American became part of the newly organized Manufacturer's Trust & Savings Bank, and our building became known as the Manufacturer's Building. Finally, in 1931, Manufacturer 's consolidated with the Rock Island Savings Bank (an earlier postcard article), and Central Trust & Savings to form the Rock Island Bank & Trust Company. Offices for the new bank were on Third Avenue and 18th Street. Although still called the Manufacturer's building after the bank left, the street level was continuously used for retail - McCabe's, David's, New York Store, and Walgreens among them. And as the retailers flourished, they needed more space. To gain space, the walls separating this building from the Fries building to the west were opened, effectively joining the two buildings. As a result, although People's and the Fries Building appear on the exterior as two separate structures, they are actually considered as a single building. Historically, the upper floors on the east were used for professional offices - doctors, lawyers, dentists, etc. -- until the mid 1970s when the last office tenant left. Department stores had long before vacated the western portions of the upper stories. Fifteen years later, the last retail tenant, Walgreens, left. For several years, the entire building was vacant and its future was uncertain. In 1992, the Development Association of Rock Island stepped in to purchase the building and once again give it a new life. Their first goal was to rejuvenate, restore, and rent the street level storefronts. This project was completed in 1995. But that still left lots of empty space in the upper floors of the building. Recently, in a leap of faith and construction that preservationists call "adaptive reuse" the former department store and office space has been converted to loft apartments. Adaptive reuse simply means using a historic building for a purpose other than what was originally intended. No longer offices and department stores, this wonderful old building has been reinvented as 23 loft apartments. The project, a cooperative effort of Rock Island Economic Growth and Brinshore Development of Chicago, has created dramatic loft spaces of many sizes on the upper floors of the Renaissance Building, as the joined People's National Bank Building and the Fries Building is now known. Since 1999, the Renaissance Building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Therefore, the developers decided to incorporate important original building materials into the innovative floor plans of these apartments. They designed living spaces that project the warmth of the vintage - tall wood doors and woodwork, tile flooring, an impressive central stair tower -- while being outfitted with the latest in modern and high tech amenities. Even the old bank vaults are still there. Check out these apartments in The District - Rock Island's next great neighborhood!   Back to the Postcard Index Page Rock Island Savings Bank     The Rock Island Savings Bank was brand new when this postcard was mailed in 1911Ñso new, in fact, that instead of using a photo as a basis for the card, a drawing of the bank was used. The rendering allowed the publisher to make the building appear much larger as well - if drawn correctly, the citizens thronging the sidewalk would be only about 4 1Ú2 feet tall and the autos would have a wheelbase of about 6 feet. This was Rock Island's homage to a Greek temple on the corner of 18th Street and 3rd Avenue, with two huge Doric columns facing west and five facing south. It was built at a cost of $100,000 in 1911, for the Rock Island Savings bank, which had been founded in 1890. The lot where the bank building stands was previously occupied by a home, which faced 3rd Avenue. After the home was torn down, two buildings were constructed on the lot - the bank and an adjacent smaller brick storefront on 18th Street, which contained the offices for the bank. That structure is not even depicted on this postcard. Although the bank was 32 feet tall - normally two or three stories-- it actually contained only a single story with a soaring ceiling. Constructed of reinforced concrete, the outer walls were surfaced in smooth Bedford limestone. The windows were deeply recessed, framed by the columns, while the carved cornice and deep frieze atop the building were most impressive. The large windows ensured adequate natural light and probably ventilation as well. The interior was reportedly finished with the finest marble, bronze and mahogany. There were 75,000 pounds of steel in the fire- and burglarproof vault. Ladies were provided their own room and there was a general waiting room as well, thoughtfully equipped with a telephone and stationary. Early in the century, the Greek Parthenon was an often-used classical inspiration for banks, probably to convey the financial stability and longevity of the institution within. In small and large towns throughout the country, there frequently was such a classical columned building nestled among brick Italianate storefronts downtown. And where are these wonderful buildings now? Usually not banks anymore, they may be a beauty parlor, a gift shop, or real estate office - and usually are still easily identified. Or perhaps, as in Rock Island, the old bank is a television broadcast building that is no longer recognizable as a bank. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the banking world changed. In 1932, the Rock Island Savings Bank merged with two other local banks - Central Trust & Savings and Manufacturer's Trust & Savings - to form Rock Island Bank and Trust Company (now Firstar). As banking operations were consolidated, in another bank building across 18th Street, the building on our postcard was vacated. It remained empty for many years, with only intermittent use by small businesses. By 1950, the building had new owners and a new name as well: Telco Building, home of WHBF-TV. Interior remodelings added stairs and floors to create two more stories in the originally single story building. WHBF occupied the top two stories, while a drugstore was located on the street level. A 400-foot tower with an 86 foot antenna atop was also constructed in 1950. A few years later, the exterior was covered with granite, brick, and bright turquoise metal tiles, creating a look straight out of a 1950s TV program. More recently, the original bank and its adjacent building were covered in a stucco material, with shadowed panels evoking the original columns, which are still hidden underneath. Are the marble, bronze, and mahogany interiors still under the contemporary finishes? Likely they are not. But some original artifacts may still be in the community. A front page Argus story (August 6, 1998) pictured a pair of massive bronze doors that are of a size suggesting main entry doors. Appropriate to our bank building, the doors show many classical motifs, from an ornate Greek key and egg-and-dart border to acanthus leaves framing three-dimensional eagles. Another pair of smaller and lighter bronze "French" doors may have functioned to ensure the ladies' privacy from the main waiting room. Thus the Rock Island Savings Bank building has lived up to the original premise of stability and longevity in its own way. It endures, despite a completely different look and function. Back to the Postcard Index Page  Farmers' Congress News coverage of the weeklong gathering of the 24th annual Farmers National Congress began on Saturday, October 6, 1906, when the Argus reported that downtown Rock Island was taking on a festival appearance in anticipation of thousands of visitors. The story was accompanied by a plea for citizens to make spare bedrooms available to Congress attendees, as the number expected greatly exceeded the available hotel accommodations. Mayor McKaskrin observed that it was a great honor for Rock Island to be selected as the site of the Farmers Congress. Governors of Illinois and Iowa and former governors of Minnesota and, surprisingly, even Alaska planned to attend. Details of the Congress were covered in the newspaper on a daily basis during the ensuing week. Although high winds delayed many travelers, over a thousand had arrived by Monday, when the Congress officially opened. On Monday morning, Congress attendees paraded down 2nd Avenue from the Harper House Hotel at 19th Street (now demolished), to the Illinois Theatre at 16th Street (now Hyman's Furniture Store) where opening ceremonies were held. The parade's route took them through a downtown festive with harvest finery. Unfortunately, many of the decorations were bedraggled because of the high winds. It was later reported that a $5.00 prize was awarded to 1629 2nd Avenue for creating the best storefront decorations. Today's postcard gives a hint of those downtown decorations in its depiction of Market Square during the Congress. Market Square was the triangle between 16th and 17th Streets at 2nd to 3rd Avenue. Although it was a public space, Market Square was not a park, but was a working marketplace - a real farmers' market. The view here is looking south from 2nd Avenue and shows the building in Market Square decked out in a manner reminiscent of a miniature South Dakota Corn Palace. We can see ears and shocks of corn, sheaves of wheat, and pumpkins, all artfully arranged to welcome the farmers and their wives to Rock Island and the Congress. Notice the old hand plow hung in the gable. Temporary archways extended from the structure and were crowned with what appears to be growing corn. Although the specifics of the Market Square decorations were not mentioned in the extensive Argus coverage of the Congress, this Real Photo card as well as a color lithograph version of it are the only known postcards from the Congress. When they arrived at the Illinois Theater, visitors saw the stage decorated as a barnyard, complete with real horses, chickens, and corn shocks (perhaps so the farmers wouldn't be homesick on their visit to our city). Illinois Governor Deneen made a welcoming address that celebrated prairie lands opened to cultivation in recent years thanks to drainage ditches and tiling. Congress goers later adjourned to the Rock Island skating rink at 16th Street and 5th Avenue (no longer standing) which served as a convention hall for the week and featured both a "Carnival " and Manufacturers' Exhibits. Local attendance at convention sessions was encouraged. Each Rock Island grade school was assigned one day of the Congress, and the school with the best attendance on its assigned day was promised a "handsome bust" as a reward. Students would presumably encourage their parents and friends to attend on "their" day. However, it was not reported which school won the bust (or whom the bust represented.) Other activities offered to attendees included tours of local factories, boat rides on the Mississippi, and free trolley tours around Rock Island, Moline and Davenport. But it wasn't all play time. The Farmers Congress was serious business. Farmers discussed techniques to improve production and political strategies that would help them get the best prices for their products. They also recommended that domestic science (later called home economics) should be taught at all schools. Each day, the Argus reported on the many events and presentations, and listed the attendees from throughout Illinois and elsewhere. By the time the convention closed on October 13, the wind torn decorations were ready to come down. But Rock Islanders were happy with the attention our city had received, and satisfied that we had been wonderful hosts to the nation's farmers. Market Square continued in use until the mid 20th Century when there was no further need for a farmers' market. The site was then used for auto parking until the open space was finally eliminated to enable the construction of the hotel that still occupies the site. Back to the Postcard Index Page   Fort Armstrong Hotel The building of the Fort Armstrong Hotel at the corner of 19th Street and 3rd Avenue received major coverage in the Seventy-fifth Anniversary Addition of the Rock Island Argus. "No other factor in recent years has served more to exercise the spirit of community cooperation in Rock Island than the building of the Fort Armstrong hotel." Local residents were invited to buy shares in the proposed hotel and in less than two weeks 690 purchasers and invested over $450,000.00. With an additional $300,00.00 in mortgage money the project was underway. The general building contract was awarded to the Fleischer Engineering & Construction Company of Minneapolis. But local companies got a lion's share of the sub-contracts as outlined in the anniversary addition article. The brick was furnished by the Rock Island Sand & Gravel company; the tile and terrazzo work by the Cassini Mosaic & Tile company of Rock Island; the sand and gravel by the Rock Island Sand & Grabel company; the steel by the Rock Island Bridge & Iron Works; the millwork by the Rock Island Sash & Door Works and the Rock Island Woodworks; the cement by the Rock Island Lumber company. Three elevators, two passenger and one freight, were furnished by the Montgomery Elevator company of Moline. The nine-story hotel designed by Chicago architect Charles W. Nichol is Italian Renaissance in style and was completed in 1924. The first and second stories form a large square covering the entire building site. The seven upper stories form a cross with four wings extending from the center, giving every room an outside exposure. The building is constructed of red pressed brick and the first floor is faced with Bedford stone. Terra cotta detailing adorns the entire structure. The interior of the building featured a grand two-story lobby with terrazzo floors and marble trimmings. Sharing the first floor was a coffee shop, dining room, private meeting rooms, offices and seven retail shops. The mezzanine featured three additional dining rooms, a banquet hall and an impressive ballroom. Tucked into the basement with the heating plant and coal rooms was a barbershop, billiard room and bowling alley. The upper floors contained 160 guest rooms and the building was topped with ten apartments. Today the Fort Armstrong is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been restored and is operated as an assisted living facility. In addition, it offers banquet and meeting rooms open to the public and visitors are always welcome to stroll through the grand lobby and experience the elegance of a 1920's hotel. Back to the Postcard Index Page   Bear Automotive Safety Service School  The Happy BearÑthat's what they called the impish critter who was the mascot and logo for the Bear Manufacturing Company a business which opened in Rock Island and stayed on for a long run. The founders of Bear were brothers Will and Henry Damman, who invented an electric starter for the Model T so auto owners could forget their cranks. They moved to Rock Island in 1913 to manufacture and sell the starter. The company was quickly successful - the starter was so popular that Henry Ford started making electric starters standard equipment, and the Dammen's market disappeared. Remarkably undeterred, they still saw a business future in the automotive business and went on to build the company that was incorporated in 1917 to design and manufacture auto equipment. Bear equipment became the standard for diagnosis and repair of wheel, steering, and frame alignment. Later the company expanded auto safety equipment of all types. The Happy Bear was with them from the earliest days. The accepted version of the little guy is based on a vintage slang expression, "It's a bear!" Nowadays, of course, that would mean it's a tough job, but 80 years ago, it referred to a product that was rugged and top-quality. Will Dammen thought it a perfect symbol for his top quality company. Bear not only manufactured equipment, it trained people from all over the country how to use that equipment. After training mechanics for twenty years, more space was needed. On today's postcard, we show the new $400,000 modernistic Bear Automotive Safety Service School which opened in 1949 and tripled the number of students who could be accommodated. The grand opening was called an event of national importance in the automobile world, because it was the only school exclusively devoted to teaching a variety of subjects related to motor vehicle safety. There was an elaborate three-day opening celebration, with a dinner for 300 auto executives held at the new school on 21st Street at 5th Avenue. Keynote speaker was the director of training for general Motors. Probably much more entertaining was Wilbur "Gentlemen, start your engines" Shaw, Indy Speedway President and racing champion, who told tales of his racing days to a large lunch crowd of local business and civic leaders. There's a rule about buildings - they have to be at least fifty years old to be considered historic. That's according to the requirements for the National Register of Historic Places. The logic behind it is that a building must stand the test of time. Will we think it's as good fifty years from now as we do now? Conversely, buildings we don't like or overlook now may be harbingers of the future and, as such, are historic. But we won't know for sure fifty years. The fifty years is up for the Bear school. And it's looking mighty historic. Its style is officially called Modernistic, but most people can look at it and recognize it as a first cousin to the trains of the forties - the "streamliners" that were such a drastic change from the old style engines. Streamlining evoked speed. Cars were streamlined, too, even toasters and coffeepots. Streamlining of the Bear School is most apparent on the second story where the sweep of the vertical aluminum around the corner and the continuous line of metal-framed windows look just as they did in 1940. Integral metal awnings carry out this sweeping look. The Bear signs, streamlined in their own design, are located at either end of the building, so they don't interrupt the flow of the design. The first story is more utilitarian, largely constructed of brick. Bear Manufacturing thrived under Damman leadership, even into the second generation. Will Damman's daughter, Doris Damman Day, and her husband, Victor, were in charge of the locally owned company for many years until it was finally sold to a multinational corporation. When the Damman/Day family sold the company, manufacturing facilities remained in Rock Island, but the school was closed in the 1970s. In the 1980s, all manufacturing operations in Rock Island had closed as well. Although Bear products are still made and sold by the SPX Corporation of Waukesha, Wisconsin, there's no indication of the Happy Bear on their website. It's easy to speculate that he's not so happy now. But Happy Bear would probably give us a big grin when he sees his old school still being used by the Rock Island - Milan School District as its alternative education high school. Recently, windows on the first floor were shortened (windows had already replaced some of the large overhead doors). Over the years, 5th Avenue had been widened considerably, and the very low windows were not compatible with the speedy traffic there. School architect William Appier's designs kept the best of this historic building while adapting it for safety and classroom needs. Special thanks to Dick Iverson, long-time Bear employee, who shared information and memorabilia - including this postcard -- for this article. Back to the Postcard Index Page