Bucktown is a historic area in the eastern end of downtown

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. 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 of 384,324 and a ...

, along the Mississippi River. Settled by many German immigrants, it was known in the early 20th century during the

Prohibition era Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacturing, manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption ...

for its numerous

speakeasies A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States d ...

. Bucktown garnered national media headlines as a red-light district and the "wickedest city in America."

Low culture

Bucktown was an area of the city dominated at night by crews and passengers from river boats. It was also settled by many German immigrants, who brought their customs of family entertainment at beer gardens. At the same time, this area attracted "adult" entertainments. Its racy reputation was based on its

dance hall Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for Dance, dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub. The majority of towns and citi ...

s, saloons, and German music pavilions. Some 42

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...

s were documented in a two-block area. Jazz and other music of the people was played by the era's finest musicians, including

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

from New Orleans and the legendary

Bix Beiderbecke Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical app ...

High culture

Bucktown was also known for its high culture. It was a destination for waves of German immigrants after the

Revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...

. Their customs formed part of the identity of Bucktown and its infusion of the arts into the everyday. Art and music, for the common man, was central to the German way of life. In 1856, immigrants formed the German Strasser Union Marching Band of Davenport. When the Tri City Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1916, it was the twelfth in the nation. As two-thirds of its membership was drawn from the Strasser Marching Band, some scholars believe the orchestra should be considered the oldest music organization in the country. Davenport was built on the arts. Before there were paved streets and running water to homes in the city, there were opera houses with 40-foot domed ceilings. These were destinations for operatic troupes from Chicago who traveled on horseback to perform. The most famous of these was the Burtis Opera House, which still stands on the north side of the Bucktown District. Davenport was home to the nation's first municipal art gallery formed in 1925 by German, Charles Ficke, the foundation of the Davenport Museum of Art, now known as the

Figge Art Museum The Figge Art Museum is an art museum in Davenport, Iowa. The Figge, as it is commonly known, has an encyclopedic collection and serves as the major art museum for the eastern Iowa and western Illinois region. The Figge works closely with sever ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{Prostitution in the United States, state=collapsed History of Iowa Geography of Davenport, Iowa Former red-light districts in the United States Crime in Iowa ru:Бактаун

Low culture

High culture

See also

References

Bibliography