Columbia Avenue Historic District
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Columbia Avenue Historic District is located in the central part of the city of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1984. The district lies north and west of Vander Veer Park. The area is entirely residential and it contains brick apartment buildings that were built between 1930 and 1939. It is one of the city's smallest districts and it is unique among the other historic districts in that it contains primarily apartment buildings.


History

The historic district is quite possibly the earliest apartment complex in the city of Davenport. with The city has a long history of multiple-family housing. There is at least one row house from the 1860s still in existence. The double-house, or duplex, was popular in the city throughout the 19th century and were designed in the same styles as single-family dwellings. Larger apartment blocks of three to five floors were built in and around the city center for middle and upper-middle class households around the turn of the 20th century. During the 1910s and 1920s, most residential construction in the city was devoted to single-family homes. Harrison Manor was built from 1925 to 1926. It is a 46-unit building on Harrison Street, across from Vander Veer Park. At the time it was the largest apartment building constructed in Davenport and was similar to the apartment blocks that were being built in
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during the same time period. The apartment complex centered on Columbia Avenue was begun in 1930 by Mclnnes Brothers, a local contractor and developer. It is located a block northwest of Vander Veer Park. They had several buildings of the complex under construction when they went
bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
in 1931. Otto Behrens and John F. Steffen stepped in and completed the buildings begun by Mclnnes Brothers. Archie Mclnnes reorganized the construction firm and completed the five remaining buildings in the complex.


Architecture

The apartment buildings in the Columbia Avenue Historic District are made up of 19 four to six-unit apartment buildings that were built between 1930 and 1939 and two similar structures built in the 1950s. The buildings form a complex along city streets. Eight of the buildings face both sides of West Columbia Avenue, which runs through the middle of the district between Harrison and Ripley Streets. Three of the buildings flank Columbia facing Harrison. Four more building face West Hayes Street to the north, and six buildings face Ripley Street on the west. There are several characteristics that are basic to each structure. They are all two stories with a raised basement-level unit. All of the buildings follow a rectangular plan with a symmetrical three or five- bay main facade. They are all frame construction and the exteriors are covered with polychrome tapestry brick. For the most part, the decorative detail of each building is restrained with the main entrance as the primary decorative element. Each unit has a matching brick multi-car garage that faces an alley. While all of the buildings contain the above characteristics they are each distinct in appearance from each other. The differences in each building are largely found in their decorative detail. Some of the buildings have flat roofs with
parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...
s and a recessed main entrance bay. Others have
hipped roofs A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...
with dormers and a flat facade, or a projecting central bay that terminates in shallow
gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
s with partial returns. The main entrances into the buildings also differ in style and shape. Some of the entrances are rectangular, while others have a round-arch or a depressed
Tudor arch A four-centered arch is a low, wide type of arch with a pointed apex. Its structure is achieved by drafting two arcs which rise steeply from each springing point on a small radius, and then turning into two arches with a wide radius and much lower ...
. The door surrounds are composed of brick, rock-faced stone, or glazed
terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...
. A number of the newer buildings feature end-bay windows. The stairwell windows also differ from building to building. Some contain leaded glass and stained glass, while others have bits of mirror glass that are used in abstract designs.


References


External links

{{Scott County, Iowa Historic Districts Historic districts in Davenport, Iowa Apartment buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Davenport, Iowa Apartment buildings in Davenport, Iowa Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa