Democrat Building is a historic building located in 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 ...

, United States. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. In 2020 it was included as a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...

in the

Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District The Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in the central business district of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020. At th ...

. The historic newspaper building is now an apartment building known as The Democrat Lofts.

History

The Democrat Building was designed by a prominent Davenport architecture firm of

Clausen & Kruse Frederick George "Fritz" (Friedrich Georg) Clausen (1848–1940) was a Danish-born architect who came to the United States in 1869 and founded an architectural practice in Davenport, Iowa. The firm that he founded, presently named Studio 483 Arch ...

, and it was built in 1923. The firm also designed other historic buildings in Davenport including the

Forrest Block The Forrest Block is a historic building located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. In 2020 it was included as a contributing property in the Davenport Dow ...

, which is next door to the south, the

Hibernia Hall The Hibernia Hall, also known as the Hibernian Hall, is a Romanesque Revival architecture, Romanesque Revival building located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is located on the east side of Brady Street, near the middle of the block ...

, which is next door to the north, the Scott County Savings Bank, Davenport Municipal Stadium (now

Modern Woodmen Park Modern Woodmen Park (known previously as John O'Donnell Stadium and Municipal Stadium) is a minor league baseball venue located in Davenport, Iowa. It is home to the Quad Cities River Bandits, the Midwest League affiliate of the Kansas City Roya ...

), The Linograph Company Building, and the

W.D. Petersen Memorial Music Pavilion The W.D. Petersen Memorial Music Pavilion, commonly referred to as the LeClaire Park Bandshell, is located on Beiderbecke Drive in LeClaire Park, Davenport, Iowa. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and on the Davenpo ...

LeClaire Park LeClaire Park is a public park located along the Mississippi River in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is situated between two other riverfront parks: Centennial Park on the west and River Heritage Park, a new park that is being devel ...

. The building was built for a local newspaper the ''Davenport Democrat'', which was started in 1848 as the ''Democratic Banner''. Its editorial philosophy was in keeping with that of the political party of the same name. Over the years the paper purchased the ''Gazette'' (1887) and the ''Evening Leader'' (1902). The paper was eventually bought by Lee Enterprises, which published the ''Daily Times''. The merged newspapers became the ''Times-Democrat'' and is now known as the '' Quad-City Times''. The building was sold to ''The Catholic Messenger'', the newspaper for the Diocese of Davenport, in 1956. The building served as their headquarters for a couple of decades. The building also housed a dog training school, a vacuum cleaner salesroom, a dance hall and a specialty store. In 2014, a $6 million renovation turned the building into 21 apartments. The building is considered significant because of its association with newspapers in Davenport, and as an example of the local influence of Louis Sullivan, whose work figures prominently in the history of American architecture.

Architecture

The two-storied, freestanding, brick structure with concrete block facing was designed by Davenport architect Rudolph J. Clausen. A historical survey in 1983 indicated that the building utilizes steel in its construction. It was completed for about $300,000. The words “The Democrat” are etched across the top of the building. It bears the stylistic influence of Louis Sullivan's “jewel box” structures that are associated with the work he did late in his career in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

. with These influences are seen in the blocking of windows at the center of the highly geometric façade. The ornamentation of the horizontal band between stories, over the entrances, and along the parapet wall all feature the stylized motifs that are commonly found in his work.

References

{{Historic Davenport structures Commercial buildings completed in 1923 Apartment buildings in Davenport, Iowa Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Davenport, Iowa Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Iowa Newspaper headquarters in the United States