The Downtown Quincy Historic District is a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

located in downtown Quincy,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, containing numerous buildings showcasing some of the city's late 19th century and early 20th century architecture. In the 1800s, Quincy was a popular destination for travelers making their way west via rail service. The Mississippi River was also a major economic benefit for the community, furthering the city's importance in commerce.

Notable structures and attractions

Elkton Hotel

The Elkton Hotel was built in 1924 as a collaboration project by local architects Martin Geise and Harvey Chatten. It was to function as the new home for the

Elks Club The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. History The Elks began in 1868 as a soci ...

. Geometric shapes on the brick structure are some of the more striking features of this building. In 1949, the upper floors were converted into apartments and the structure was re-branded as the Elkton Hotel. As for the original Elks Club clubrooms, they have been converted into a popular restaurant known as the Patio.

History Museum

Completed in 1888, the History Museum first functioned as the Quincy Public Library. It is a

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

-style structure facing Washington Park. Following its years as a public library, the building functioned as the ''Gardner Museum of Architecture and Design''. In addition to providing a glimpse at Quincy's rich architectural history, one of the museum's most extensive collections included a permanent exhibit of

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

. Due to budget cuts, the museum closed in 2012, and most of its exhibits and stained glass were purchased by the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County. The building currently houses the ''History Museum''. The museum displays selections of the extensive collections owned by the Society. The Historical Society also offers special events and speakers related to Quincy's rich history.

Hotel Quincy

The Hotel Quincy (originally known as the ''New Tremont Hotel'') is a 7-story tall (100 ft) structure, completed in

1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...

, that functions as an

apartment complex An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ...

and also is the

television studio A television studio, also called a television production studio, is an installation room in which video productions take place, either for the production of live television and its recording onto video tape or other media such as SSDs, or for t ...

for local

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

affiliate

WGEM-TV WGEM-TV (channel 10) is a television station licensed to Quincy, Illinois, United States, serving the Quincy, Illinois–Hannibal, Missouri–Keokuk, Iowa market as an affiliate of NBC, The CW Plus, and Fox. Owned by Gray Television, it is a si ...

Illinois State Bank

Beginning construction in 1880, the Illinois State Bank is a seven-story-tall structure showcasing Chicago-style architecture and was designed by Quincy architect Martin Geise. The first floor, housing the bank, featured a large White Colorado marble lobby with ivory and gold fixtures.

Kresge Building

The Kresge Building began its construction in 1923, and an additional phase of its construction began in 1939. It was designed by architect Harold Holmes. Controversy resulted when the developers only wanted to construct two levels, when the city required three by ordinance. Finding a way around the ordinance, the developers decided to create two levels of windows, thereby observing the city ordinance while maintaining the owners' request for only two stories. In 1968, a massive fire damaged much of the building and the future of the structure was in jeopardy. Dale Kirlin Sr., who previously worked at the Kresge Building in his youth, decided to purchase the fire-damaged structure, extensively renovate, and re-locate the Kirlin's Hallmark company into the structure.

Lincoln-Douglas Apartment Building

The Lincoln-Douglas Apartment Building is a renovated, eight-story-tall apartment complex that caters to low-income seniors and was funded in part by the

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and Urb ...

. It also functions as the main studio and headquarters of

STARadio Corporation STARadio is a radio broadcast company that owns several radio stations throughout the United States in the cities of Quincy and Kankakee, IL as well as stations in Great Falls, Montana. Radio stations * KGRC * KINX * KZZK *WCOY *WKAN * WQCY *WTAD ...

, a local broadcasting company that owns several

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

s throughout the region.

"''Looking For Lincoln''" historic markers

Throughout downtown Quincy and the historic district lie numerous information plaques trailing US President Abraham Lincoln's life in Illinois, mostly following his time as an attorney in this part of the state.

Masonic Temple

Built with a

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

design intended, the Masonic Temple was constructed in 1911 at a cost of US$84,000 and includes a reception hall, parlor, library, and armory for the Knights Templar.

Quincy Post Office

The historic Quincy Post Office, built in

1887 Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

, also functioned as the Adams County

Courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

for a time. The Quincy Post Office is designed in the

Châteauesque Châteauesque (or Francis I style,Whiffen, Marcus, ''American Architecture Since 1780: A guide to the styles'', The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1969, p. 142. or in Canada, the Château Style) is a Revivalist architectural style based on the Fr ...

style. It was designed by renown architect

Mifflin E. Bell Mifflin Emlen Bell (October 20, 1847 – May 31, 1904), often known as M.E. Bell, was an American architect who served from 1883 to 1886 as Supervising Architect of the US Treasury Department. Bell delegated design responsibilities to staff mem ...

, whom was known for his work on government structures. This Post Office was constructed with brick bearing walls and a limestone exterior and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

St. John's Anglican Parish

Established in 1837 as the first Anglican/Episcopal church in Quincy, the current building of St. John's Parish dates to 1853 and is the oldest existing church in Quincy. The church, now the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

of the Diocese of Quincy, was designed in an early

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style by Charles Howland and was built of native, uncoursed

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

measuring 75 feet by 40 feet. A rear and side

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

were added after the primary church building was constructed in the 1850s. The

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

includes 11 bells and is the only true

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...

in Quincy. The church interior includes a

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...

Ralph Adams Cram Ralph Adams Cram (December 16, 1863 – September 22, 1942) was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic Revival style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partner ...

and two stained glass windows crafted by

Louis Comfort Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art NouveauL ...

Schott Building

With

and

Sullivanesque Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago School, a mentor to Frank Lloy ...

influences in mind, the Schott Building was constructed in the 1890s by Swiss architect John Batschy. Today, a restaurant is housed on the first floor and the building was extensively used in the 2009 independent horror film ''Hampshire: A Ghost Story''.

S.J. Lesem Building

The S.J. Lesem Building is a four-story, Italian-style brick building that first saw use as a warehouse and was completed in 1871. Today, it houses lofts in the upper floors and the first floor is home to the Tiramisu Italian restaurant.

State Savings Loan and Trust

The State Street Savings Loan & Trust Building is an example of

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesque ...

architecture and was constructed in 1892 by Chicago architects Patton & Fischer. In 1906, an extension was made, designed by local architect Ernest M. Wood. The bank suffered following the Depression and was nearly demolished before being bought by George M. Irwin in 1964. Irwin renovated the structure and converted the lobby to function for retail space. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. In January 2000, the structure served as the backdrop to President Bill Clinton's visit to Quincy.

Villa Katherine

The Villa Kathrine is a Moroccan-style home built in 1900 that overlooks the Mississippi River from atop the bluffs. It was built for wealthy Quincy resident W. George Metz, who grew fond of Moroccan architecture during his travels abroad. Rumor had it that Metz's intention was to live in the home with a woman he met on his travels, but she refused to move to Illinois or died en route. The structure was sold in 1912, fell into disrepair, and then restored by the local group ''Friends of the Castle''. Today, the Villa Kathrine functions as Quincy's Visitor Center and gives tours of the home.

Washington Park

Washington Park is Quincy's first park and was once known as John's Square, after city founder John Wood. It was the site of the sixth famous debate between

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

and

Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...

over the divisive issue of slavery and national union, where a crowd of 10–15,000 people came to hear the two men speak. In 1994, a nationally televised re-enactment of the Lincoln-Douglas debates was broadcast on

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

. It is also the site chosen for many of Quincy's festivities including the Dogwood Festival, Blues in the District, and the Midsummer Art Festival.

Washington Theater

Washington Theater is a 1480-seat theater built in 1924 to cater to stage and cinema showings. The structure is notable for its influences in Mediterranean and Byzantine architecture. It was remodeled in 1926 following the purchase of the theater to Balaban & Katz. In the years that followed, the theater hosted many vaudeville and photoplay shows, but suffered when films introduced sound. This prompted yet another upgrade to bring audiences back once sound pictures became the industry's standard. The Kerasotes Theater chain bought the site in 1971 and continued to show films into the 1980s. Since, Washington Theater has undergone several purchases and became neglected by owners before coming into possession by the City of Quincy. Currently, an organization is renovating the space to modernize the theater and to eventually re-open.

Western Catholic Union Building

The Western Catholic Union Building is an 11-story tall skyscraper in downtown Quincy built in the beaux-arts style. It was constructed in 1925 by a Catholic fraternal-insurance group and took two years to complete construction. Some features of the structure included a rooftop garden, auditorium, a barber shoppe, four bowling alleys, office spaces, a small gym, and a swimming pool in the basement. In 1929, the swimming pool was closed and covered to allow additional office space after a crack in the wall was found. Today, the WCU Building remains as Quincy's tallest structure.

Non-Historic Structures

Oakley-Lindsay Center

The Oakley-Lindsay Center is the regional

convention center A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

for

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ), known as Illinois's "Gem City", is a city in and the county seat of Adams County, Illinois, United States, located on the Mississippi River. The 2020 census counted a population of 39,463 in the city itself, down from 40,633 in 2010. ...

and the tri-state region. It opened in 1995 at a cost of $8 million. It serves as the convention hub of the

Quincy micropolitan area The Quincy-Hannibal, IL-MO Combined Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of one county in western Illinois and three counties in northeast Missouri, anchored by the cities of Quincy and Hannibal. ...

and fills the market in-between

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

and

Iowa City Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

. It hosts concerts, wedding receptions, rodeos, and other numerous events.

Quincy Newspapers Corporate Headquarters

The headquarters of

Quincy Newspapers Quincy Media, Inc., formerly known as Quincy Newspapers, Inc., was a family-owned media company that originated in the newspapers of Quincy, Illinois. The company's history can be traced back to 1835, when the ''Bounty Land Register'' was one of ...

is located in the southern portion of downtown and this structure acts as the

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in wh ...

for the regional newspaper, the Quincy Herald-Whig, and also houses QNI's corporate offices. The company owns several local television stations around the Midwest, and their flagship network, WGEM, is headquartered down the street in the Hotel Quincy.

Salvation Army's Ray & Joan KROC Center

Opened in 2011, the Salvation Army's Ray & Joan KROC Center functions as a state-of-the-art, private membership

community center Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

with amenities including an indoor swimming pool with slide, a 499-seat auditorium, gymnasiums, a game room, and a cafe. It was awarded a silver LEED certificate for being an environmentally-friendly structure.

Former structures and attractions

Newcomb Hotel

The Newcomb Hotel, located adjacent to both the Gardner Museum and Washington Park, was a former 130-room, five-story hotel built in 1888. It was designed by St. Louis architect Issac S. Taylor and funded by Quincy-Chicago businessman Richard Newcomb, who owned the Gem City Paper Mill. The hotel opened on the same day as the inauguration of President Benjamin Harrison, and a ball was held in his honor. For a time, it was considered the finest hotel in the state outside of Chicago. A major fire struck the structure in 1904 and killed two workers. In the years since, the hotel fell into disrepair and continued to deteriorate due to neglect. In 2013, the structure was listed as one of Illinois' most-endangered historic places. On September 6, 2013, the hotel caught fire, causing significant damage to the structure. It was considered a total loss and demolished the following Sunday.

Old Adams County Courthouse

On April 12, 1945, a tornado ripped through the business district of Quincy, Illinois, and severely damaged the courthouse. The wind was so severe that it blew the roof off of the structure, damaging it beyond repair. Because the incident occurred a few hours after news reached Quincy of President Roosevelt's death, several residents joked that "FDR and God were just fighting over the power up there."

Paper Box Factory properties

Annual events and attractions

The Downtown Quincy Historic District hosts several major events throughout the year. During summer months, Washington Park holds ''Blues in the District'', a free concert featuring many blues musicians. Washington Park is also the site for the local

Farmers' market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or o ...

and the ''Midsummer Arts Faire'', an event that showcases artist work's from around the region. Amusement rides encircle the

town square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true square, geometric square, used for community gathe ...

also during the Dogwood Parade and Festival in May, while basketball players from around the region converge into the district to play in the 3-on-3

Gus Macker Gus is a masculine name, often a diminutive for Angus, August, Augustine, or Augustus, and other names (e.g. Aengus, Argus, Fergus, Ghassan The Ghassanids ( ar, الغساسنة, translit=al-Ġasāsina, also Banu Ghassān (, romanized as ...

tournament later in the month.

Gallery

File:Quincy Gardner Museum.JPG, The former Gardner Museum of Architecture and Design File:Quincy Lesem.JPG, The S.J. Lesem Building File:Quincy SLnT.JPG, State Savings Loan and Trust File:Quincy Lincoln Douglas Taft.JPG, Washington Park File:US Post Office & Court House, Quincy, Illinois.jpg, United States Post Office, Quincy File:Villa Katherine Quincy IL.JPG, Villa Katherine File:Quincy Wood Office.JPG, Ernest M. Wood Office and Studio File:OldStJohnQuincy.jpg, St. John's Anglican Parish and Cathedral

References

{{NRHP Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Adams County, Illinois Buildings and structures in Quincy, Illinois Geography of Adams County, Illinois Tourist attractions in Quincy, Illinois