The Hamburg Historic District is a residential neighborhood located on a bluff northwest 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 ...

, United States. It is listed on the

Davenport Register of Historic Properties This is a list of the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in Davenport, Iowa, United States. The historic preservation movement began in the city of Davenport in the mid-1970s with the renovation of several historic structures. A comprehensi ...

and 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 v ...

. The

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 ...

is where the city's middle and upper-income German community lived in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Germans were the largest ethnic group to settle in Davenport.

Description

Hamburg is located to the northwest of Davenport's

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

. The neighborhood itself goes as far north as Locust Street and to the west as far as Division Street. with The historic district's boundaries were reduced to the section between Fifth and Ninth (south to north) and Ripley and Vine (east to west). It includes the highest concentration of historic buildings and some of the best examples of architectural styles in the neighborhood. The

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

is located five blocks to the south. There is a gradual slope to the land as one travels to the north. After the alley north of Fifth Street, it dramatically rises into a bluff. It peaks at about Seventh Street and descends less dramatically to Ninth Street. The southern part of this area provides a prominent view of the cityscape and the river. For this reason, it became a prime location for the middle and upper-income Germans who immigrated to Davenport to build their homes. The

Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At the end ...

tracks built along Fifth Street are yet another boundary for the area. The north side of Sixth Street (along the bluff line) that extends from Ripley Street to Gaines Street is known as the "Gold Coast."

History

German immigrants started moving into the city in noticeable numbers starting in the late 1840s. In 1848, 250 Germans came to Davenport and by 1850, that number rose to close to 3,000, or 20% of the city's population. German immigration remained strong through the 1880s. The Iowa census of 1890 showed that a quarter of Scott County's residents were natives of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. A disproportionate number of those immigrants came from

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

, which was in a border and personal rights dispute with

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

in the 1840s. German “

free thinkers Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...

” from the two states were leaving in large numbers and many came to Davenport. Their political and philosophical thinking tended to be anti-clerical and secular. It would eventually dominate Davenport politics and set the city apart from communities of similar size in the Midwest. Other German immigrants to Davenport came from

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, and

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...

. Davenport's small Hungarian community, refugees from the revolution against

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in the 1840s, generally lived in the German neighborhoods, as well. Former German Methodist Episcopal Church

Initially, the native-born citizens of Davenport resented the large numbers of Germans coming to the city and the influence they were asserting. They were also opposed to separate German societies, schools, cultural organizations, and events. Supporting the

Temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

was one way opponents expressed anti-German sentiments. In 1855, the

Know Nothing The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

movement emerged with the goal of keeping local politics to native-born people. By the end of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, with the sons of both Germans and non-Germans dying for a common cause, there was a sense of acceptance even though the numbers of Germans coming into the city continued to increase. Because of the size of Davenport's German population, their customs dominated the city's economic, cultural, and political life. Many of those who were leaders in civic life lived in the Hamburg District.Svendsen, 17.1 The lower income Germans tended to live below the hill and above the factories along the Mississippi River. Their neighborhoods are collectively known as the West End, although they were not all German, and included the West Third Street Historic District. Harrison Street is generally the dividing line between the Germans on the west and the non-Germans on the east side. German influence in Davenport started to wane in the early decades of the 20th century, especially with the onset of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The war, coupled with the younger generation's lack of a distinct German identity, led to the decline of German influence.

Prominent Davenport citizens who lived in the Hamburg District included Henry Lischer, who published the influential German-language newspaper ''Der Demokrat''; merchants August Steffen and his son August as well as F. Max D. Peterson, who was a partner in the

J.H.C. Petersen's Sons' Store The J.H.C. Petersen's Sons' Store also known as the Petersen Harned-Von Maur Store Building and the Redstone Building, is a historic building in Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was individually listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Prope ...

; brewers Henry Frahm and Henry Koehler; the Mueller's who owned a large lumber mill; H.H. Andressen who founded the German Savings Bank, which was later renamed American Commercial and Savings Bank; politician and German-American leader Hans Reimer Clausen; grocer Charles Beiderbecke; and financier William H. Weise. All of the above-named men had roots in Schleswig-Holstein, they built significant houses in the Hamburg District, and many of their children married a son or daughter from one of the other's families.

Architecture

The geographical location of the Hamburg District is a fairly steep bluff north of the downtown area. The sidewalk on Ripley Street is replaced by steps as it climbs the hill. The area has the largest concentration of historically significant houses in Davenport. As with other areas of the city, the simple

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

style was the first to appear in Hamburg. These homes are generally at the base of the hill. The style is realized in cottages and the more popular two-story, 3-

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

front

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 ...

homes. Other homes in the district include large Victorian homes in the

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 ...

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

, and the Queen Anne styles built in the 19th century. Many of these homes crown the bluff and offer vistas overlooking the river valley below. There are also examples of early 20th century

Georgian Revival Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Georg ...

and

American Craftsman American Craftsman is an American domestic architectural style, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, which included interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts, beginning in the last years of the 19th century. Its ...

homes. The historic district is rounded out by smaller and more simple late 19th and early 20th century homes and a few modern dwellings. The Hamburg Historic District is largely a residential area today. Institutional architecture that existed has largely been torn down or converted to residential use. One such building on West Seventh Street was built for Iowa College, which moved from the area in the 1850s to the present College Square Historic District.Svendsen, 17.3 The former German Methodist Episcopal Church remains on West Sixth Street, while Zion and Trinity Lutheran Churches built new buildings outside of the district in the mid-20th century. Many civic, cultural, religious, and commercial buildings that served the German citizens of the city were not built in the Hamburg District.

Contributing Properties

The following is a listing of the more historically and architecturally significant houses in the district by architectural style. One of the houses is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places and five are listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties.

Craftsman

*Deidrich J. Harfst House (1905) 424 W. 7th Street *William H. Korn House (c. 1915) 730 W. 8th Street *Charles E. Meier House (c. 1905) 519 W. Eighth Street

Greek Revival

*716 W. 5th Street * Frank & John Bredow House (c. 1876) 822 Gaines Street *Goettsch House (c. 1850) 801 W. 6th Street * Christian Jipp Home & Grocery (1868) 730-732 Gaines Street *John G. & Angela Otten House (1864) 906 W. 5th Street *Emanuel Rothschild House (c. 1855) 714 W. 6th Street *Hans Stoltenberg House (c. 1870) 911 W. 7th Street *Frederick Wunder House (1858) 916 W. 9th Street

Georgian Revival

*Henry Koehler House (1896) 817 W. 7th Street * Dr. Heinrich Matthey House (1900) 505 W. 6th Street *Christian Mueller House (c. 1910) 530 Ripley Street *August Steffen Jr. House ("Overview"; 1901) 412 W. 6th Street

Gothic Revival

*Charles Beiderbecke House (1881) 532 W. 7th Street *Henry Frahm House (c. 1880) 321 W. 6th Street *Francis Ochs House (c. 1870) 729 W. 6th Street *Henry Christian Struck House (1909) 615 Ripley Street

Italianate

* Lambrite-Iles-Petersen House (1856) 510 W. 6th Street * Henry Lischer House (1871) 624 W. 6th Street *Petersen-Hanssen House (1878) 629 Brown Street *August Steffen Sr. House (c. 1865) 420 W. 6th Street *William J. Wiese House (c. 1895) 709 Brown Street

McClelland

A vernacular house type named for Thomas McClelland, a prolific builder/contractor in Davenport, who built a significant number of them. *John Bahls House (1864) 614 W. 5th Street *Peter Bindschaedel House (1870) 917 W. 8th Street *Frederick G. Clausen House (c. 1865) 630 W. 6th Street *Henry & Franciska Dohrman House (1868) 630 Warren Street *Gustav Hageboeck House (1870) 623 W. 6th Street *Friederich Hartmann House (1868) 604 W. 5th Street *Charles Hill House (c. 1875) 724 W. 8th Street *Lavinius W. Petersen House (c. 1865) 530 Western Avenue

Mission Revival

Louis P. and Clara K. Best Residence and Auto House The Louis P. and Clara K. Best Residence and Auto House, also known as Grandview Apartments and The Alamo, is a historic building located in the central part of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was included as a contributing property in the ...

(1910; NRHP-listed) 627 Ripley Street

Queen Anne

*H.H. Andressen House (c. 1865, 1885) 726 W. 6th Street *Carl Beiderbecke House (c. 1890) 510 W. 7th Street *William Hahn - Edward Berger House (1895) 803 W. 7th Street *William Hoersch House (c. 1892) 402 W. 7th Street *Oscar C. Koehler House (c. 1895) 817 W. 7th Street *Claussen-Mueller House (c. 1900) 413 W. 6th Street *Edward C. Mueller House (c. 1895) 429 W. 6th Street *Louis Naeckle House (c. 1895) 703 Ripley Street *Herman Schmidt House (c. 1895) 525 W. 9th Street *George Schriebel House (c. 1855) 732 W. 5th Street *J.O. Seiffert House - A. J. Hirschel House (c. 1890) 532 W. 6th Street *J.C. Struck House (c. 1896) 703 Ripley Street *Hennings Witt House (1894) 604 Gaines Street

Second Empire

*Henry Frahm House (c. 1880) 321 W. 6th Street

References

External links

Historic District WebsiteWalking Tour Brochure
{{Scott County Germans Historic districts in Davenport, Iowa Victorian architecture in Iowa German-American history German-American culture in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Davenport, Iowa Davenport Register of Historic Properties Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa