Municipal Inn is a historic structure located in

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 ...

along the Mississippi River 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 listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties on March 17, 1999. (Click on "Historic Preservation Commission" and then click on "Davenport Register of Historic Properties and Local Landmarks.") It is also known as the Levee Inn.

History

According to the records of the city's Levee Improvement Commission, R.D. Ackley was given a 10-year lease for the building on June 14, 1927. The city issued a building permit on January 11, 1928. The structure was designed by the prominent Davenport architectural firm of

Clausen, Kruse & Klein 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 Archi ...

and was completed in 1929. They had also designed 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 ...

and 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 ...

, which are also on the riverfront. Other people who have operated a business there include Archie Weindruch, who was one of the longest proprietors and closed it in 1990. The President Riverboat Casino re-opened it a year later as the Iowa Pork Stop. Shonnie Holmes operated it from 1994 to 1995 as the Levee Inn. The President returned as the operator in 1999 before it closed again. The building has been used over the years for measuring floods on the Mississippi. High-water marks are still on the inn. The

1993 flood The Great Flood of 1993 (or Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993) was a flood that occurred in the Midwestern United States, along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries, from April to October 1993. The floo ...

came to about the

eaves The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural styl ...

Architecture

Although small in size, the structure shows the same symmetry, attention to detail and use of ornamentation that Clausen, Kruse & Klein used in their larger buildings. The building follows the clean, angular lines of the Art Moderne style. Ornamental bands of tile form intersecting squares and rectangles on the exterior stucco. Originally it featured four concrete urns on each corner of the roof and a sign with the business name that extended the length of the building between two flag poles. Tiles in blue and orange above the windows are now under a canopy that was added at a later date.

References

{{Davenport Register of Historic Properties, state=collapsed Buildings and structures completed in 1929 Davenport Register of Historic Properties Buildings and structures in Davenport, Iowa