The Schmidt Block , also known as the F.T. Schmidt Building, is a historic building located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was individually 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 1983. In 2020 it was included as a contributing property in the Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District.

History

The building was built by Fritz T. Schmidt in 1896 to house his

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

and liquor business, which was known as Fritz T. Schmidt and Sons. They produced their own wine at a west end location known as "Blackhawk Vineyards." It was located along Blackhawk Creek. with Some of the buildings, including the Schmidt's house, are extant. During

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

the family moved into real estate and insurance. In the late 1970s and 1980s the building housed an upscale restaurant called J.K. Frizbee's. Duck City, another upscale restaurant, occupies the building now.

Architecture

The Schmidt Block is a three-plus story building constructed of red stone that was built on a brick foundation. The main

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means ' frontage' or ' face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...

was designed in the

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 made popular by

Henry Hobson Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...

. It features large round-arched windows with tuned-stone surrounds on the third floor, roughly dressed stone, and stunted columns on the attic level arcade that are topped by a cornice. The Schmidt Block is the only commercial building in Davenport to adopt the Richardsonian Romanesque style in stone. The swag embellishments on the

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

are also unique in that they are Adamesque rather than Romanesque. While the storefront has been modernized, the building retains its recessed entrance into the first-floor commercial space and transom signage. The building immediately to the east has since been torn down and a sheltered outdoor seating area for the restaurant has been added that looks over the urban style park that sits between the Schmidt Block and the

RiverCenter The Shops at Rivercenter (formerly known as Rivercenter Mall) is a shopping mall located in Downtown San Antonio, Texas, United States along the city's River Walk. The anchor stores are H&M, Macy's (closing April 2021) and AMC Theatres. It als ...

, the city's convention center.

References

{{Historic Davenport structures Commercial buildings completed in 1896 Romanesque Revival architecture in Iowa Buildings and structures in Davenport, Iowa 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