St. Mary's Academy is a historic building located in a residential area of the West End of

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

, United States. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1984. The building was built as a school building for St. Mary's Catholic Church, which is listed separately on the National Register.

History

The structure was built in the 19th century during the pastorate of the Rev. Michael Flavin who served the parish from 1871 to 1884. After the parish built a new school and convent across the street from the church during the pastorate of Msgr. J.P. Ryan the building became a home for aged women and young, single woman who worked in the city. The facility was operated by the Sisters of Mercy. It was at this time that the rear chapel addition was built. with The name of the building was referred to then as St. Mary's Home. The structure was later converted into apartments.

Architecture

The building is constructed of red

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

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 t ...

style. Bands of rough cut stone are placed above the windows and the same stonework frames the main entrance. The 3½ story building features a rectangular plan, a

hipped roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downward to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, with variants including tented roofs and others. Thus, a hipped roof has no gables or other vertical sides ...

, advanced corner and end pavilions with

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

gables, and a symmetrical front. Decorative brickwork may be found across the top of the building, just below the roofline. he main entrance is constructed of

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

and features art glass and

Greek fret __NOTOC__ A meander or meandros () is a decorative border constructed from a continuous line, shaped into a repeated motif. Among some Italians, these patterns are known as "Greek Lines". Such a design may also be called the Greek fret or Gree ...

decorative elements. A statue of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

remains in the niche at the top of the entrance tower.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Marys Academy, Davenport, Iowa School buildings completed in 1888 Defunct schools in Iowa Romanesque Revival architecture in Iowa Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport Buildings and structures in Davenport, Iowa School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Davenport, Iowa Apartment buildings in Davenport, Iowa