Renwick Building

Renwick Building
Location 324 Brady Street
Davenport, Iowa
Coordinates 41°31′24″N 90°34′27″W / 41.52333°N 90.57417°W / 41.52333; -90.57417Coordinates: 41°31′24″N 90°34′27″W / 41.52333°N 90.57417°W / 41.52333; -90.57417
Area less than one acre
Built 1897
Architectural style Early Commercial
MPS Davenport MRA
NRHP Reference # 83002491[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP July 7, 1983
Designated DRHP February 2, 2000[2]

The Renwick Building is located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983,[1] and on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties since 2000.[2] It is known locally for the large painted sign on the north side of the building depicting the Bix 7 Road Race.

History

The building was built by its namesake William Renwick, who was a prosperous Davenport industrialist in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[3] Two of his houses are also on the National Register of Historic Places, the Renwick House on Brady Street and the Renwick Mansion, which is a contributing property in the St. Katherine's Historic District. The building combined retail and warehouse space and housed various furniture stores over the years. The storefront was modernized in the 1930s.[4] Henry Huebotter's Davenport Furniture was the first business to occupy the structure after it was built. It was followed by Drake Furniture and Carpet, Iowa Furniture & Carpet Co. and Freeman-Glickman. Matthew’s Office Supply occupied the building until 2005. The building sat empty until 2012 when Restoration St. Louis, who also renovated the Forrest Block and the Hotel Blackhawk, began a $4.5 million renovation of the building.[5] The upper floors house 18 loft-style apartments and commercial space on the main floor. In 2015 the independent music website Daytrotter moved into the commercial space.[6]

Architecture

The Renwick Building is a steel frame and brick commercial building.[3] The four-story building reflects the Chicago Commercial Style. The brick façade acts as the building’s skin around the steel frame, which supports the structure. This technology allowed a greater expanse of windows, which are found in this building. Decorative elements are found at the top of the building. Round arch windows in a tri-partite configuration line the fourth floor on the facade, and the building is topped with a heavy ornate cornice.

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 Historic Preservation Commission. "Davenport Register of Historic Properties" (PDF). City of Davenport. Retrieved 2011-03-07.
  3. 1 2 "Renwick Building" (PDF). Davenport Public Library. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
  4. ↑ Martha Bowers, Marlys Svendsen-Roesler. "Renwick Building". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-10-02.
  5. ↑ Kurt Allemeier (January 24, 2012). "Renwick Building's $4.5M renovation begins". Quad-City Times. Davenport. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  6. ↑ David Burke (October 1, 2015). "Daytrotter moves from its longtime RI home, bound for Davenport". Quad-City Times. Davenport. Retrieved 2015-10-02.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/28/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.