November 2012
UPCOMING MEETINGS Remember to keep the third Tuesday of each month marked on your calendar for monthly RIPS meetings and activities
November 20, 2012, Tuesday, 7:00 PM – The Grape Life, 1623 Second Avenue, Rock Island Purchase a glass of fine wine or even a tasting selection at the next RIPS business meeting. We’re holding it at a relatively new venue in downtown Rock Island called the Grape Life. The European styled bistro features six red and six white wines by the glass, with the selection changing each week. We’ll have a private balcony area to enjoy our meeting. Many folks still call this building “Bowlby’s” for the music store that occupied the space for some 85 of its 125 year life. It was built in 1877 as a commercial building and, until Bowlby’s moved here circa 1910, was home to a shoe store, and billiards parlors under various owners. Although this Italianate style building is missing its cornice, it does have shallow brick arches over the upper story windows as well as brackets beneath the third story sills. Protruding brickwork with a dentil like feature tops the third story windows continues along the side of the building to frame the windows. Today’s angled entrance is not original but is the result of an Art Deco period remodeling. The Rock Island branch of the Grape Life, a business which started in Davenport, was opened in this historic building in 2011. Check it out at www.thegrapelife.com
December 18, 2012, Tuesday, 7:00 PM -Hauberg Civic Center, 1300 24th Street, Rock Island RIPS will host our holiday party in the Hauberg dining room. Members are encouraged to bring an appetizer or holiday treat to share. Jill Doak, long time historic preservation advocate in her role as Preservation Planner in Rock Island’s Community and Economic Development Department, will be our special guest. Other guests will include members of Moline Preservation Society and Rock Island Preservation Commission
January 15, 2013, Tuesday, 7:00 PM – The K.T. Anderson House, 917 19th Street, Rock Island Welcome to the K.T. Anderson House where Netta Bartholomew Anderson (as portrayed by Ann Boaden) will host us for an evening of tea and intellectual conversation. Netta will share with us the story of her contributions to Augustana College and her work documenting early Rock Island history by hosting tea gatherings just like this. We will also be treated to a tour of the home currently being restored by Rock Island Economic Growth Corporation.
The K.T. and Netta Anderson House
The house at 917 19th Street, built ca 1901, was the home of Knute Theodore (K.T.) and Netta (Bartholomew) Anderson. The Andersons were married in 1897. K.T. was born in Sweden in 1869 and became an American citizen in 1878. He was a banker at the State Bank of Rock Island and served as the City Clerk from 1899-1901. He met his wife Netta at a fund raiser at their church, Grace Lutheran. Netta Bartholomew came to Rock Island when her father took as job as an English professor at Augustana College. She enrolled at Augustana in 1891 and soon realized that, although the college was coeducational on paper, in practice women were not welcome in all intellectual pursuits. Undaunted, she challenged many of the rules and traditions at the college.
Pnoto Courtesy of Augustana Special Collections
The story of Netta challenging the all male Adelphic Literary Society has become legendary. Acting on a dare from one of her fellow women students, she bravely entered the crowded history room of Old Main. And then as the story goes “the President of the society came to me and gravely whispered that it was customary to initiate new members by requiring a three minute extempore speech…and at the proper time he would call on me. [N]o one can know what agonies of apprehension I suffered before my turn came….[M]y knees turned to jelly as I pulled myself out of my chair, the one lone girl in that room, went to the front and faced what seemed like a limitless sea of boys’ faces all grinning expectantly at me. There wasn’t a vacant seat in that old history room and even standing room was…taken, for all who could crowd in had come to see the fun, a girl really trying to make a speech!”
The speech was delivered and Netta became the first woman member of Adelphic. She was a member of the first ladies gym class at the college and a member of the first Ladies Quartette, a forerunner of the Augustana choir. When she graduated in 1894, she was one of three women in a class of 17 students.
Upon graduation she faced the dilemma of many women of the time, no real job market for a woman with a Master of Arts degree unless she wanted to teach. She chose to use her abilities in support of a wide variety of cultural and civic organizations, including Bethany Home, the Red Cross, Royal Neighbors of America and the Rock Island Woman’s Club. She continued to be a strong supporter of Augustana College and, in 1911, helped to organize and became the first president of the Augustana Alumni Association. From 1930-1948 she was one of the few women on the Board of Directors of Augustana College. She nurtured a life-long interest in history and the role of women by collecting oral histories of local women and writing a paper entitled, “Some Reminiscences of Pioneer Rock Island Women” that was read at the State Historical Society meeting in 1912. And she hosted tea parties at her home on 19th Street, bringing together neighbors and acquaintances to share their stories and engage in “intellectual conversation”. K.T. and Netta raised their family of three children in the home and continued to live here until they retired to Florida in 1950.
Photo from City of Rock Island http://rigov.org/index.aspx?NID=946
One of Rock Island’s most outstanding examples of Colonial Revival architecture, this house was built by Henry W. Horst and Company and was featured in one of their promotional brochures. Classical features include the triangular pediments of the roofline and dormers, the Palladian window, and the strict sense of symmetry. Additional design elements of note include the arched glass dormer windows topped by keystones, a spider web window in the front pediment, and an unusual siding pattern. Elaborate pilasters, modillions and dentils frame the windows and cornice. But it is the half round two-story full width front porch with its Ionic columns and intricately turned balusters that gives this home its grand appearance. The home is currently being restored by Rock Island Economic Growth Corporation with grants from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program and is available for purchase.
ROCK ISLAND’S NEWEST LANDMARK
The Levi Haverstick House at 544 23rd Street was designated a Local Landmark at the September 26 meeting of the Rock Island Preservation Commission. The landmark application was prepared by RIPS member Diane Oestreich in the name of the Broadway Historic District. That organization also purchased a landmark plaque for the home that was presented at the October 8 City Council meeting to Brian Hollenback of Rock Island Economic Growth (GROWTH).
Pennsylvania-born Levi Haverstick was only 5’5”, but he led a big life. He was a teacher before entering the Civil War in 1862 at age 20. He left the war as a captain, partially crippled from injuries at Antietam and Fredericksburg, and came to Rock Island in 1866, when he purchased the young Rock Island Daily Union, a newspaper in competition with the Argus. He sold his interest in the Union in 1874 and entered into an ill-fated investment in the Rock Island Pottery Company, 9th Street & 8th Avenue. That firm soon failed and Capt. Haverstick went to Colorado for a time. He returned in 1878, first with the Union and then as editor of the new Moline Dispatch. He was working there at the time of his death from consumption in 1881, a few weeks before his fortieth birthday. By that time, he and his wife, Mary Emma Frantz, had four young children. In her request for a widow’s pension, Emma attributed his demise to his war injuries. After the Haversticks left, the house had no long term occupants until the mid-1950s, when the Arthur Ortiz family became owners for the next fifty years.
Levi built this large, solid brick, Italianate style home in 1869 at the corner of what was then Cable and Broadway, the year before his marriage. It is a box-shaped Italianate home with a hipped roof, wide eaves, and magnificent paired brackets. The rear, more utilitarian portion of the home, is lower than the front. Around 1895, the current full width porch was added, replacing a much smaller porch. GROWTH rehabbed and restored the home during the past year under the Neighborhood Stabilization program. The rehab used modern technology in mechanical systems and insulation for energy efficiency while retaining the original character. Especially notable is the retention of the original windows. Old windows in good repair, with the addition of storm windows, are as good as – and much less expensive than — new double-glazed windows. And, if necessary, they are repairable in the future.
Haverstick House Today
Moline Train Depot
Moline’s only remaining depot is in serious danger of demolition. It is in the path of access to a new I-74 bridge and must be removed. The cost to move the depot to the new campus of Western Illinois University, building a new foundation, etc. is part of the larger bridge project and will be paid by the Department of Transportation. WIU has a place and a use for the old building, and would undertake necessary rehab costs rather than build a new structure. However the City of Moline is responsible for some of the moving costs, including utility connections and reconnections. This was estimated to cost Moline about $155,000 which their City Council voted against.
The Moline Preservation Society has mounted a pledge drive (no checks needed yet, just your pledge) to raise that money and ensure the future of this beautiful structure. As an organization, RIPS has pledged $100, which is a significant portion of our annual budget. Individuals are also encouraged to pledge even a small amount.
You can make your pledge online at www.SaveTheMolineDepot.com Pledges (not payment) must be received by December 18
ENDANGERED BUILDINGS
Audubon School
RIPS has learned that the former Audubon School may be sold at the next Rock Island School Board meeting. In May, the board agreed to list with Ruhl & Ruhl. The sale was on the agenda for the October school board meeting but was deferred. While many old schools have been converted to senior living or other community use, it is believed that a high intensity commercial use may be puse may be proposed for the Audubon site which may put the structure in danger of demolition. Keep listening and watching.
THANK YOU TO ALAN CARMEN AND JILL DOAK
Longtime staff members of Rock Island’s Community and Economic Development Department, Alan Carmen and Jill Doak, both left the department in recent weeks. They were tireless supporters of Rock Island neighborhoods and historic preservation. Their contribution to the fabric of our city is notable in just a sampling of their accomplishments: Adopting a preservation ordinance and establishing the preservation commission; adopting a brick street preservation plan; fostering restoration projects such as the Mitchell House, the Rock Island Lines Depot, and the Centennial Bridge Building; developing and implementing neighborhood plans in Broadway, Keystone Longview, and Old Chicago neighborhoods, to name a few; establishing Neighborhood Partners; building a treasure trove of information on our landmarks and historic resources on the City’s website; securing the certified local government grants that supported our walking tour brochure collection, our MOSUS (most significant unprotected structures) list, and finally, the RenovateQC website that is being maintained by RIPS.
Both Alan and Jill encouraged us all to get involved and make a difference. They shared their expertise with every one, professional and novice alike. And as a result of their efforts, Rock Island became a respected and often imitated leader in historic preservation across Illinois.
Alan and Jill, you will be missed in your roles as City employees. A heart-felt thank you to each of you. We look forward to working with both of you as Rock Island residents in a continuing effort to preserve the character of our community and to save our historic architecture.
Linda Anderson, President, Rock Island Preservation Society
