Downtown Davenport progress

[DSMGuy]

Originally Posted by beemer1010

One thing I would mention about the quad cities as a little advantage over DM is they have a better freeway system, only because it is 100% interstate, they have 74, 88, 80, and 280, whereas des moines has 80, 35, and 235 (not counting the SE loop as interstate.) des moines is obviously more densly traveled/developed, but this is just a slight advantage over dsm for possible business and industry. <<could be wrong but thats just the way i see it.

also the proximity to chicago. (a given)

I'm curious why you don't count the SE loop as an interstate/freeway? It is a four lane, limited access freeway. The only difference between it and an interstate is it is not named I-whatever. Whether it is called an interstate or not, it is built exactly like one and serves the same purpose.

Will have to check out the QC's sounds like some cool stuff there.

[pepe1]

Originally Posted by Steve_W

The picture of the Figge Art Museum looks almost exactly like the Holland Performing Arts Center in Omaha. Wonder if they used the same architect?

I agree with you that there are some similarites between the two, but it was not the smae architect. The Figge was a Chipperfield Project and Holland was an HDR, Inc. project.

[mfrerkes]

Originally Posted by QuadCityImages

I think we're closer to DSM than a lot of the folks over there realize. The problem is here in the Quad Cities we seem to be bad at advertising ourselves.

I'm not trying to start a battle here, because this post was about downtown Davenport. I've just noticed that Davenport and the QC area seem to be getting a bad rap around these forums so I wanted to say my piece.

Having lived in both areas, I can't really tell which one is better. Des Moines has the better local economy with all those insurance companies, but I think the Quad Cities has a more picturesque setting and interesting historical backdrop because of the Mississippi. As far as culture/entertainment goes, both have very comparable offerings. The differences in crime and cost of living are negligible at best.

The notion that the Quad Cities is some dying industrial wasteland is only held by those who last visited the area in 1985. Over the past 20 years, the whole area has been transformed, and that transformation is ongoing. Moline and Davenport both have added marvelous amenities (The Mark, The Figge, The Skybridge, John Deere Commons, etc.) that any city would be proud to possess. Rock Island revamped its downtown with The District and was the first in the Quad Cities to convert abandoned buildings into loft-style housing. Bettendorf's riverfront saw the addition of Iowa's largest hotel complex when Isle of Capri finished construction on the Paradise Tower last year. Every one of "The Quads" has added something very impressive to the area in recent years, and more projects are in the works (Bass Street Landing in Moline, Rock Island-Davenport riverfront redevelopment, etc.)

Your pictures and comments are very informative. Hopefully more people will stop invoking the Davenport of 1985 and update their mentality accordingly.