Downtown Davenport progress (Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Sioux City: apartments, skatepark, lofts)

[QuadCityImages]

I just thought I would post some pictures of what's happening in downtown Davenport, and maybe it will answer some of people's misconceptions about us being a washed up industrial town.

The best resource is this slideshow, which has dozens of before/after images of various locations in downtown. It really shows the progress that has been made in the last 6 or 7 years.That slideshow can be found here

Here are some images from my own collection that may show some of what downtown Davenport is about.




Downtown Davenport, Iowa

The Figge Art Museum was finished in 2005 and cost almost $50 million. It was designed by up and coming British architect David Chipperfield.

The grand opening of the new 32,000 square foot skatepark along the riverfront. Its supposed to be one of the largest in the midwest.

The Bix7 road race usually draws close to 20,000 runners and over 100,000 spectators.

The Crescent Warehouse District includes several historic warehouse and factory buildings that have been renovated into urban industrial lofts. Additional projects are in the planning phase as well. Over 200 residential units have been added downtown in just the last few years.

The Quad City Symphony Riverfront Pops concert.

The 100+ year old was renovated into a restaurant, coffee shop, live music venue and offices in 2004.

St Patrick's day post-parade party

The sun rises over the Mississippi.

Since 2002 there has also been additional improvements to our downtown theater, the renovation of a 10-story historic hotel into modern apartments, 2 parking garages and 2 modern office buildings constructed, a renovated baseball stadium, new police station, courthouse/jail addition, renovated Federal Building, and an arts warehouse/mall created from yet another historic building. With more in the works. So don't let some of the negative folks around these forums convince you that downtown Davenport is a ghost town or there's nothing to do in the Quad Cities.

[metro223]

Nice pictures, its good to see communities who care enough to make sure their city doesn't go downhill.

I never saw Davenport as a "washed-up" industrial city, the downtown isn't that bad, there are wonderful beautiful older areas, and great retail/new development all around. I like the N/NE side.

[metro223]

forgot to mention i love that ghetto boat and ford escort in the parking lot of the crescent lofts. haha good pictures besides that ....

[Not Iowa]

Thank you for posting the pictures! I haven't been to Davenport yet, but would like to go over for a weekend visit.

[mfrerkes]

Downtown Davenport has come a long way since the 1980s when the city was in its darkest days. Hopefully, the redevelopment will continue for decades to come. The Quad Cities is only beginning to realize the full potential of having something as special as the Mississippi running through it. Coupled with the progress in Rock Island and Moline over the last 15 years, Davenport has added even more vibrancy to the Quad Cities' riverfront.

[tollfree]

Of course, it's still light-years behind Des Moines. The NY times said so.

[mfrerkes]

Originally Posted by RonnieJonez

Of course, it's still light-years behind Des Moines. The NY times said so.

Of course it is...nothing will ever be as cool as downtown Des Moines. But, considering what downtown Davenport used to be, the recent transformation is noteworthy. In the 80s, downtown Davenport was one of the most depressing spots in the country.

[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 remember fairly in-the-know people on some DSM forums being surprised to learn that Davenport had the state's first 3D IMAX. They didn't know we had an IMAX at all, or even a science museum. Part of that problem comes from half the QC amenities being in Illinois, such as Niabi Zoo, the i wireless Center, etc.

Davenport may be behind Cedar Rapids in city population, but our metro population is bigger than even "the corridor" of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. Lumping those into one metro is a stretch in my book anyway. When you start talking tourism and quality of life amenities, I feel we're competing more with DSM than Cedar Rapids or Sioux City. Obviously being the state capital and having the amount of corporate investment that they do, DSM has one of the most impressive skylines for a metro of under a million. Just don't forget that it isn't the only city in Iowa.

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.

[metro223]

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)

[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?