Central Office Building - Misplaced Pages

United States historic place


Central Office Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district Contributing property


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Location	230 W. 3rd St. Davenport, Iowa
Coordinates	41°31′21″N 90°34′35″W / 41.52250°N 90.57639°W / 41.52250; -90.57639
Area	less than one acre
Built	1904, 1906
Architect	Gustav Hansen Clausen & Clausen
Architectural style	Early Commercial
Part of	Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District (ID100005546)
MPS	Davenport MRA
NRHP reference No.	83002411
Added to NRHP	July 7, 1983

Central Office Building is a historic building located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It has been individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983. In 2020 it was included as a contributing property in the Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District. It is located in the center of a block with other historic structures. It now houses loft apartments.

History

The Central Office Building was built in two phases. The western half of the building is the oldest section of the structure that began in the 1850s as a brick church. It was remodeled into a 4-story building sometime between 1866 and 1881 by the Woeber Brothers for their carriage production facility and showroom. In 1887, Henry F. Petersen, who owned the J.H.C. Petersen's Sons' Store on Second and Main Streets, had the carriage building remodeled for a furniture store. Petersen was prominent in wholesale and retail goods in the city and his buildings housed his various interests. In 1904, Gustav Hansen designed the first phase of Petersen’s Central Office Building for $24,000. Two years later Clausen & Clausen designed the second phase. The building was constructed with retail businesses housed on the street level and office space above. Some of the early businesses included Spencer Furniture Company, Schiller Piano Company, and the Huebotter Furniture Company. Multiple retailers continue to fill the street level. Architectural firm Clausen & Kruse, formerly known as Clausen & Clausen, had offices on the third floor of the Central Office Building. The upper floors have subsequently been converted into loft apartments.

Architecture

The building is four stories and constructed of brick. The façade is divided into seven bays with three bays on either side of a central bay that contains a stairwell to serve the upper floors. The pier and spandrel facade suggests the building's structural system, and it was used again in the J.H.C. Petersen's Sons Wholesale Building and that was also built by Petersen and designed by Clausen & Clausen. While it appears symmetrical at first closer inspection reveals that it is not. The bays on the west are sized to accommodate groups of three double-hung windows. The bays of the east are narrower and are designed to accommodate a pair of double-hung windows. The building also features pilasters with rolled edges and homed gargoyles that run through the upper elevation of the building. A simple cornice tops the building and raised parapets mark the two portions of the building.

The building shows elements of the Victorian and the Chicago Commercial styles. The cornice and the grotesques on the capitals are all Victorian while the expression of the structure in the façade reflects the Commercial.

References

^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
^ Jennifer Irsfeld James. "National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District" (PDF). Downtown Davenport, Iowa. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
Martha Bowers; Marlys Svendsen-Roesler. "National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Central Office Building". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-04-16. with photo
^ "Central Office Building" (PDF). Davenport Public Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-17. Retrieved 2010-11-01.

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Related	National Historic Preservation Act Historic Preservation Fund List of jails and prisons on the National Register of Historic Places University and college buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places portal Category

v t e Historic buildings and structures in Davenport, Iowa
Apartment buildings	Argyle Flats Ferdinand Ewert Building Hiller Building Linden Flats Old City Hall Roslyn Flats Walsh Flats/Langworth Building Warner Apartment Building Washington Flats
Civic buildings	Davenport City Hall Davenport Public Library Scott County Courthouse Scott County Jail United States Post Office and Court House
Clubhouses	Hauschild's Hall Hibernia Hall Lend-A-Hand Club Northwest Davenport Turner Society Hall Outing Club Saengerfest Halle Wupperman Block/I.O.O.F. Hall
Commercial buildings	Henry Berg Building Brammer Grocery Store Building at 202 W. Third Street Building at 813–815 W. Second Street Building at 1119–1121 W. Third Street Central Office Building City Market Democrat Building Donahue Building Ficke Block Finley Guy Building Forrest Block Frick's Tavern Hoffman Building Iowa Reform Building Kahl Building Koch Drug Store Koenig Building Nicholas Koester Building Meiser Drug Store Miller Building Mueller Lumber Company Peters' Barber Shop J.H.C. Petersen's Sons' Store J.H.C. Petersen's Sons Wholesale Building Prien Building Priester Building Putnam-Parker Block Charles F. Ranzow and Sons Building Jacob Raphael Building Renwick Building Riepe Drug Store/G. Ott Block Schmidt Block Schroeder Bros. Meat Market Rudolph H. Sitz Building Washington Gardens Werthman Grocery Wolters Filling Station Col. Joseph Young Block
Financial buildings	Davenport Bank and Trust First Federal Savings and Loan Association Building First National Bank Building First National Bank of Davenport Northwest Davenport Savings Bank Union Savings Bank and Trust
Fire houses	Central Fire Station Hose Station No. 1 Hose Station No. 3 Hose Station No. 4 Hose Station No. 6 Hose Station No. 7
Hotels	Burtis–Kimball House Hotel Clifton-Metropolitan Hotel Davenport Hotel Germania-Miller/Standard Hotel Blackhawk Hotel Hotel Mississippi-RKO Orpheum Theater Schauder Hotel
Industrial	Davenport Bag and Paper Company Building The Linograph Company Building Littig Brothers/Mengel & Klindt/Eagle Brewery Schick's Express and Transfer Co. Shields Woolen Mill Woeber Carriage Works Zoller Bros-Independent Malting Co.
Structures	Dillon Memorial W.D. Petersen Memorial Music Pavilion Soldier's Monument
Transportation	Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Freight House SAINTE GENEVIEVE (dredge) Union Station and Burlington Freight House
Utilities	American Telephone & Telegraph Co. Building Davenport Water Co. Pumping Station No. 2 Union Electric Telephone & Telegraph WOC Broadcasting Center
Miscellaneous	Clarissa C. Cook Library/Blue Ribbon News Building Clarissa Cook Home for the Friendless Davenport Crematorium St. Luke's Hospital
Davenport Register of Historic Properties National Register of Historic Places listings in Davenport, Iowa

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