Misplaced Pages

Union Savings Bank and Trust
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Show map of IowaShow map of the United States
Location	229 Brady St. Davenport, Iowa
Coordinates	41°31′20″N 90°34′25″W / 41.52222°N 90.57361°W / 41.52222; -90.57361
Area	less than one acre
Built	1915, 1924
Built by	Hoggson Bros. (1924) Tunnicliff Construction Co. (1946)
Architect	Temple & Burrows
Architectural style	Classical Revival
Part of	Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District (ID100005546)
MPS	Davenport MRA
NRHP reference No.	83002520
Added to NRHP	July 07, 1983

The Union Arcade is an apartment building located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. The building was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 by its original name Union Savings Bank and Trust. Originally, the building was built to house a bank and other professional offices. Although it was not the city's largest bank, and it was not in existence all that long, the building is still associated with Davenport's financial prosperity between 1900 and 1930. From 2014 to 2015 the building was renovated into apartments and it is now known as Union Arcade Apartments. In 2020 it was included as a contributing property in the Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District.

History

Union Savings Bank was established in Davenport in 1891. The bank moved to its Brady Street location around the turn of the 20th century It had previously been the location of Davenport National Bank until Union Savings Bank took it over. The lower level of the present building was completed around 1915 and the upper floors of the building were completed in 1924 for $820,000 according to the designs by the Davenport architectural firm Temple & Burrows. Hoggson Brothers, a New York bank construction company, was the general contractor in 1924.

As the bank grew it started to acquire other banks in the city. In the 1920s it merged with Davenport Savings Bank and Scott County Savings Bank and was renamed Union Savings Bank and Trust Company. After the start of the Great Depression many banks failed or were severely weakened. One of those banks was First National Bank, which Union Savings Bank and Trust took over before the Bank Holiday in 1933. The other Davenport banks who survived up to this time included: American Commercial and Savings Bank, Bechtel Trust Company, Northwest Davenport Savings Bank, and Home Savings Bank. The bank, however, was not one of the banks to emerge after the Bank Holiday. In 1946 a $75,000 renovation of the former banking hall created two floors of retail stores, which was when the building was renamed the Union Arcade. Davenport architectural firm Kruse & Parish designed the renovation and Tunnicliff Construction Company was the general contractor. Professional offices occupied the upper floors.

Rodney Blackwell of Financial District Properties bought the Union Arcade in late 2013 for $1.65 million. In March 2014 a renovation project began to turn the building into 68 market-rate apartments with commercial space on the main level. The $16.65 million project was completed in May 2015. Three of the apartments are lofts and the rest are studios and one- and two-bedroom units. The mezzanine was converted into a resident lounge and a laundry room. The building's original marble floors were retained in the common areas, and the mail chute and historic doors were left in place for appearances.

Architecture

The building is a seven-story, L-shaped structure designed in the Neoclassical and the emerging Chicago Commercial Style. It is 125 feet (38 m) tall. The main façade of the building fronted Brady Street, with its secondary façade on East Third Street. It is built of limestone and it has a limestone foundation. The Neoclassical details are found primarily on the street level façade, which was the part of the building constructed around 1915. When it was built it had columns in the Ionic order at the street level side on Brady Street. On the north side, the columns become pilasters featuring the Corinthian order.

The upper floors were constructed nine years after the lower level of the building. It is here that the Chicago Commercial Style is in evidence. The windows are stacked in pairs between the vertical piers and are themselves separated by decorative metal spandrel panels. The top of the building features a heavy cornice.

Kruse & Parish was the architectural firm that remodeled the building's storefront to function as the Union Arcade. It is probably at that time that the Ionic columns were removed from the building. The mezzanine level, which provides a transition to the upper levels, was also added at that time.

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. ^ Jennifer Irsfeld James. "National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District" (PDF). Downtown Davenport, Iowa. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
3. Svendsen, Marlys A.; Bowers, Martha H. (1982). Davenport where the Mississippi runs west: A Survey of Davenport History & Architecture. Davenport, Iowa: City of Davenport. p. 5.4.
4. ^ "Union Savings Bank & Trust" (PDF). Davenport Public Library. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
5. Svendsen & Bowers 1982, p. 5.5.
6. Jennifer DeWitt (March 10, 2014). "$13M renovation of Union Arcade begins". Quad-City Times. Davenport. Retrieved 2015-04-18.
7. Jennifer DeWitt (May 2, 2015). "Union Arcade holds onto history in new life as apartments". Quad-City Times. Davenport. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
8. "Union Arcade Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on July 31, 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
9. Martha Bowers; Marlys Svendsen-Roesler. "National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Union Savings Bank and Trust". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-04-18. with photo

External links

Media related to Union Arcade (Davenport, Iowa) at Wikimedia Commons

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

• Office buildings completed in 1924
• Neoclassical architecture in Iowa
• Apartment buildings in Davenport, Iowa
• Bank buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa
• National Register of Historic Places in Davenport, Iowa
• Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Iowa