Area: Augustana College campus and vicinity Pages: 24 Year Printed: 2002 Structures Featured: 18 .PDF Version: Click on image to left. (may take several minutes to download) Availability: Rock Island Public Library, Rock Island City Hall, Augustana College Publications Office, Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau Cost: Free

The City of Rock Island and Augustana College partnered to produce this brochure, flagship among the City’s extensive collection of area-specific walking tour brochures. This full-color brochure invites you to explore the rich architectural history of the Augustana College campus, which moved to Rock Island in 1875, and the neighborhood buildings that share in the college’s heritage. Discover the history behind the design of Old Main and the ties House on the Hill has to the largest wood products company in the world.

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Title: History & Architecture: Broadway Historic District

Area: 5th to 13th Avenues, 17th to 23rd Streets, Broadway Historic District Pages: 52 Year Printed: 2007 Structures Featured: 50 .PDF Version: Click on image to left (may take several minutes to download). Active hotlinks between building map and page descriptions. Availability: Rock Island Public Library, Rock Island City Hall, Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau Cost: Free Audio Tours: Click Here

This grand Victorian neighborhood is the premier historic area in Rock Island, where old houses are regarded as treasures. Great architecture, constant restorations, and a first rate neighborhood association have made this area the place to be in the Quad Cities for old house lovers. More than 550 homes make up the Broadway collection, which has copious examples of Queen Anne, Italianate and Colonial Revival architecture. Fifty of the most outstanding examples have been selected for this brochure.

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Title: Spencer Place / 19th Street Walking Tour

Area: 19th Street from 6th to 9th Avenues, Broadway Historic District Pages: 16 Year Printed: 1990 Structures Featured: 19 .PDF Version: Click on image to left. (may take several minutes to download) Availability: No longer in print. Cost: Free

This brochure is an early one in the collection and features one of the more picturesque areas of the Broadway Historic District. It highlights the 1854 Greek Revival style Buford House, among the various Italianate and Queen Anne homes. Three Rock Island Landmarks are in this area.

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Title: 20th Street Walking Tour

Area: 20th Street from 7th to 13th Avenues, Broadway Historic District Pages: 20 Year Printed: 1988 Structures Featured: 28 .PDF Version: Click on image to left. (may take several minutes to download) Availability: No longer in print. Cost: Free

Twentieth Street is a major roadway through the Broadway Historic District, showcasing some of the most statuesque homes in the neighborhood. This tour also features a trio of magnificent restorations at 715 20th Street, 720 20th Street and 1020 20th Street – all of which were boarded and abandoned and are prime examples of the renaissance of this neighborhood.

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Title: 22nd and 23rd Streets Walking Tour

Area: 22nd and 23rd Streets from 7th to 9th Avenues, Broadway Historic District Pages: 24 Year Printed: 1990 Structures Featured: 27 .PDF Version: Click on image to left. (may take several minutes to download) Availability: No longer in print. Cost: Free

The 22nd and 23rd Streets brochure includes very high style examples of architecture in the Broadway Historic District. Six Rock Island Landmarks are highlighted on this tour, in what is the highest concentration of Landmarks in the City. A brick street adds much to the ambience here.

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Title: Chicago Addition Walking Tour

Area: 2nd to 4th Avenues and 9th to 14th Streets, Old Town Chicago Neighborhood Pages: 28 Year Printed: 1992 Structures Featured: 30 .PDF Version: Click on image to left. (may take several minutes to download) Availability: Rock Island Public Library, Rock Island City Hall Cost: Free

Old Town Chicago is the oldest of Rock Island’s neighborhoods, platted in 1836. Homes here date to the 1850s and the buildings tell the story of how shopkeepers lived near their stores. This tour features residences, churches, flats, and stores, all in close proximity. Located just blocks from the Mississippi River and downtown Rock Island, the history of this neighborhood is inextricably linked to both.

This walk covers a six-block area in the core of Rock Island’s downtown, including those buildings located along the Great River Plaza. Notable office buildings, banks and retail establishments are featured. Six historically designated structures are included on this tour. Don’t miss the terra cotta and the cornices. Most importantly, look UP!

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Title: A Walking Tour of Western Downtown – Highlighting Commercial and Government Buildings

Area: 2nd & 3rd Avenues, 15th to 17th Streets Pages: 20 Year Printed: 1990 Structures Featured: 18 .PDF Version: Click on image to left. (may take several minutes to download) Availability: No longer in print. Cost: Free

Though none of the buildings from old Stephenson survive, this is the area where it all began. Remnants of the old river city remain today in the layout of the avenues, which parallel the river in this part of the city. This section of downtown has historically been dominated by public uses and retail. Visit and see the grand, historic office buildings of Modern Woodmen of America and Royal Neighbors.

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The ambience of the neighborhood is absolutely remarkable, aided in no small degree by the brick streets throughout. The highest style architectural revivals of the late 19th and early 20th century are present in Highland Park. Most of these homes were architect designed and have a great deal of original integrity. Adjacent to the historic district are two of the most well known estates in Rock Island: Villa de Chantal and Hauberg Civic Center.

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Title: The John Looney Legend Tour

Pages: 2 Year Printed: 2002 .PDF Version: Click on image to left. (may take several minutes to download) Availability: Rock Island Public Library, Rock Island City Hall Cost: Free

The Road to Perdition novels and movie have made the characters and exploits of John Rooney and Michael Sullivan well known. What you might not know is the inspiration for John Rooney came from a true Rock Island gangster, John P. Looney. This is the story of John Patrick Looney, the leader of vice, gambling, prostitution and murder in Rock Island in the early 1900s, as told through our buildings and sites. This tour touches on 19 sites and buildings affiliated with John Looney, including his stone mansion and the buildings that housed his notorious scandal sheet, The Rock Island News.

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Title: A Walking Tour of 1918 Government Housing

Area: 39th to 41st Streets from 15th to 18th Avenues Pages: 16 Year Printed: 1990 Structures Featured: 15 .PDF Version: Click on image to left. (may take several minutes to download) Availability: Rock Island Public Library, Rock Island City Hall Cost: Free

This brochure first introduced the citizens of Rock Island to the unique historical and architectural story of the United States Housing Corporation Houses. These 200 homes were built in six months in 1918-1919 near the end of World War I for war defense workers. This brochure features elevations and floor plans from 1918 juxtaposed with examples of those homes today. In 2000, the City sponsored the creation of a historic preservation plan for these homes. Find out more by clicking here.

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Title: KeyStone Neighborhood Driving Tour

Area: 39th to 46th Streets from 7th to 10th Avenues, KeyStone Neighborhood Pages: 32 Year Printed: 1997 Structures Featured: 27 .PDF Version: Click on image to left. (may take several minutes to download) Availability: Limited, by request only Cost: Free

KeyStone history is tied to the utopian dream of developer E.H. Guyer, who wanted a healthy residential area mid-way between Rock Island and Moline. Although Guyer’s “KeyStone District” was never realized, many ordinary citizens eventually built here looking for what Guyer promised. Most of the major styles prevalent in American architecture from the 1870s to the 1940s exist within the boundaries of KeyStone Neighborhood. Check out the splendid display of the uniquely Midwestern Foursquare homes.

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Title: Park View Addition Walking Tour

Area: 12th Avenue (4500 Block) and 1100-1200 blocks 45th Street, KeyStone Neighborhood Pages: 32 Year Printed: 1998 Structures Featured: 19 .PDF Version: Click on image to left. (may take several minutes to download) Availability: Rock Island Public Library, Rock Island City Hall Cost: Free

This corner of KeyStone Neighborhood developed sporadically from 1928 through the 1950s. It features a wonderful collection of brick and frame homes in the Tudor, Cape Cod, Spanish Revival and Bungalow styles. This distinct area even features what is believed to be Rock Island’s first Ranch style house. Folks of Swedish descent built many of these compact, highly detailed homes.

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Title: Rock Island’s Modernistic Architecture

Area: City-wide Pages: 50 Year Printed: 1997 Structures Featured: 22 .PDF Version: Click on image to left. (may take several minutes to download) Availability: Limited, by request only Cost: Free

This is the only one of Rock Island’s architectural tours to focus exclusively on an architectural style. The City contains some fantastic Art Deco and Art Moderne architecture, and this tour takes you all over the city to appreciate it. Featured buildings range from residences and a theater to offices and a car dealership. Form follows function as the beauty of structure is highlighted in Centennial Bridge. Architectural details and the interiors of significant buildings are showcased in multiple photographs. Six pages of text are devoted to the evolution of the modernistic movement internationally, and in the Midwest in particular.

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Title: Stroll These Sidewalks – Rock Island’s Historic Neighborhoods

Area: City-wide Pages: 2 (map style) Year Printed: 2002 Neighborhoods Featured: 14 .PDF Version: Click on image to left. (may take several minutes to download) Availability: Rock Island Public Library, Rock Island City Hall Cost: Free

Drive to 14 distinctive Rock Island neighborhoods, ranging from 700 buildings to just seven. The brochure features miniature maps, vivid photographs and striking architectural details. Visit the “painted ladies” of the Victorian period in Broadway, and then move to the minimalist cottages of World War II in Westlawn and Stadium Drive. Neighborhoods of the twentieth century are featured prominently in this publication.

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