West End Neighborhood
West End Emerges Again
The name “West End” has been embraced once again. Beginning in 2008, the Longview and Old Chicago neighborhoods began holding joint meetings at House of Fire Ministries, located in the Douglas Park neighborhood. Then in 2009, organizers decided to join efforts as a single neighborhood association.“We felt that our interests in each of the neighborhoods were very similar, and duplicating efforts among the three neighborhoods didn’t make much sense and was spreading our resources too thin,” said Kim Callaway-Thompson, the Longview Neighborhood Coalition board member who became the West End Neighborhood Association leader.
The West End area generally covers the Douglas Park, Old Chicago and Longview neighborhoods, although some involvement for the neighborhood extends to the area south of 18th Avenue. Much of the neighborhood organizing activity in the three neighborhoods has been supported by the Community Caring Conference.
The term “West End” was unofficially used for decades and even appeared in surveys and official city documents dating to the 1960s. It was during the City’s active neighborhood planning period in the 1990s, that the names Longview, Old Chicago and Douglas Park were selected by residents for smaller areas when planning documents were created and neighborhood associations were formed. But the new group liked the idea of not running away from a name, and turning what was once a negative term into a positive dynamic. So, the name “West End” was once again tapped as the moniker, combining the efforts of residents in all three neighborhoods.
Boundaries
The West End encompasses three neighborhoods, bounded by the Rock Island Parkway on the north and west, 18th Avenue on the south and 15th and 16th Streets on the east.Ward 1
Plans & Publications
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Neighborhood Association
West End Neighborhood AssociationNeighborhood Programs & Activities
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Public Facilities
- Centennial Bridge
- Central Fire Station
- Denkmann Park
- Douglas Park
- Great River Trail
- Longview Park
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center
- Rauch Park
- Rock Island Academy Elementary School
- Thurgood Marshall Learning Center
- Whitewater Junction Aquatic Center
Historic Register Properties in the Neighborhood
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Contact Us
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Planning & Redevelopment Division
1528 Third Avenue
Rock Island, IL 61201
Phone: (309) 732-2900
Fax: (309) 732-2930
Email
Hours
Monday - Friday
8 a.m. - 5 p.m.