Hotel Blackhawk

Hotel Blackhawk is a historic hotel in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. The eleven-story brick and terra-cotta building occupies a prominent position beside the RiverCenter convention complex and near the Adler Theatre, making it both an accommodation business and an important component of the city's downtown events infrastructure. Although the property is independently owned and operated, it joined Marriott's Autograph Collection in 2013, placing it within a global distribution and marketing network while preserving its individual identity. The hotel opened in 1915 as the New Fireproof Hotel Blackhawk. Its first phase contained seven floors and 225 rooms, and the building was expanded in 1920 to eleven floors and approximately 400 rooms. The project was developed by Davenport businessman W. F. Miller, with construction handled initially by McCarthy Improvement Company and later by Walsh Company. Designed by Temple & Burrows with Arthur Ebeling serving as an associate, the structure combines Italian Renaissance and simplified Renaissance Revival features with early modern and Art Deco influences. Its dark brick exterior, white terra cotta detailing, rusticated lower level, corner pilasters, and vertically organized façade distinguish it from many of Davenport's more monochromatic commercial buildings. During its early decades, the Blackhawk operated as a large civic and social hotel. Its ballroom, dining rooms, and entertainment spaces hosted touring big bands and other public events. The hotel also became associated with prominent visitors, including United States presidents Herbert Hoover, Richard Nixon, and Barack Obama, as well as writer Carl Sandburg and boxer Jack Dempsey. Actor Cary Grant was staying at the hotel when he died in Davenport. Rooms 412 through 414 were later designated the Nixon Suite, reflecting the property's accumulated political and cultural associations. The business expanded beyond its original property during the twentieth century. In 1916, the Blackhawk Hotel Corporation acquired the Davenport Hotel, and over the following two decades it purchased hotels in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in Des Moines and Mason City, Iowa. The corporation was reorganized in 1935, when it also added or enlarged several public spaces, including the Junior Ballroom, Gold Room, and Pompeian Room. The property experienced severe financial and operational difficulties in the 1970s. Proposed conversion to low-rent housing for older residents was abandoned, followed by foreclosure proceedings, bankruptcy, failed sales, and changes in control. The building was closed after a 1976 sheriff's sale and remained empty until Phillips Enterprises initiated a major renovation in 1978. The refurbished hotel reopened to public attention in 1979 and became part of Davenport's broader downtown redevelopment, including the Super Block and the emerging convention center later known as the RiverCenter. Ownership subsequently passed through John E. Connelly's development and gaming interests and, in 2000, to Isle of Capri Casinos through its acquisition of Davenport's riverboat gambling operation. A serious 2006 fire, reported to have begun in a methamphetamine laboratory on the eighth floor, occurred during a period of deterioration. The City of Davenport later took control of the property. In 2008, a development agreement transferred ownership to Hotel Blackhawk, LLC, an affiliate of Restoration St. Louis, which undertook a reported multimillion-dollar restoration. Demolition began in early 2009, renovation followed in April, and the hotel reopened on December 15, 2010. The restored property combined historic elements with contemporary lodging, food-and-beverage, recreation, and event facilities. The reopened hotel included guestrooms, extended-stay rooms, one- and two-bedroom apartments, a restaurant and lounge, shops, a fitness center, swimming pool, business center, recreated basement bowling alley, and meeting and banquet facilities including the renovated Gold Room. The historic atrium was restored and an east-side entrance was added. The hotel also participates in the Quad Cities Event Center marketing partnership with the RiverCenter/Adler Theatre and the nearby Radisson Quad City Plaza Hotel. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and became a contributing property in the Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District in 2020.

The site of Hotel Blackhawk was previously occupied by the Saratoga Hotel. Davenport businessman W. F. Miller developed a replacement property known as the New Fireproof Hotel Blackhawk. The first seven floors, containing 225 rooms, were completed on February 16, 1915, at a reported construction cost of $1 million. McCarthy Improvement Company served as general contractor for the initial work. In 1920, floors eight through eleven were added under Walsh Company, expanding the building to approximately 400 rooms. The hotel quickly became an important commercial and social institution in Davenport. In 1916, the Blackhawk Hotel Corporation purchased the Davenport Hotel two blocks away. During the next two decades, the corporation also acquired hotels in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in Des Moines and Mason City, Iowa. A 1935 reorganization coincided with improvements to the Davenport property, including construction of a Junior Ballroom, enlargement of the Gold Room, and creation of the Pompeian Room dining area. The mezzanine could accommodate large gatherings, including meals for as many as 1,000 people. A sidewalk canopy replaced the original entrance marquee in 1955. Architecturally, the building was designed by Temple & Burrows, with Davenport architect Arthur Ebeling as an associate. Its design blends Italian Renaissance and Renaissance Revival references with modern Art Deco tendencies. Rusticated stonework marks the entry level, while granite pedestals, terra-cotta corner pilasters, and decorative second-floor window pediments provide the principal historic detailing. The dark brick and light terra cotta create a distinctive contrast. The building's U-shaped plan allowed more rooms to receive windows, daylight, and air circulation. Adding the upper floors required removal of the original cornice, giving the completed form a more Moderne-like termination. The hotel hosted political, cultural, and entertainment figures over the decades. Its guests and visitors included Presidents Herbert Hoover, Richard Nixon, and Barack Obama; writer Carl Sandburg; and boxer Jack Dempsey. Big bands including Guy Lombardo and Stan Kenton performed at the hotel. Actor Cary Grant was staying there when he died in Davenport. Rooms 412 through 414 were later identified as the Nixon Suite. The property's twentieth-century history also included repeated financial crises. In 1967 it was sold to George Norman & Co., which sold it two years later to Blackhawk American Corporation for more than $1 million. A 1969 renovation was followed by conversion of the heating system from coal and oil to natural gas in 1970. In 1971, the owners proposed converting the hotel into a 300-unit low-rent facility for elderly residents. Mortgage foreclosure proceedings began that year, and federal housing financing was delayed. The conversion plan was dropped in January 1972, but the property's financial problems continued. Shareholders were told in December 1973 that the hotel was bankrupt, a foreclosure suit was filed in 1974, and government-held sales and auctions failed to attract an immediate purchaser. Blackhawk Hotel Associates, a Knightsbridge subsidiary, acquired the property for $1.2 million in January 1975. After a furnishings auction and an initial renovation phase, Davenport Bank and Trust Company foreclosed on a $990,000 mortgage. A judge ordered the hotel closed on June 29, 1976, and the bank acquired it at a sheriff's sale later that year. The building remained vacant until Phillips Enterprises undertook a major renovation in 1978. The work was completed in 1979, and more than 7,000 people toured the restored building at its public reopening. The Sundance Social Club became its restaurant. The Blackhawk formed part of Davenport's Super Block development, whose first convention-center phase opened in 1983 and later became the RiverCenter. The hotel served as the convention center's caterer. It was individually placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. John E. Connelly acquired the hotel in 1990 and incorporated it into a wider gambling-related business that included the President riverboat. The property passed to Isle of Capri Casinos in 2000 when that company acquired Davenport's riverboat gambling operation. A fire on February 12, 2006, reportedly began in a methamphetamine laboratory on the eighth floor. The incident occurred after years of deterioration under Isle of Capri ownership. The City of Davenport took over the property, and in October 2008 it signed a development agreement transferring ownership to Hotel Blackhawk, LLC, an affiliate of Restoration St. Louis. The affiliate announced a restoration costing more than $46 million. BSI Construction served as general contractor; demolition began in January 2009 and renovation in April. The hotel reopened on December 15, 2010. The restoration preserved historic features while adding modern hospitality facilities. The atrium was restored, an east-side entrance was created, and the building gained apartments, guestrooms, extended-stay rooms, restaurants, shops, a lounge, meeting and banquet facilities, a fitness center, pool, business center, and a recreated basement bowling alley. In September 2010, the hotel joined the RiverCenter/Adler Theatre and Radisson Quad City Plaza Hotel in the Quad Cities Event Center cooperative marketing arrangement. On March 6, 2013, Hotel Blackhawk, LLC entered the property into Marriott's Autograph Collection. The hotel remains a downtown Davenport landmark and an event-oriented lodging property.

• 2020

  Recognized as a contributing historic property

  [1]Hotel Blackhawken.wikipedia.org

  Hotel Blackhawk is included as a contributing property in the Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District.

• 2013

  Joins Autograph Collection

  [1]Hotel Blackhawken.wikipedia.org

  The property becomes part of Marriott's Autograph Collection of independently owned hotels.

• 2010

  Hotel reopens after restoration

  [1]Hotel Blackhawken.wikipedia.org

  A large-scale restoration concludes with the hotel's reopening on December 15.

• 2006

  Fire damages deteriorating property

  [1]Hotel Blackhawken.wikipedia.org

  A fire reported on the eighth floor precedes municipal intervention and a later redevelopment agreement.

• 1983

  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places

  [1]Hotel Blackhawken.wikipedia.org

  The building receives individual National Register recognition and becomes part of Davenport's heritage landscape.

• 1979

  Major renovation completed

  [1]Hotel Blackhawken.wikipedia.org

  Phillips Enterprises completes a major renovation and reopens the property to the public.

• 1976

  Hotel closes after foreclosure

  [1]Hotel Blackhawken.wikipedia.org

  Following mortgage foreclosure and a sheriff's sale, the hotel is ordered closed and remains vacant.

• 1972

  Senior-housing conversion abandoned

  [1]Hotel Blackhawken.wikipedia.org

  Plans to convert the hotel into low-rent housing for elderly residents are dropped.

• 1935

  Public spaces enlarged

  [1]Hotel Blackhawken.wikipedia.org

  The corporation is reorganized, while the Junior Ballroom, Gold Room, and dining facilities are improved.

• 1920

  Building expanded to eleven floors

  [1]Hotel Blackhawken.wikipedia.org

  Four additional floors are completed, bringing the hotel to approximately 400 rooms.

• 1915

  First phase opens

  [1]Hotel Blackhawken.wikipedia.org

  The first seven floors of the New Fireproof Hotel Blackhawk open with 225 rooms.

Upper-upscale historic independent hotel with convention, banquet, and downtown-event capabilities

• Hotel accommodation · 1915

  Guest rooms

  The core offering is historic downtown hotel accommodation in a restored eleven-story building. The property reopened with approximately 130 guestrooms and combines preserved architectural character with contemporary lodging infrastructure. Its location beside the RiverCenter supports both leisure visits and convention-related stays.

• Extended-stay accommodation · 2010

  Extended-stay rooms and apartments

  The restored hotel added nine extended-stay rooms and 20 one- and two-bedroom apartments. These units broaden the property beyond conventional short hotel stays and support guests requiring additional living space in downtown Davenport.

• Meetings and banquets · 1935

  Gold Room and event facilities

  The Gold Room and other meeting and banquet areas provide facilities for conventions, weddings, receptions, business meetings, and civic events. The hotel's connection to the RiverCenter and its role as a convention-center caterer make event service a central part of its commercial identity.

• Food, beverage, and recreation · 2010

  Dining, lounge, and leisure facilities

  The property has included restaurants, lounges, shops, a fitness center, swimming pool, business center, and a recreated basement bowling alley. These amenities were part of the post-2009 restoration program intended to reposition the hotel as a full-service destination rather than accommodation alone.

• 2006

  Eighth-floor methamphetamine-laboratory fire

  A February 2006 fire reportedly began in a methamphetamine laboratory on the hotel's eighth floor. The incident became part of the property's troubled decline before the City of Davenport took control and a private restoration project was arranged.

  Source

Read more

• 2010Quad Cities Event Center

  Quad Cities region

  Hotel Blackhawk, the RiverCenter/Adler Theatre, and the Radisson Quad City Plaza Hotel established a cooperative marketing arrangement. The three separately operated properties promoted themselves as one connected event complex with skywalk links and approximately 116,700 square feet of combined space.

  Outcome. The arrangement positioned the hotel as part of a broader downtown convention and entertainment destination.

  Source

• 2013

  Entry into Marriott Autograph CollectionStrategy

  Background

  Following its restoration and reopening, the independently owned hotel sought broader hospitality-network distribution while retaining its individual historic identity.

  Action taken

  Hotel Blackhawk, LLC entered the property into Marriott's Autograph Collection on March 6, 2013.

  Aftermath

  The property continued operating as an individually owned hotel while using Marriott-associated marketing and reservation infrastructure.

  Source

• 2008

  Restoration and redevelopment agreementStrategy

  Background

  After deterioration, a 2006 fire, and municipal intervention, Davenport needed a redevelopment solution for the vacant historic property.

  Action taken

  The City of Davenport entered an agreement transferring ownership to Hotel Blackhawk, LLC, an affiliate of Restoration St. Louis, which proposed a large-scale restoration.

  Aftermath

  Construction began in 2009 and the restored hotel reopened in December 2010 with expanded lodging, dining, recreation, and event facilities.

  Announced restoration cost. $46 million-plus project announced (2008)

  Source

• 1971

  Proposed conversion to senior housingStrategy

  Background

  The financially troubled hotel faced a proposed conversion into approximately 300 low-rent units for elderly residents, supported in concept by Federal Housing Administration financing.

  Action taken

  The conversion plan was delayed and ultimately abandoned in January 1972, leaving the hotel operating as a conventional hotel until later financial failures.

  Aftermath

  Bankruptcy, foreclosure litigation, failed auctions, and eventual closure followed during the 1970s.

  Source

1. 1Hotel Blackhawken.wikipedia.org