A Brief History Lesson
Peek Into The Past
When Hotel Blackhawk opened in 1915, the city of Davenport was experiencing an economic boom.The Capitol Theatre, the John O’Donnell baseball stadium (now called the Modern Woodmen Park), the Kahl Building and the Parker Building are a few of the structures built during that time that are still standing today.
By the 1920s, the hotel’s owners were able to add four more floors to the original seven-story structure, creating a glorious 11-story, 400-room brick hotel. The hotel hosted some of the most recognizable names in American history, from Guy Lombardo and his big band to Cary Grant to world heavyweight champ Jack Dempsey and presidents Richard Nixon and Herbert Hoover.
In April 2009, Hotel Blackhawk was sold to an experienced, enthusiastic hotel renovation company, Restoration Saint Louis. Just 18 months later, crowds of dedicated historians, enthralled guests and an entire community of well-wishers eagerly anticipate an all-new era of hospitality. The rest, as they say, is history….in the making, that is.
PAST GUESTS SHARE THEIR STORIES
Residents of Davenport, Iowa, have long honored the Hotel Blackhawk’s past and now serve as enthusiastic ambassadors for its bright future. To hear a few of their nostalgic memories of the hotel, click here.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
My husband, Ray Phillips, along with the Davenport Bank owned the Blackhawk Hotel in the early 80′s. I would like to share some interesting facts with the new owners if you could please pass it on.
Ray was the owner of Phillips Ent, a large mechanical contracting company, who oversaw the renovation of the Blackhawk back then. Ray, at the insistence of VO Figge (now deceased), President of Davenport Bank & Trust (now owned by Wells Fargo) involved the bank trustees as well as Ray in a partnership. At first Ray did not want to undertake the renovation because he knew it would involve extensive, even unknown problems, which it did. At one point, one end of the building almost fell down because of foundation problems, but Ray worked through the night, actually risking his life, to pour concrete to prevent a disaster.
As the project evolved Ray encountered many set backs, but kept pushing on to get it done. Part way though it, VO brought in a new architect which added many additional costs. VO asked Ray to keep the additional costs secret from the board, and promised to pay him for all his work.
Several months away from the grand opening, Ray’s wife Agnes was killed when her car was hit by a train, but Ray put his grief aside to finish the hotel.
It was during the renovation that I met Ray. I was a TV news reporter at KWQC and was sent out to interview him at the Sundance Club which was not yet finished. Months later, after his wife died, I ran into Ray again right before the grand opening. I was single and sent him flowers wishing him good luck with the opening. I never heard anything back, but months later ran into him again and said, “You are the only man I ever sent flowers to …that never thanked me.” He remarked, “It was YOU. I called all the Kathryn’s I knew.” When we got married in 1983, the QC Times ran the story of how I sent flowers and how we met at the Blackhawk.
What a lot of people don’t know is that my 3 kids and I lived at the Blackhawk for abut 6 weeks in his suite, while Ray was renovating our home before we got married. Most people also don’t realize that it was Ray who had the idea to shut off the street and build the River Center and used his own money to pay for the architect. He was a leader ahead of his time in downtown development, and was always thinking of ways to better the downtown area.
Ray operated the hotel for about 2 years successfully but never recovered from the additional costs to finish the hotel. During that time the bank board was sited for violation of the Burt Lance Law and so they had to get out of the hotel business.
Ray almost succeeded in building the River Tower Plaza (office and residential condos, restaurant, and health club), behind the hotel, even had $9-million allocated from HUD, but once VO found out that his building would be higher than the Davenport Bank, he said, “If Ray Phillips thinks he will build a building higher than the Davenport Bank, he must be on drugs.” Figge had told Ray he could have land behind behind the hotel to build it, but then backed out and the building never happened. He still has all the drawings for that and even had a small scale model displayed in downtown Davenport for months.
Another time Ray bought in the second biggest developer in the country and he wanted to make over the downtown area, even offering to put in $100,000 to kick it off, but the Davenport Bank stopped that very quickly.
In the end the loss threw his company of 35 years into bankruptcy and even caused us to lose our home. His company was worth $7-million when this happened and we have never recovered although Ray did start another company which he operated until 2000. Ray is 90 now and has forgiven those who defrauded him albeit hard to lose EVERYTHING when you just wanted to do something good for the city.
I write this to give you some history, to honor my husband, and also to wish you the very best. I love the Blackhawk and wish you every success. When John Connelly bought in his gambling boat, we presented him with a beautiful picture of the hotel painted by local artist, Paul Norton. In addition we have 2 old B&W pictures if you are interested in them. I might have some other mementos to include menus, pictures, etc.
I would love to come to the Grand Opening and bring Ray. All of what I told you can be verified by articles that were in the QC Times. It doesn’t matter now, because both Ray and I are ones that don’t waste our time looking backwards. By the way, when Ray was 80 he build the Women’s Choice Center, a prolife medical center, across from Planned Parenthood in Bettendorf, As a result, in the last 8 years, many woman have been given better choices for life and hundreds of babies saved from abortion. He now says that was the most important building he ever built.
Don’t expect you to do anything with this information, but did want you know some history you won’t read about in the newspaper. God bless you for giving the old hotel a face lift and for helping to bring new life and jobs to downtown Davenport,
Sincerely,
Kathryn Bohn
This story brought tears to my eyes, especially the part on how you all met and you brining honor to your husband! The work was not in vain and your husband will always be remembered!
It sounds like your husband kept his priorites straight–family, personal ethics, integrity, & respect for life. That’s an even bigger legacy to leave behind than engineering feats, & will have eternal rewards. God bless both of you!
Thank you so much for your history and sharing of it — both you and your husband Ray. How wonderful to have people like you and your husband who rise above the junk of life, for the betterment of a town. Really, so very inspiring.
It looks like the renovation is beautiful. I look forward to viewing it in person.
Thanks.
In the spring of 1976, my wife, a teacher in St. Charles, IL., attended a Special Education Conference at the Blackhawk Hotel in Downtown Davenport. The conference began on Friday with break-out sessions in the meeting rooms and a banquet with keynote speaker in the Gold Room. She stayed overnight since the conference continued on Saturday. She recalls the luncheon on Saturday was a delicious ham and asparagus roll-up with cheese sauce accompanied by lyonaise potatoes. We are looking forward to our upcoming stay.
I worked at the Blackhawk for many years in the 80′s… I was actually doing night audit the night they wheeled Cary Grant out…. I have many fond memories of the hotel… I will be back in the area in April/May timeframe and plan on coming in to see the changes and how the refurbish went. It looks amazing.
I remember you, Jo Anne!
My work at the Blackhawk included busboy (’86), waiter (’88) and desk/audit (’90). I was truly saddened when I learned of the fire and what had become of the hotel.
Last New Year’s, my wife and I attended an event in Davenport and stayed at the Blackhawk during its “soft opening,” and I can report that the the place looks amazing. We are planning to stay again next New Year’s.
James
In 1958 I flew to the Quad Cities airport and stayed in your Hotel because my brother played minor league baseball for a Cedar Rapids team and they were in town to play Davenport. I was just 17 and I can still remember the Hotel. I have viewed your pictures of the renovation and love what you have done with this historic property! Congratulations! My daughter now lives in Davenport and I am planning a trip to see her, and of course, will want a tour and plan on dining at your beautiful Hotel!
My mother worked in a flower shop for many years at the Blackhawk back in the 80’s and I remember stopping in to see her and doing some wondering around. To see it today is amazing. If anyone has ever been there in the past, you must come see it now. If you have never been then I highly recommend you stop in and see the beauty of this grand old hotel. I recently visited it with someone much younger than I who had never been in the Blackhawk and her remark was that she couldn’t believe she was still in the Quad Cities!
I worked at the front desk of the Blackhawk Hotel while I was a senior at Augustana in the early 90s. I have some great memories of my time working there, and I hope the friendly ghosts still roam the halls of the newly remodeled hotel. It looks like an amazing renovation, and I look forward to seeing it in person
Our Dad, Marvin Bankson, owned and operated the Blackhawk Barbershop back in the 1950′s and 60′s. While there our Dad made many happy memories for his children. He and our Mom, Loretta, raised us in the Westend of Davenport (Robert, Ronald, Lori, Randy, Renae, Eric, Marla & Trina). After dad completed Barber college in Des Moines on October 16, 1956 he went to work for Mr. Merle Yoergler at the “Blackhawk Barber Shop”. Mr. Yoergler retired @ 1961 and that’s when our Dad took over the business. Dad owned that business until @ 1965 when the Blackhawk decided to close the shop. Dad then relocated to the Hotel Mississippi in 1965 and opened “The Executive Barber Shop”. He was in the Hotel Mississippi until @ 1972. Here are some of our memories.
I’m Marvin Bankson’s second oldest son Ron, born in 1953, and I remember going to my dad’s window-front barbershop a lot at the Blackhawk Hotel from 1961 to 1965. My memories are of always going there with my older brother Bob. My father was very handsome and kind to us when we went to see him during week-day evenings or on Saturdays. Our mother Loretta would take us there and Dad would drive us home. While at his shop we would listen to dad talk with his customers. I used to look around his shop at the bottles of hair tonics on the shelves – the smells of which were kind of overwhelming. But it was his big jar of quarters from customer tips that I liked to eye. In those days a quarter tip was big. His customers were always friendly to us. Dad would sometimes reach into that jar and give Bob & I a coin or two. Dad’s barber chairs seemed huge to me with those long handles embedded in their sides for pumping up or down the person getting a hair cut. In those days I got a ‘cut it short’ and Bob a ‘flat top’. I remember those special kid-seats that would be set across the top of the arms of the barber chair. I loved looking at that jar of quarters thinking I wonder if a coin or two more might come my way. My dad’s main working friend at the barbershop then was a man named Merle Yoergler who was a gentle man. And dad’s equally fond friend named Don Payton – a wonderful kind black man who shined shoes on a now old-fashioned chair and Don was so helpful to my father and so good to Bob and I. Dad would take us into the lobby of the Blackhawk to talk with his friends and my uncle Larry who worked there, and what a splendid hotel interior it was. It seemed so large and luxurious at the time. I recall good times being young when my dad worked at the Blackhawk Hotel. I haven’t been back there since 1965 although
we’re planning a visit soon with our family in 2011.
Lori Hambright (Bankson) – I remember dad letting us reach our hand in the cash register and grab as many pennies as we could hold in one hand which wasn’t many since I couldn’t of been more then five, but at the time seemed like a million dollars. Then he’d trade them in for quarters and prop us up to the pinball Machine. That would keep us busy for awhile. I also remember watching DP (Don Payton) shine shoes, the way he snapped that towel was fascinating. DP once showed me step by step how to shine a shoe, he was a very kind an patient man. I also think there was a restaurant in the lower level, that’s also how we would use our pennies. It seemed like our own little secret place.
Does anybody remember the stuffed monkey in the window, that wasn’t at the Blackhawk, but part of downtown memories.
Randall Bankson – I remember being allowed to ride the Bus downtown early on Saturday morning’s. The Bus driver was good friends with Dad (think his name was Jim) so I didn’t have to pay as dad would settle up with him. I believe I was like 9 or 10 at that time. It was a different world back then.
I would get downtown and of course Dad would put me to work sweeping up hair etc for a few bits so that I would have spending money to go running around on. As I got a little older, an offer was made for me to help DP shine some shoes. Now the shoes that I got to work on were the ones that were dropped off for later pick up. Never was I to engage a customer wanting a shine. DP would pay me per pair, can’t even recall the amount back then. I thought I was pretty GOOD and I’ll be darned, DP would let me do two or three pairs almost every time I came in. Come to find out later in life that Dad was funding my little enterprise. DP was the one that would pay me and tell me what a fine shine I put on them shoes. However, he would have to redo them before any customers arrived to pick them up. I was clueless, thought I had some serious shining skills going on. Should have known though since I never could get that old towel to snap and hum the way ole’ DP did.
Reading through my Grandfather’s (Rick Christensen) diaries, I’ve learned that he performed a four month stint at the Blackhawk Hotel during 1926 with the Reece-Hughes Orchestra. They were hired by Mr. Ki Northington, and enjoyed “a delightful engagement, most considerately treated by the management and received with acceptance bordering on adoration, by the public.” Unfortunately, Mr. Reece, the bandleader had alcohol issues which ultimately led to the end of the engagement at the Blackhawk, and relocation to the Hotel Fort Des Moines, under new management as the Paul Christensen orchestra, where they enjoyed many years of success. I have had the pleasure to visit the (restored) Hotel Ft. Des Moines. I look forward very much to staying at the Blackhawk, and visiting Davenport. Thank you.
Wow!!!!, What a fantastic jewel. Who knew- I am definitively bringing my wife back next time I am in town!!!! 5+ stars.