page_title: Crescent Warehouse Historic District
section_title: Rock Island Railroad
hierarchical_section_title: Crescent Warehouse Historic District / History / Rock Island Railroad
caption_attribution_description: English: The sidewalk along East 5th Street in Davenport, Iowa. Rail sidings are embedded in the sidewalk. It is located in the Crescent Warehouse Historic District.
context_page_description: The Crescent Warehouse Historic District is a 10.5-acre historic district in Downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. The district is a collection of multi-story brick structures that formerly housed warehouses and factories. Most of the buildings have been converted into loft apartments. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
context_section_description: The area that would become the Crescent Warehouse Historic District was sparsely developed through the 1870s. In 1872 a new double-deck wagon and railroad bridge was built at the foot of Iowa Street across the Mississippi River. The new mainline of the Rock Island Railroad spurred development in the area. They built a new rail yard between Iowa Street and Front Street (now East River Drive) in the 1880s. Car repair shops and a roundhouse were begun in 1887. The woodworking industries hit their peak in the mid-1890s and as other industries moved into the area, the land around the Rock Island Railroad's mainline became more desirable. Also, after the decline in the woodworking industries the riverfront property in the downtown area where some of the mills were located became LeClaire Park in the early 20th century. The riverfront property on the east side of town reverted to other industries, especially after a disastrous fire in the wood yards near the Village of East Davenport.
  In the early 1890s, the eastern portion of the district was home to a few small-scale manufacturing facilities for the Crescent Mills, the Davenport Oatmeal Company, and the Reupke, Schmidt & Company Steam Bakery. West of Iowa Street was found small warehouses, small frame houses, larger rooming houses, a tavern, a lumber yard and the former location of Trinity Episcopal Church.
  The present Government Bridge was completed in 1895 on the piers of the 1872 bridge. The first level of the bridge was equipped to carry electric streetcars as well as other modes of transportation. The upper level continued to carry the Rock Island Railroad. In 1901 and 1902 the railroad right of way was elevated through the downtown area. Four tracks were placed on most of the elevated rail bed to accommodate the 70 passenger trains that passed through the city. A new passenger station was built three blocks to the west of Rock Island Avenue (the present Pershing Avenue). While not in the historic district it proved convenient for the traveling salesmen employed by the businesses that would make the district its home. At the same time that the mainline was being elevated rail sidings were being laid in the streets and alleys of the district to serve warehouse and factory customers. The infrastructure for the railroad was completed by 1910. At the same time, the Rock Island Railroad consolidated their old shops elsewhere and built a new freight station in response to the expanded need for rail freight.
caption: Rail sidings embedded in the sidewalk along East Fifth Street
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