Democrat Building is a historic building located in downtown Davenport, Iowa , United States. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. In 2020 it was included as a contributing property in the Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District . The historic newspaper building is now an apartment building known as The Democrat Lofts .
9-694: The Democrat Building was designed by a prominent Davenport architecture firm of Clausen & Kruse , and it was built in 1923. The firm also designed other historic buildings in Davenport including the Forrest Block , which is next door to the south, the Hibernia Hall , which is next door to the north, the Scott County Savings Bank, Davenport Municipal Stadium (now Modern Woodmen Park ), The Linograph Company Building , and
18-472: A $ 6 million renovation turned the building into 21 apartments. The building is considered significant because of its association with newspapers in Davenport, and as an example of the local influence of Louis Sullivan , whose work figures prominently in the history of American architecture. The two-storied, freestanding, brick structure with concrete block facing was designed by Davenport architect Rudolph J. Clausen . A historical survey in 1983 indicated that
27-485: A draftsman for Thomas W. McClelland a local architect of some note. He opened his own firm - F.G. Clausen - in Davenport in 1871, working alone until 1896, and then partnered with Parke Burrows until 1904. When Burrows left, Clausen's son Rudolph J. Clausen , joined the company, which then became known as Clausen & Clausen. Clausen retired in 1914, and his son continued in business as Clausen & Kruse with Walter O. "Stub" Kruse; and from 1925 with Carrol Klein as
36-686: Is still in business today, the oldest firm in continuous practice in the state of Iowa. Clausen has been termed the "premier 19th century architect" of Davenport, Iowa. F. G. Clausen was born in Eckernförde , Schleswig, Denmark, on 13 February 1848 or 1 May 1848. His official name in Eckernförde was: Fritz Georg Martin Clausen . He emigrated to the U.S. in 1869, but put his emigration request in Germany ( Kreis Eckernförde ) until 1871. He
45-646: The Daily Times . The merged newspapers became the Times-Democrat and is now known as the Quad-City Times . The building was sold to The Catholic Messenger , the newspaper for the Diocese of Davenport , in 1956. The building served as their headquarters for a couple of decades. The building also housed a dog training school, a vacuum cleaner salesroom, a dance hall and a specialty store. In 2014,
54-757: The W.D. Petersen Memorial Music Pavilion in LeClaire Park . The building was built for a local newspaper the Davenport Democrat , which was started in 1848 as the Democratic Banner . Its editorial philosophy was in keeping with that of the political party of the same name. Over the years the paper purchased the Gazette (1887) and the Evening Leader (1902). The paper was eventually bought by Lee Enterprises , which published
63-483: The building utilizes steel in its construction. It was completed for about $ 300,000. The words “The Democrat” are etched across the top of the building. It bears the stylistic influence of Louis Sullivan's “jewel box” structures that are associated with the work he did late in his career in the Midwest . These influences are seen in the blocking of windows at the center of the highly geometric façade . The ornamentation of
72-559: The horizontal band between stories, over the entrances, and along the parapet wall all feature the stylized motifs that are commonly found in his work. Clausen %26 Kruse Frederick George "Fritz" (Friedrich Georg) Clausen (1848–1940) was a Danish-born architect who came to the United States in 1869 and founded an architectural practice in Davenport, Iowa . The firm that he founded, presently named Studio 483 Architects,
81-719: Was a Fellow of the Western Association of Architects (WAA) from 1885 to 1889. Following the incorporation of WAA into the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1889, he became a Member of AIA, continuing that membership until his retirement in 1914. In addition to his architecture practice, Clausen was an alderman of the city of Davenport, and was instrumental in setting up the Davenport paid fire department in 1882, with three new fire appliances. After his arrival in America, Clausen initially worked as
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