It was on July 9, 1993 that the Mississippi River crested at 22.63 feet at Lock and Dam 15. That broke the previous record set on April 28, 1965 of 22.48 feet. Most people who saw the 1993 flood thought that crest would not be passed, but it was when the Mississippi River crested on May 2, 2019 at 22.70 feet.*
We wrote a blog on the ’93 flood for the 25th Anniversary that may be found here; it provides details on the flood and the events that led up to it. As more photographs have come into our collection and the Davenport Police Historic Association has been kind enough to share their images of the flood with us, we thought we would post new photographs from this monumental event.
Photo courtesy of the Davenport Police Historic Association. Image from the Garden Addition in West Davenport. Image was taken from an airplane.
Photo taken by Davenport Public Works. Ground view of the Garden Addition in West Davenport. July 4, 1993.
Public Works photo was taken July 12, 1993, at Pansy Avenue and Floral Lane in West Davenport. This area is now Blackhawk Garden Park.
Photo courtesy of the Davenport Police Historic Association. Facing Third Street. The Quad-City Times building is on the right side with water almost to the building. The blue and white building on the right was the Best Western Riverview Inn (building now demolished). The gravel and cement buildings in the lower front of the picture indicate the edge of the river and levee. Image was taken from an airplane.
Photo courtesy of the Davenport Police Historic Association. Main Street and levee. The Dillon Fountain is in the lower front of the picture. The historic Levee Inn (then the Iowa Pork Shop) is in the upper right area. The President Riverboat entryway is in the upper section of the photo. The President Riverboat was moved prior to the flood for safety. Image was taken from an airplane.
2008-28. Image 349. Box 53. CPED Collection. Image looking west on River Drive. Dillon Fountain is in the middle of the picture.
2008-28. Image 323. Box 53. CPED Collection. Image looking east. John O’Donnell Stadium (now Modern Woodmen Park) is on the right in the image.
2008-28. Image 323. box 53. CPED Collection. Looking from the Centennial Bridge toward downtown Davenport. The trees mark the levee area next to the Mississippi River.
Photo courtesy of the Davenport Police Historic Association. Image showing the Iowa-American Water building and the Lindsay boat docks. Image was taken from an airplane.
Photo courtesy of the Davenport Police Historic Association. The Lindsay boat docks and the intersection of River Drive and Mound Street in the East Village of Davenport. The extensive temporary berm to hold back flood waters covered in white tarps is seen. Image was taken from an airplane.
Image taken by City of Davenport Public Works Department. Facing River Drive and Mound Street with a temporary berm to hold back water.
Images from Raging River by Bill Wundram with pictures from the Quad-City Times. SC977.769 Wun. Photos showing the rising river against the Iowa Pork Shop (formerly the Levee Inn) located next to the Mississippi River on the levee.
2008-28. Image 321. Box 53. CPED Collection. Perhaps the most iconic image used by national news broadcasts during the flood. The completely flooded John O-Donnell baseball stadium (now Modern Woodmen Park).
To find more blogs, please type the word floods into our keyword search box. We hope you enjoyed looking back at this historic event. We find the images not only amazing for the flood waters, but it is also interesting to look at how Davenport has changed over the past thirty years.
(posted by Amy D.)
*The May 2, 2019 crest was the third crest of 2019. An April 8, 2019 crest of 20.68 is ranked the 11th highest crest at Lock and Dam 15 in Rock Island, IL. The crest on June 1, 2019 reached 21.68 feet and is currently ranked 6th in flooding history. The flood of 2019 also holds the record for days of continual flooding at Lock and Dam 15 with 51 days being at or above flood stage of 18 feet.
