{"id":2125,"date":"2010-12-23T08:00:33","date_gmt":"2010-12-23T13:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs2.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/?p=2125"},"modified":"2010-12-23T09:52:07","modified_gmt":"2010-12-23T14:52:07","slug":"golfing-in-the-hotel-blackhawk-barn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/2010\/12\/23\/golfing-in-the-hotel-blackhawk-barn\/","title":{"rendered":"Fore!: Golfing in the Hotel Blackhawk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Winter is settling in around us in Davenport.\u00a0 It is almost a surprise to realize that December 21st<\/sup>, the oh-so-wonderful first day of winter, has only just past.\u00a0 The warmth of spring seems a long ways away this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fortunately, Quad-Citians and visitors alike have a \u201cnew\u201d wonderful indoor place to explore this winter (and for years to come).\u00a0 The Hotel Blackhawk has been restored and once again opened its doors to the public on December 15, 2010.<\/p>\n

We have blogged before about the hotel which played a major role in the social lives of many\u00a0Davenporters since it opened for the first time on February 16, 1915 (please\u00a0click here<\/a> or type Hotel Blackhawk<\/em> in our search engine for more stories).\u00a0 The hotel\u00a0is a place filled with history around every corner and we are always finding wonderful stories we\u00a0would like to blog about.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When the hotel first opened in 1915, it was a magnificent seven story building.\u00a0 Within a few years business was booming and more space was needed.\u00a0\u00a0On April 27, 1919 the Davenport Democrat and Leader<\/em> newspaper announced plans were being drawn up for two more stories to be added to the structure.\u00a0 On July 26, 1920 the newspaper announced that building was about to commence on not two, but four new floors for the hotel bringing the building to eleven stories.\u00a0 The Blackhawk Hotel Corporation\u00a0hoped the rooms would be ready by January 1, 1921.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0owners could not have foreseen work strikes, labor competition from the construction of the Kahl Building a few blocks away, and other setbacks that would delay progress for months.\u00a0 Construction was not finished by January 1, 1921.\u00a0 Then the owners announced they hoped the new addition would be completed by May 1st<\/sup> of that year.\u00a0 When that deadline passed, it seems a different approach was used for opening the new floors.\u00a0 Instead of opening all the floors at once, each floor would be opened on an as needed basis.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The eighth floor was the first to be opened in the new addition\u00a0on October 17, 1921.\u00a0 The opening of the ninth floor followed in January 1922.\u00a0 By May of that same year conventions were being held on the tenth floor of the Hotel Blackhawk.\u00a0 That left only the eleventh floor.\u00a0 When it did open it offered a look\u00a0completely different from the famous elegance of the floors below.<\/p>\n

The eleventh floor\u2019s\u00a0nickname said it all.\u00a0 It was called \u201cthe Barn\u201d. \u00a0During the 1920s the floor was left relatively unfinished with exposed rafters adding to the \u201cbarn\u201d look as late as 1928 according to the Davenport Democrat and Leader<\/em>.\u00a0 But its lack of\u00a0elegance did not mean the eleventh floor was not used.\u00a0 Groups that rented the space included fraternities and sororities for socials while the American Legion held stag parties there.\u00a0 Not only parties filled the room, but in the winter months a golf school opened.\u00a0 Imagine golfing while looking over Davenport and the Mississippi River below!<\/p>\n

It appears that the first school was opened by Mr. Tom Macrorie in January 1923. Mr. Macrorie was a professional golfer who worked\u00a0at the Rock Island Arsenal Golf club.\u00a0 His golf school included a practice course, the latest equipment, and two nets \u2013 we can only imagine protecting the windows to some degree.\u00a0 By 1926, Mr. Art Andrew, golf professional at the Davenport Country club, operated the indoor golf course.\u00a0 Many social and professional club\u00a0members would go upstairs to practice or play tournaments\u00a0at the conclusion of their club meetings downstairs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

By 1928, a Mr. Waldo Johnson operated the indoor course.\u00a0 His business on the eleventh floor was probably short-lived.\u00a0 On February 19, 1929 the Davenport Democrat and Leader<\/em> reported that the Blackhawk Hotel Corporation was refinancing and would convert the tenth and eleventh floors to kitchenette apartments immediately.\u00a0 It appears the days of college socials, stag parties, and golfing over the city of Davenport in \u201cthe Barn\u201d were nearing an end; but what an amazing experience it must have been while it lasted!<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThe Barn\u201d would eventually become a floor known for fine dining.\u00a0 The private Davenport Club featured elegant dining\u00a0from the late 1970s until 1993.\u00a0 Before that the Skyline Room, which opened in the 1960s, offered guests the chance to dine while looking over the twinkling lights of Davenport, Rock Island and the Mississippi River.\u00a0 Maybe some of those diners could remember the days of the golf course on the eleventh floor?\u00a0 Imagine the memories!<\/p>\n

Congratulations to the Hotel Blackhawk on their reopening and may the eleventh floor be filled with elegance (or even golfing) for years to come.<\/p>\n

(posted by Amy D.)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Winter is settling in around us in Davenport.\u00a0 It is almost a surprise to realize that December 21st, the oh-so-wonderful first day of winter, has only just past.\u00a0 The warmth of spring seems a long ways away this week.\u00a0 Fortunately, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[561,559,558,557,273,560,562],"class_list":["post-2125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-history","tag-american-legion","tag-davenport-club","tag-golf","tag-hotel-blackhawk","tag-hotels","tag-restaurants","tag-socials"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pd0CXc-yh","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2125"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2125\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2138,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2125\/revisions\/2138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/sc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}