In our Special Collections Center, we have hanging on our wall an enormous double photograph showing the southern view from the corner of Third Street and Brady in 1938 and in 1952.<\/p>\n
The two photographs, separated by only 14 years, are quite similar.\u00a0 The cars are slightly different in the newer image, and the huge RKO Orpheum sign has shrunk to a tasteful marquee, and the remainder of the bricked street has been smoothed over.\u00a0 And, of course, all those rails and electric cables for the streetcars have all disappeared—<\/p>\n
What?\u00a0 Oh, yes, Davenport had streetcars.\u00a0 In fact, the city depended on them for the better part of a century.<\/p>\n
The first streetcars appeared in the 1860\u2019s, each route controlled by a different company.\u00a0 Ambrose Fulton operated the Third Street Route, taking residents around the downtown area for work or shopping, and Judge James Grant\u2019s Brady Street line ran to the fairgrounds north of the city.*\u00a0 The standard fare was a nickel.<\/p>\n
These early streetcars were open trolleys and literally horse-powered, which was troublesome in the winter.\u00a0 The wooden cars couldn\u2019t be heated without causing fire hazards, and snow made for slow-going, especially up Brady Street hill, which was probably no treat for the horses on a dry road in the summer.<\/p>\n
Steam cars made their debut in 1878, which made the hills easier on all concerned, though the contraption apparently smelled of smoke and made quite the racket.\u00a0 Even with the extra power, horses were needed to help the \u201cBrady Street Brute\u201d on its way.<\/p>\n
The Tri-City Railway Company, owned by the Holmes Syndicate of Chicago, formed in 1888 out of many of the smaller railway systems.\u00a0 Dr. D. W. Allen, owner of the Davenport Central Railway, resisted the merger, and electrified his line the same year.\u00a0 This made Davenport the first city west of the Mississippi to have an electrically-powered street railway—and the second city in the entire country.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n By 1890, all the railways were united under Tri-City, and all were electrically powered, though several routes to less populated areas or \u2018occasional routes,\u2019 including Oakdale Cemetery, were dropped out of necessity. \u00a0Soon, Davenport was festooned with cables and lined with rails and remained so for forty-odd years.<\/p>\n The advent of bicycles and the growing ownership of personal automobiles took a large bite of the streetcar business throughout the decades, but it was the introduction of motorbuses to Davenport, in 1926, that signaled the end.\u00a0 Buses were cost effective, comfortable, and required no special equipment; routes could be modified, or added, without major investment.\u00a0 Despite an extensive advertising campaign by the Tri-City Lines, using the tagline, \u201cThe Accepted Way,\u201d ** it was clear that the streetcar\u2019s time had passed.<\/p>\n The dismantling of the railways began in the early 1930s, and by 1936, only the Bridge line, running out to Arsenal Island, was still in operation. \u00a0\u00a0By 1940, Davenport\u2019s streetcar system was gone.\u00a0 Many of the old streetcars were purchased by A. D. Harris, a Rock Island entrepreneur, who sold them as chicken coops, sheds, diners, or even as a different kind of \u2018mobile home.<\/p>\n There are a few residents who might still remember childhood rides on the streetcars with their parents, but mostly this chapter of Davenport transportation history is recorded only in the history books or in photographs, like the one hanging on our wall.<\/p>\n You really should come down to see it.\u00a0 Just hop on the nearest stree—oh, wait.\u00a0 Well, there\u2019s plenty of metered parking, bike racks out front, and a bus stop just around the corner.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n *Present day Vander Veer Park.<\/p>\n **Davenport Democrat and Leader<\/em>, March 24, 1929, p. 25, col. 1.<\/p>\n Sources:<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAutos Force Economy by Streetcars,\u201d Davenport Democrat and Leader<\/em>, June 3, 1925, p. 2.<\/p>\n \u201cBusses for Davenport,\u201d Davenport Democrat and Leader<\/em>, July 15, 1926, p. 6.<\/p>\n \u201cLocal Legislation in a Short Time,\u201d Davenport Tribune<\/em>, July 21, 1892, p. 2. (About electrifying the railway route along 15th<\/sup> Street)<\/em><\/p>\n Svendsen, Marlys.\u00a0 Davenport: A Pictorial History<\/em> (1986)<\/p>\n Wundram, Bill. A Time We Remember<\/em> (1999)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n (Posted by Sarah)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In our Special Collections Center, we have hanging on our wall an enormous double photograph showing the southern view from the corner of Third Street and Brady in 1938 and in 1952. The two photographs, separated by only 14 years, … Continue reading