Quad Cities
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Image:I74BridgeMar2006.JPG Image:JDPavilionMar06.jpg
- For the nuclear power plant, see the Quad Cities Nuclear Generating Station.
The Quad Cities are a group of cities which flank the Mississippi River in Iowa and Illinois in the midwestern United States. The four largest cities are:
As a patchwork of similarly located but politically different urban units situated at the edge of the Rust Belt, the Quad Cities area serves as an interesting case study on the effects of various economic, social, political, and environmental variables on the trajectory of municipalities seeking economic recovery. Seen as a single urban mass, the Quad Cities perfectly exemplifies the multiple nuclei model of urban arrangement.
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Geography
Located just 2 hours west of the Chicago area, the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of four counties: Scott County in Iowa and Henry, Mercer, and Rock Island counties in Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the area has a population of 376,019; the population of the area was estimated at 376,309 in 2005. [1]
In addition to the four anchor cities, many smaller communities are also considered part of the Quad Cities area. These include the Illinois communities of East Moline, Silvis, Milan, Andalusia, Carbon Cliff, Coal Valley, Colona, Geneseo, Hampton, Port Byron, and Rapids City. The Iowa cities of Eldridge, Long Grove, Park View, Blue Grass, Buffalo, Walcott, Maysville, McCausland, Mount Joy, New Liberty, Pleasant Valley, Princeton, Le Claire, Panorama Park and Riverdale are also considered part of the area.
The Quad Cities area is one of the few places in the country where telephone companies cooperate with regional phone calls. Iowa and Illinois have different area codes (563 and 309 respectively), yet one can call into either area code, from anywhere in the metro area, by dialing just a 7-digit number. This helps the bi-state area promote itself as a single community, "joined by a river."
The Quad Cities are served by Quad City International Airport, located in Moline. The airport also markets itself to surrounding areas as an alternative to larger airports, such as those in Chicago.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport serves the Iowa portion of the Quad Cities as well as the southeast quarter of Iowa. This diocese has its headquarters in Davenport. The Diocese of Peoria serves the Illinois portion of the Quad Cities.
History
Early history
Saukenuk, the principal village of the Sauk tribe and birthplace of its war leader, Black Hawk, was located in the current site of the Blackhawk State Historical Site in Rock Island. In 1832, Sauk chief Keokuk and General Winfield Scott signed a treaty to end the Black Hawk War in Davenport. The treaty resulted in the United States gaining 6 million acres (24,000 km²) of land.
John Deere moved his business to Moline, Illinois in 1848. His business was incorporated as Deere & Company in 1868. Deere & Company is now the largest employer in the Quad Cities.
The first railroad bridge built across the Mississippi River connected Davenport and Rock Island, IL in 1856. It was built by the Rock Island Railroad Company. It landed in the same location in Davenport where the Black Hawk War treaty had been signed a few decades earlier. Steamboaters saw nationwide railroads as a threat to their business. On May 6, 1856, just weeks after it was completed, an angry steamboater crashed the Effie Afton steamboat into the bridge. The owner of the Effie Afton, John Hurd, filed a lawsuit against The Rock Island Railroad Company. The Rock Island Railroad Company selected Abraham Lincoln as their trial lawyer. It was a pivotal trial in Lincoln's career.
Davenport, Rock Island,and Moline were originally called the Tri-Cities. In the 1950s the name Quad-Cities began to emerge in community and business titles, as East Moline became the fourth community to be designated as part of the city-group in this bi-state region. In the 1960s, Bettendorf, Iowa, later gained prominence as its population passed East Moline, but the name "Quint Cities" never caught on, even though several business groups promoted it. For example, KSTT, a very popular local AM radio station, used 'Quint Cities" in several of its station ID jingles and advertising. There are still a few local businesses that bear the name Quint-Cities and others even maintain the original Tri-Cities designation. Yet, it is the Quad-Cities that the area is most widely known as, and while largely a bedroom community, Bettendorf has replaced East Moline as one of the primary anchors, despite signs in East Moline reading "One of the Quad Cities".
1980s-current
In the early 1980s, a nationwide farm crisis had a direct impact on the Quad Cities. Several agricultural manufactuers - which employed tens of thousands of blue-collar workers - announced plans to close their factories in the Quad Cities, including International Harvester in Rock Island and Case IH in Bettendorf. Moline-based John Deere, which to this day remains the region's top employer, cut its production by nearly 50 percent. Later in the 1980s, Caterpillar Inc. closed its factories at Mount Joy and Bettendorf.
Economic leaders called the effects devastating. Population growth immediately stopped, and for a number of years, declined as blue-collar workers were forced to look for work in more prosperous regions of the country. Land values and per capita incomes fell sharply.
It wasn't until the mid-1990s when the Quad Cities - particularly, the Iowa side - began to recover. In 2003, voters approved a referendum allowing DavenportOne to provide matching funds for a Vision Iowa grant. The grant would pay for Davenport's River Renaissance, a downtown revitalization project that includes a River Music History Center, an ag-tech venture capital campus and the Figge Art Museum.
Moline has also experienced a rebirth, with a new John Deere Commons facility and The MARK of the Quad Cities opening during the 1990s. Rock Island is home to "The District," a well-known bar and nightlife scene.
Landmarks
- Great Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, a fair and exposition venue in Davenport.
- Figge Art Museum, in Davenport.
- John O'Donnell Stadium, the home of the St. Louis Cardinal A-Ball affiliate Swing of the Quad Cities, Davenport.
- Brady Street Stadium, a major high school sports venue along Davenport's Brady Street (aka U.S. Route 61).
- I-74 Bridge, connecting Bettendorf and Moline.
- Fred Schwengel Memorial Bridge, along Interstate 80, connecting Le Claire and Rapids City.
- The MARK of the Quad Cities - Civic center in Moline.
- Quad City Botanical Center in Rock Island.
- Rock Island Centennial Bridge, connecting Rock Island and Davenport.
- Davenport Skybridge
Companies
- Alcoa
- Deere and Company
- Happy Joe's
- Heart of America Restaurants
- Hungry Hobo
- Lee Enterprises
- Rock Island Arsenal
- Von Maur
- Whitey's Ice Cream
Colleges
- Augustana College
- Blackhawk College - Community College.
- Eastern Iowa Community College District, consisting of campuses in Clinton, Bettendorf and Muscatine. Bettendorf's campus is known as Scott Community College.
- Marycrest International University - Closed in 2002
- Palmer Chiropractic College
- Saint Ambrose University
- Western Illinois University - Satellite campus in Moline.
- Kaplan University - Satellite campus in Davenport.
- Hamilton Technical College
Media
AM radio
- KJOC 1170, talk radio
- WFXN 1230, Fox Sports Radio affiliate
- WKBF "Progressive Talk 1270", Air America Radio affiliate
- WOC 1420, talk radio
FM radio
- KALA 88.5, diverse format out of St. Ambrose University
- WDLM 89.3, religious format
- WVIK 90.3, NPR out of Augustana College
- KQCS "Star 93.5", adult contemporary hits
- KMXG "Mix 96", adult contemporary hits, licensed to Clinton with studios in Davenport
- WXLP "97 Rock", hard rock music from the past and present
- WLKU 98.9 "K-Love", Christian contemporary satellite network
- KBEA-FM "B100", Top 40, licensed to Muscatine with studios in Davenport
- KUUL 101.3, oldies from the 1960s and 1970s
- WLLR-FM 103.7, country music
- KBOB-FM 104.9, country music, licensed to De Witt with studios in Davenport
- KCQQ "Q 106.5", classic rock
Television
- WHBF channel 4, CBS affiliate
- KWQC channel 6, NBC affiliate
- WQAD channel 8, ABC affiliate
- KLJB channel 18, Fox affiliate
- WQPT channel 24, PBS station
- KGWB channel 26, WB affiliate licensed to Burlington and available only on cable systems or a KLJB DTV subchannel
- WBQD-LP channel 26, UPN affiliate
- KQIN channel 36, PBS station, part of the Iowa Public Television network
Cable television service is provided by Mediacom.
- Quad-City Times, local daily newspaper
- The Dispatch of Moline and the Rock Island Argus, daily newspapers based on the Illinois side
Roads
- Interstate 80 and Interstate 280
- Interstate 88
- Interstate 74
- U.S. Route 6
- U.S. Route 61
- U.S. Route 67
- U.S. Route 150
- Illinois Route 5
- Illinois Route 84
- Illinois Route 92
- Illinois Route 192
- Iowa State Highway 22
- Iowa State Highway 130
Sports teams
External links
- QuadCities.com
- Quad City Development Group
- Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau
- WeAreQC. Quad City Resource. Built by the Quad Cities
- Community of Russian speaking people in Quad Cities
