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Common name: Quad Cities |
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| Largest city | Davenport, Iowa |
| Other cities | – Moline, Illinois – Rock Island, Illinois – Bettendorf, Iowa – East Moline, Illinois |
| Population | Ranked 132nd in the U.S. |
| - Total | 379,690 |
| - Density | 163.19 /sq. mi. 63.01 /km² |
| Area | 2,314 sq. mi. 5,993 km² |
| State(s) | – Iowa – Illinois |
| Elevation | |
| - Highest point | 850 feet (259 m) |
| - Lowest point | 590 feet (180 m) |
The Quad Cities[1][2][3] is a group of five cities straddling the Mississippi River on the Iowa–Illinois boundary. These cities, Davenport and Bettendorf (in Iowa) and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline (in Illinois), are the center of the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area, which, as of 2010, had an estimated population of 379,690.[4]
The name "Quad Cities" for a group of five is based on the history of the community.
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The Quad Cities are located at the confluence of the Rock and Mississippi rivers, approximately 180 miles (290 km) west of Chicago, and is the largest metropolitan area along the Mississippi River between Minneapolis–Saint Paul and the St. Louis metropolitan area. Interstate 80 crosses the Mississippi River here. The Quad Cities area is distinctive because the Mississippi River flows from east to west as it passes through the heart of the area; the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf are located due north of Rock Island and Moline, respectively.
The Quad Cities Metropolitan Area is also considered part of the Great Lakes Megalopolis the region had an estimated population of 54 million for the 2000 Census and is projected to reach about 65 million by 2025.[5][6]
The Quad Cities Metropolitan Area consists of four counties: Scott County in Iowa and Henry, Mercer, and Rock Island counties in Illinois. The Quad City metro population is 379,690.[4]
The Quad Cities area is one where the telephone companies cooperate with regional phone calls. Iowa and Illinois have different area codes (563 and 309 respectively), yet most calls originating and terminating within the core urban area are placed without long-distance charges by dialing just a 7-digit number. This helps the bi-state area promote itself as a single community, "joined by a river."
| Climate data for Davenport, IA | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 69 (21) |
70 (21) |
88 (31) |
93 (34) |
94 (34) |
100 (38) |
101 (38) |
100 (38) |
98 (37) |
95 (35) |
80 (27) |
72 (22) |
101 (38) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 30 (−1) |
36 (2) |
48 (9) |
61 (16) |
72 (22) |
81 (27) |
85 (29) |
83 (28) |
76 (24) |
65 (18) |
48 (9) |
35 (2) |
60 (16) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 13 (−11) |
19 (−7) |
29 (−2) |
41 (5) |
52 (11) |
63 (17) |
68 (20) |
66 (19) |
57 (14) |
45 (7) |
32 (0) |
20 (−7) |
42 (6) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −17 (−27) |
−22 (−30) |
−3 (−19) |
19 (−7) |
32 (0) |
44 (7) |
53 (12) |
44 (7) |
35 (2) |
22 (−6) |
8 (−13) |
−18 (−28) |
−22 (−30) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 1.28 (32.5) |
1.41 (35.8) |
2.59 (65.8) |
3.64 (92.5) |
4.44 (112.8) |
4.75 (120.7) |
2.99 (75.9) |
4.31 (109.5) |
2.90 (73.7) |
2.39 (60.7) |
2.47 (62.7) |
1.93 (49) |
2.93 (74.4) |
| Source: http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/allergies/wxclimatology/monthly/52804</ref> | |||||||||||||
Before European settlers came to inhabit the Quad Cities, the confluence of rivers had attracted many varying cultures of indigenous peoples, who used the waterways and riverbanks for their settlements for thousands of years. At the time of European encounter, it was a home and principal trading place of the Sauk and Fox tribes of Native Americans. Saukenuk was the principal village of the Sauk tribe and birthplace of its 19th-century war chief, Black Hawk. In 1832, Sauk chief Keokuk and General Winfield Scott signed a treaty in Davenport after the US defeated the Sauk and their allies in the Black Hawk War. The treaty resulted in the Native Americans' ceding 6 million acres (24,000 km²) of land to the United States in exchange for a much smaller reservation elsewhere. Black Hawk State Historic Site in Rock Island preserves part of historic Saukenuk and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The history of urban settlements in the Quad-Cities was stimulated by riverboat traffic. For fourteen miles (21 km) between LeClaire, Iowa, and Rock Island, the Mississippi River flowed across a series of finger-like rock projections protruding from either bank. These rapids were difficult for steamboats to traverse. As demand for river-based transportation increased along the upper Mississippi, the navigability of the river throughout the "Rock Island Rapids" became a greater concern. Over time, a minor industry grew up in the area to meet the steamboats' needs. Boats needed rest areas to stop before encountering the rapids, places to hire expert pilots to guide the boat through the rocky waters, or, when the water was low, places where goods could be removed and transported by wagon on land past the Rapids.[7] (Today, the troublesome rocks are submerged six feet underwater by a lake formed by two locks and dams.)
As the Industrial Revolution developed in the United States, many enterprising industrialists looked to the Mississippi River as a promising source of water power. The combination of energy and easy access to river transportation attracted entrepreneurs and industrialists to the Quad Cities for development. In 1848, John Deere moved his plough business to Moline. His business was incorporated as Deere & Company in 1868. Deere & Company is the largest employer today in the Quad Cities.
The first railroad bridge built across the Mississippi River connected Davenport and Rock Island in 1856. It was built by the Rock Island Railroad Company, and replaced the slow seasonal ferry service and winter ice bridges as the primary modes of transportation across the river. Steamboaters saw the nationwide railroads as a threat to their business. On May 6, 1856, just weeks after completion of the bridge, an angry steamboater crashed the Effie Afton into it. John Hurd, the owner of the Effie Afton, filed a lawsuit against The Rock Island Railroad Company. The Rock Island Railroad Company selected Abraham Lincoln as their trial lawyer and won after he took the case to the US Supreme Court. It was a pivotal trial in Lincoln's career.
After the Civil War the region began to gain a common identity. The river towns that were thoughtfully planned and competently led flourished while other settlements, usually get-rich-quick schemes for speculators, failed to pan out. By the time of World War I, the towns of Davenport, Rock Island, and Moline had begun to style themselves as the Tri-Cities, a cluster of three more-or-less equally sized river communities growing around the small bend of the Mississippi River where it flows east and west. But with the growth of Rock Island County, during the 1930s the term Quad Cities came into vogue, as East Moline was given "equal status". Then, with the opening of an Alcoa plant east of Davenport in 1948, the town of Bettendorf underwent so much growth that many people in the community discussed the adoption of the name Quint Cities.[8] And indeed, eventually Bettendorf passed East Moline in size. But by this time, the name "Quad Cities" had become known well beyond the area, and "Quint Cities" never caught on, despite the efforts of WOC-TV (as KWQC-TV was then called) and others.
Beginning in the late 1970s, economic conditions caused major industrial restructuring, which disrupted the basis of the region's economy. The major companies, agricultural manufacturers, ceased or scaled back operations in the Quad Cities. Factories which closed included International Harvester in Rock Island and Case IH in Bettendorf. Moline-based John Deere cut its labor headcount by one half. Later in the 1980s, Caterpillar Inc. closed its factories at Mount Joy and Bettendorf.
Since the 1990s, the Quad Cities governments, businesses, non-profits and residents have worked hard to redevelop the region. They have achieved national attention for their accomplishments.
Examples of revitalization and rebirth:
Since 1916, the region has supported the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, which presents a year-round schedule of concerts at the Adler Theatre in Davenport and Centennial Hall in Rock Island. The Handel Oratorio Society, dating to 1880, is the second-oldest organization of its kind in the nation and presents annual performances of "Messiah" along with another major work for choir and orchestra. The Augustana Choir, founded at Rock Island's Augustana College in 1934, is one of the nation's leading collegiate choruses. Nova Singers, a professional 20-voice chorus, celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2011. Major outdoor summer music festivals include the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival and IH Mississippi Valley Blues Festival. The Quad-Cities' three traditional community theaters – Playcrafters (founded in 1920, comedies and dramas) and Quad City Music Guild (1948, musicals) in Moline, and Genesius guild (1957, outdoor Shakespeare and Greek comedies and tragedies) in Rock Island – were joined in 1976 by Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, a professional dinner theater in downtown Rock Island's historic Fort Theatre. In recent years the theater scene has burgeoned, adding three small professional companies in Davenport – New Ground, Harrison Hilltop and the Curtainbox – plus a resident professional ballet company, Ballet Quad Cities. Other area community theaters included the itinerant Prenzie Players, who specialize in nontraditional productions of Shakespeare and other verse theater, the Richmond Hill Players in Geneseo, Ill., and Countryside Community Theatre in Eldridge, Iowa. St. Ambrose University in Davenport hosts the leading theater company on the collegiate scene, which also includes active programs at Augustana College, Black Hawk College in Moline and Scott Community College in Bettendorf. The city of Davenport's Junior Theatre program has been in operation since the 1950s. ComedySportz Quad Cities recently celebrated their 21st anniversary of bringing family-friendly improv comedy to the area at their new landmark home, The Establishment Theatre (formally The Rocket Theater) in The District of Rock Island. Bluebox Limited is a Bettendorf-based film production company, and many outside productions companies have filmed movies in the Quad Cities in recent years. Historic buildings and sites listed on state and the National Register of Historic Places interpret the history of people's settlement and lives in the area.
The Quad Cities is the 151st largest radio market in the United States[12] and the 99th largest TV market in the United States.[13]
The area is served by over 13 commercial radio stations, 8 non-commercial radio stations, 3 low power FM radio stations, 8 TV stations and 3 daily newspapers.
Four interstate highways serve the Quad Cities: Interstate 80, Interstate 280, Interstate 74 serve both states while Inerstate 88 serves just Illinois. United States highways include, U.S. Route 6 and U.S. Route 67 which run through both Iowa and Illinois, while U.S. Route 61 serves just Iowa and U.S. Route 150 serves just Illinois.
A total of six bridges connect Iowa with Illinois in the Quad Cities across the Mississippi River. The Fred Schwengel Memorial Bridge carries Interstate 80 and connects Le Claire, Iowa with Rapids City, Illinois. Continuing downstream, the I-74 Bridge connects Bettendorf, Iowa with Moline, Illinois and is the busiest bridge with an average of 70,400 cars a day.[14] The Government Bridge connects Downtown Davenport with the Rock Island Arsenal. Three bridges connect Davenport with Rock Island, Illinois; The Rock Island Centennial Bridge, The Crescent Rail Bridge, and the furthest downstream bridge ,the Sergeant John F. Baker, Jr. Bridge which carries I-280.
Several state highways also serve the area. Iowa Highway 22 is on Davenport's southwest side and runs west through the county, while Iowa Highway 130 runs along Northwest Boulevard on Davenport's north edge. Illinois Route 5 (John Deere Road) runs from Rock Island east til it runs into Interstate 88. Illinois Route 92 runs along the Mississippi River, while Illinois Route 84 runs along the east side of Rock Island County. Illinois Route 192 connects Highway 92 with Illinois Route 94 near Taylor Ridge. The Chicago – Kansas City Expressway also serves the area along Interstates 74, 80, and 88.
There are three transit operators in the Quad Cities with limited interconnection between them. Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District (Quad Cities MetroLINK) serves the Illinois cities of Rock Island, Moline, East Moline, Milan, Silvis, Carbon Cliff, Hampton and Colona. It has 12 routes and a fleet of about 52 buses. It operates a river craft during summer months. In Iowa, Davenport Citibus has 13 fixed routes and operates 20 buses, six days a week and Bettendorf Transit operates five routes, Monday–Saturday, and has eight buses.
Amtrak currently does not serve the Quad Cities. The closest station is about 50 miles (80 km) away in Galesburg, Illinois. In 2008, the two current United States Senators from Iowa, Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, and former Senator Barack Obama sent a letter to Amtrak asking them to begin plans to bring rail service to the Quad Cities.[15] In October 2010, a $230 million federal fund was announced that will bring Amtrak service to the Quad Cities, with a new line running from Moline to Chicago. They hope to have the lined completed in 2015, and offer two round trips daily to Chicago.[16] In December 2011, the federal government awarded $177 million in funding for the Amtrak connection. It will establish passenger rail for the first time since the 1970s.
The Quad Cities are served by the Quad City International Airport, Illinois' third-busiest airport, is located in Moline. The airport is marketed as a regional alternative to the larger airports in Chicago, nearly 200 miles (320 km) away. The smaller Davenport Municipal Airport is the home of the Quad City Air Show.
| Airlines | Destinations | Concourse |
|---|---|---|
| AirTran Airways | Fort Myers [begins March 8],[17] Orlando | B |
| Allegiant Air | Las Vegas, Phoenix/Mesa, Tampa/St. Pete[18] | B |
| American Eagle | Dallas/Fort Worth | A |
| AmericanConnection operated by Chautauqua Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare | A |
| Delta Connection operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines | Atlanta, Memphis | A/B |
| Delta Connection operated by Mesaba Airlines | Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul | B/A |
| Delta Connection operated by Pinnacle Airlines | Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul | B/A |
| United Express operated by GoJet Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare, Denver | B |
| United Express operated by Shuttle America | Chicago-O'Hare, Denver | B |
| United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare, Denver | B |
| United Express operated by Trans States Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare, Denver | B |
From 1920 to 1926, Rock Island was home to the NFL's Rock Island Independents. Football legend Jim Thorpe was once a member of the team.
The Tri-Cities Blackhawks, named in honor of the Sauk war chief Black Hawk, was the next top-level professional sports franchise. The club played in the National Basketball League (NBL) from 1946 until its merger in 1949 with the Basketball Association of America to became the National Basketball Association (NBA). Hall of famer Red Auerbach coached the Blackhawks during their first NBA season.
After the 1950–51 basketball season, the team moved to Milwaukee, where they were named the Hawks. After a second move to St. Louis, the team is now the Atlanta Hawks.
Professional basketball returned to the Quad Cities during the 1980s and 1990s with the Quad City Thunder of the Continental Basketball Association. The CBA served as the NBA's premiere developmental league and produced many highly regarded NBA stars. From 1987 through the 1992–93 season, the Thunder played at Wharton Field House in Moline. Starting with the 1993–94 season, the team played at The MARK of the Quad Cities (now the i wireless Center.) After the CBA folded in 2001, the Thunder franchise ceased operations permanently.
| Club | League | Venue | Established | Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quad Cities River Bandits | MWL, Baseball | Modern Woodmen Park | 1960 | 4 |
| Quad City Mallards | CHL, Ice hockey | i wireless Center | 2009 | 0 |
| Quad Cities Riverhawks | PBL, Basketball | Wharton Field House | 2006 | 0 |
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